By-election defeat could signal disaster for Bush

Times Online ^ | June 05, 2006 | Tim Reid

[Jacob Kell]

By-election defeat could signal disaster for Bush By Tim Reid

The Republicans are alarmed after polls show that voters may turn against them in one of their strongholds

A US by-election tomorrow to replace a jailed Congressman in a traditionally safe Republican seat is too close to call, an alarming sign for President Bush and his party ahead of November’s mid-term elections.

[Galtoid]

What the hell is a by election, and what does someone in London know about American politics?

[caver]

Bush is not running for office.

[edpc]

To answer question 1:

A by-election or bye-election is a special election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between general elections. Usually this occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned, but it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall or a sufficiently serious criminal conviction.

As for question 2:

I doubt they know more or care more than we do here about their politics.

[Abathar]

This is from a lead story on the Drudge report about the election they are talking about, leave it up to Roger Hedgecock to make sure we all heard about this little gaff from the Dem - I think this might have just handed us a victory:

"If an election can turn on a sentence, this could be the one: “You don't need papers for voting.” On Thursday night, Francine Busby, the Democratic candidate for the 50th Congressional District, was speaking before a largely Latino crowd in Escondido when she uttered those words. She said yesterday she simply misspoke. But someone taped it and a recording began circulating yesterday. After she made that statement at the meeting, Busby immediately said: “You don't need to be a registered voter to help (the campaign).” "

Not the smartest thing to say to try and win a seat over in a heavily Republican district, thank god her true self has shown through so perfectly.

[Puppage]

thank god her true self has shown through so perfectly

Agreed. The real question is..."will she pay a price for saying this?"

[R.W.Ratikal]

I suppose this writer meant the mid-term elections for Congressmen.

Bush cannot face disaster, he is not running. Remember that we vote for the party. Do we want a government of socialists who are hell-bent to make America over into a modern Soviet Union? I think not.

It is the Republicans who must be retained in power. The Republican party is the lesser of two evils. The ideal would be for voters to have a choice. That won't happen because a third party win has been made almost impossible by the two parties who have been in power too long.

[Jameison]

"What the hell is a by election, and what does someone in London know about American politics?"

Umm..like nothing?
The lack of any real knowledge of American politics by the British is palpable.
Remember the British Guardian newspaper and their arrogant interference in the presidential elections in Ohio in 2004, dictating to Americans who they should vote for, and how it backfired on the clowns?
Pretty much sums up what these suckers know.

[SMM48]

The real problem is Republicans still don't get it. If they are just now starting to worry, then it is too late. Unfortunately, it's going to take some major defeats to bring them back to reality.

[You Dirty Rats]

Remember the British Guardian newspaper and their arrogant interference in the presidential elections in Ohio in 2004, dictating to Americans who they should vote for, and how it backfired on the clowns?

Greene County -- it was the only county that switched from 2000 to 2004, and it went from Blue to Red. Someone in Britain claimed that, given the close result in Ohio overall, "It was the Guardian wot won it" (for Bush).

[jebeier]

Da 'Pubbie by Five.

Anybody want to take that action?

[spectre]

"Bush is not running for office"

And by not listening to his base, he doesn't seem to give a damn about those in the GOP who are running.

sw

[Publius6961]

People who don't understand what they're writing about shouldn't.
Bush is a lame duck; no matter what happens, he's out of the picture soon.But then so is what happens.

Republicans in congress don't have to go along with W's "banana"...

[lonedawg]

No matter what we say President Bush is on the wrong side of this argument. He's not running but his position on this issue is hurting Republicans.Frist and other senators are not helping either. One thing that does help is that some of the so called moderates and rinos are showing their true colors.

[GreenLanternCorps]

The problem with the Times analysis is you can't treat a US special election like a UK by-election.

In the UK a by-election for a vacant seat is always seen as a referendum on the government of the day, unless the election is in a very safe seat.

That is not the case for US special elections. In this case the seat is Republican, but not an especially safe seat. The incumbant resigned due to criminal charges, the candidate for the GOP is very weak, and the demographics for the seat may be changing.

The Republican may well lose this election, but the Democrats would be making a big mistake to view this as part of an anti-Bush tidal wave. There are a lot of local factors here that prevent it from being a true national bellweather.

[Ella Vader]

The problem with the Times analysis is you can't treat a US special election like a UK by-election.

In the UK a by-election for a vacant seat is always seen as a referendum on the government of the day, unless the election is in a very safe seat. >>

Bingo. American districts are so gerrymandered that the actual chance of losing one to the opposite party truly approaches zero, unless the incumbent party member is found with a dead girl or a live boy in his bed. Otherwise, if it does happen, then the district drawers screwed up.

Won't happen tomorrow, neither. The GOPer wins. They'll say he won because the Dem candidate treasonously called for foreign invaders to vote in an American election, but it doesn't matter; he would have won anyway. The GOPer'll win unless he is a convicted sex offender or something.

[P-40]

The real question is..."will she pay a price for saying this?"

Probably not.

[Puppage]

Probably not

Sadly, you are all to correct.

[P-40]

Sadly, you are all to correct.

I hope I'm wrong. Maybe Rush will pick up the story. Certainly Savage will. Or Boortz. On the plus side, at least the politician spoke the truth. :)

[freedumb2003]

I doubt they know more or care more than we do here about their politics.

I beg to differ. Whereas England has very little effect on us or the world, except symbolically, we have a great deal of effect on the world.

The entire world watches our politics very closely.