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Fri 3 Oct, 2008 09:41 am
'NYT' Sunday Preview: Top Republican Quits Congress, Compares Party To 'Dog Food,' Wonders About Palin
By Greg Mitchell - E & P
Published: October 02, 2008
Coming in this Sunday's New York Times Magazine: A profile of a former "star in the Republican party," Rep. Tom Davis of Virginia. As the heading has it: "Now, like dozens of his GOP colleagues, he's quitting Congress, fed up with his party, his president and the process."
In other words: "Tom Davis Gives Up," as the Times puts it.
The article by Peter Baker fashions Davis as "moderate" who is outraged by super-partisanship and the "social conservatives" who have "hijacked" the party. Davis's favorite line about the GOP is, "if we were a dog food, they would take us off the shelf."
Mocking an average day of meaningless bills before Congress he quips, "tell them about the important work we're doing while Rome burns." Baker (who met Davis 22 years ago) comments: "After 14 years in Congress, Tom Davis is giving up his place in the bucket brigade. Someone else will have to put out the fire. If anyone wants to try."
Davis calls the McCain-Palin ticket "a marriage of convenience. What are the negatives? What about her resume? I got through it in about 10 seconds. Does that hurt? He's the guy running on experience...And she's a heartbeat away." She does help with the "change" issue, he adds.
And aptly, in light of the start of the baseball playoffs, Davis, 59, cracks: "You know, the Cubs fans used to put the bags over their heads. That's what I feel when you say you're from Congress, because there are just so many things we're not doing."
The article points out that 26 Republicans are stepping down this year compared to only six Democrats. Many of he GOPers are moderates. "There's no question, we're a dying breed," says Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minn.
@BumbleBeeBoogie,
I wonder if events like this will eventually result in a new third party which could compete with the democratic and republican parties.
@rosborne979,
rosborne979 wrote:
I wonder if events like this will eventually result in a new third party which could compete with the democratic and republican parties.
that's something i've been hoping for a long time. moderates from gop and dems getting together to form a moderate, centrist party that can compete in the real world.
@DontTreadOnMe,
DontTreadOnMe wrote:
rosborne979 wrote:
I wonder if events like this will eventually result in a new third party which could compete with the democratic and republican parties.
that's something i've been hoping for a long time. moderates from gop and dems getting together to form a moderate, centrist party that can compete in the real world.
DTOM, do you think they would nominate Kucinich?
There should be term limits anyways.
@dyslexia,
dyslexia wrote:
DTOM, do you think they would nominate Kucinich?
nah, probably not. but i'd be happy to have him.
Heard a Tom Davis interview on NPR recently. For a Republican, he sounded like a concerned, intelligent and reasonable man. There ain't too many of them among the GOP. Womder why none of them post on A2K?
@JPB,
I have been wishing for a viable 3rd party for almost 30 years. Fat chance!
@rabel22,
rabel22 wrote:
I have been wishing for a viable 3rd party for almost 30 years. Fat chance!
the biggest problem is that a credible third party isn't something that you or i can start from our garage.
what it would take is a serious block of known and respected (a relative term ?) politicians from both parties working together for a while on things to show first that they could get it done. then when the opportunity presents itself to pull away and establish.
an example would be the beginnings of the second republican party over the slavery issue. i was really unaware of how that came about until recently.
so along with everything else, there would need to a unifying mission.
it's not impossible, but fat chance may be just what it is... bummer
@DontTreadOnMe,
'Respected politicans' is an oxymoron. (As you well know, DTOM.)
@DontTreadOnMe,
In your party of moderates?
If Kucinich is a moderate, who is out on the fringe of the Democratic left?
@Finn dAbuzz,
Finn dAbuzz wrote:
In your party of moderates?
If Kucinich is a moderate, who is out on the fringe of the Democratic left?
i didn't say he was a moderate, did i? i just like the guy. he's got a lot of balls. and his wife is smokin'. he must be doing something right.
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