Posted on 05/21/2014 11:53:32 AM PDT by centurion316
Yesterday I laid out some scenarios for the 2014 Senate races. At President Obama's current job approval rating, Democrats would likely suffer substantial losses in the upper chamber. On the other hand, if the president were to improve his standing, and if Republican candidates implode in some races, the GOP could break even or even lose a seat or two.
But aside from bragging rights, 2014 is a sideshow for the following two years. Obama is a lame duck, and the GOP already has blocking power with the House. A Republican majority in the Senate could provide added leverage by forcing Obama to use his veto, and it could force vulnerable Democrats to cast tough votes. But where it really matters -- where it could make a huge difference -- is in the next round of Senate elections.
Given the playing field that year, Republican losses are at the very least probable in 2016. In fact, they are likely. So if the GOP blows it this year, and if a Democrat wins the presidency in 2016, he or she could have a sizable -- perhaps even filibuster-proof -- majority. Moreover, if the GOP doesn’t win a decent-size majority this year, it stands a good chance of losing it in 2016 if Democrats have a good year.
(Excerpt) Read more at realclearpolitics.com ...
And your strategy? You seem to be accepting of only the Constitution that appeals to you? Did I understand that correctly? We can do without a Supreme Court?
I think the Republicans in Washington love being the minority party.
All the perks, none of the responsibility.
If a strong just leader doesn’t step forward soon with the correct vision then I may fall in line with the ‘it’s over’ crowd and simply live for the day when my term on this planet is ended.
Anyone who proposes what really needs to be done can’t be elected. It means any “strong leader” will come by some other means. It makes me think of guys like Hitler.
This is why I say this will not end well.
Bob Michel loved it.
What we need is a US version of Nigel Farage.
So too a lot of people on this forum, apparently.
Likewise, I respect yours. FWIW, I’m fighting the fight on a different front.
Thanks for the repartee this afternoon. Gotta go. My turn to make dinner and in my Father’s world I’d be mocked and called names for even suggesting I make it. Times they are a changin’
I agree with your post. I’ll be 67 in Dec. We moved back to the U.S. from Europe 3 years ago where we had been for about 25 years. Every summer we came back to the states we saw significant changes in our home country - changes not for the better. We have reached critical mass as a nation and there is no turning back. Perhaps the pace of the slide can be slowed a little but there is no turning it around. Traditional values and morality are no longer valued in our nation and are actually seen as the problem. We are godless and loving it. We are now going to be show the folly of that thinking and it will not be pretty - the same as many nations before us.
Oh, I agree with that. But when the GOP is in charge, it increases the size of government. When ity is out of power, it opposes increases in the size of government.
-- I'm sure that the Democrats will be more than happy to take you up on an offer of surrender. --
I'm not the one who is reaching across the aisle.
That’s what Herbert T. Gillis said of Dobie: “I’m gotta kill that boy. I’ve just gotta”. Of course, he was not arrested for child abuse, as he might be now.
“We can do without a Supreme Court?”
What we certainly can do without is an unelected court with lifetime sinecure. We can can certainly do without a court that has the ability to effectively write law through its edicts. And we can certainly do without a court with essentially unlimited jurisdiction. As for whether there should be a SCOTUS at all...I’m not advocating getting rid of it, but I would be perfectly willing to live without one. For all of its pomp and circumstance and oh so wise counsels, I’d argue that we’re not any freer or better off because of it.
“And your strategy?”
I already alluded to some solutions in my earlier post: migration and minimizing governmental reach in your own personal life. That doesn’t exclude other strategies, but doesn’t necessitate an obsession with electoral politics either. Because it’s worked out so well for us In the last 25 years.
We are in agreement that lifetime appointments to the USSC are due for an overhaul but electing them?
Some might suggest that the way to get around the Supreme’s sometimes questionable rulings is to simply ignore the Court. OK. I’ll ignore the court. Does that then give me the right to ignore any law I disagree with for whatever reason? Anarchy brother. I still support the Constitution and if we can make some modifications to resolve some of the nagging issues of the past 75 years such as the tenure of justices and term limiting legislators then let’s get behind getting it done.
But we do have term limits in all elective offices and always have had. It’s called the vote. More need to see it as a serious part of honoring their freedom and their nation. A real leader of this country would remind our citizens every day that to get things done ALL of us have the obligation to educate ourselves and participate in the process.
We still live in a civil (more or less) society. Doing so still requires law and order and justice be meted-out for the continuation of a civil, safe and orderly society. I’d rather live among a good and honorable people than find myself in self-imposed isolation in Eastern Montana in the middle of an 1888 winter.
That some of us here are grousing, rabble rousing, malcontents that would rather destroy the republic because it would give them satisfaction in doing so, gives me heartburn. Threats to vote for a Democrat or send donations to same to uproot a Senate Minority Leader like McConnell is foolish and immature, short-sighted and just damn stupid. McConnell is on his way to doing himself in.
My advice to those folks is file your own candidacy for whatever office, gather your donors in your corner, state your case and get yourself elected.
Continue to protest the wrongs and if and only if the time arrives do we take the advice of the Founders and go Medieval on the usurpers of our liberties.
I think we’re operating from the same values, just seeing a different reality in how to achieve them.
I’m not advocating ignoring court decisions per se. However, I am also not advocating a reality where the courts act as de facto legislators. I think the problem is far more basic than 75 years of poor jurisprudence. It’s more like 200 plus years starting with Marbury v Madison which in my view was little more than a eloquently worded power grab.
Interesting that you speak of the vote as a term limit. Perhaps as it was originally envisioned, but as it stands now it’s nothing more than a legitimization process for those in power. Remember that even the soviets had elections. There was only one person on the ballot, but by golly they had elections. We might actually have 2 people on the ballot, but if they’re representing essentially the same agenda, then what difference does it make? Only the names change. But it’s even worse than that. The uniparty also gets to control who may vote, restricts who can get on the ballot, decides on the rules for the election, and then gets to count the vote. So you’ll have to forgive me if I see the ballot as weak medicine.
That said, I’m by nature an optimist and see the potential for a great future. I just don’t see it being attained strictly or even in large part through an electoral process.
The entire world is coming apart at the seams in a way never before seen except in the middle of WWII.
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And, it’s been Obama and his regime that has furthered the condition. They’ve supported Muslim uprisings everywhere, cut our military severely, imposed ROEs guaranteed to get more US military personnel killed, wimped our military by forcing them to take openly LGBTQ, forced out respected senior military officers and replaced them with lap dogs, etc. ...I’ll stop now, as the list is getting long.
...and I suspect Palin would support McCain again.
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So, PDS strikes again. Sarah only gave McCain one supporting appearance, which was a payback for him selecting her as the VP candidate. I don’t recall any other endorsements.
We are in agreement. Americans in general are too forgiving. The concept of forgive and forget has always been a thorn in my side and it is the primary trigger that is used to lull us back to sleep.
You can’t easily extinguish an idea and while the lefty courts have tried via Marbury and other more recent cases to do so, the battle waged by freedom nibbling rats will be tempered by their fear of armed and trained hominids like you and me. And as Forest Gump was want to say, ‘that’s all I have to say about thaaayat’.
Yes, Obama has definitely moved up the timeline. I will admit, however, that I bought my small farm in KY two weeks before the 2008 election partly as a “bug out” location (from Seattle) and I thought McCain was going to win.
Moved there in 2011 and absolutely love it. Western civilization may go down the tubes, but we’re having the time of our life up on our plateau. We’ve seen it as a “God thing” ever since we made the decision to buy it. It was the best choice whether things crash or not.
Thanks for this post (and all your election-related threads)
I’ve been disappointed in Cornyn (especially on amnesty) and by no means do I want McConnell as Senate Majority Leader (I’d like Cruz or possibly Jeff Sessions or there’s a couple of others that might be good). I know a lot of FReepers want McConnell and Cornyn out - period. I want us to win the Senate as I am so sick of Dingy Harry and his lies - - he went on another rant the other day (don’t think he mentioned the Koch brothers in this one) calling Republicans obstrunctionists. How many bills has the House passed that he refuses to bring before the Senate - -who is the obstrunctionist?
In looking at your Senate rating post here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3158681/posts
Cornyn’s conservative rating is 88% and McConnell’s is 83% - both better than a lot of the others and better than I thought they would be.
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