The Democrats Gloat Thread

Lightwizard wrote:

Exactly what are they apologizing for and promoting?

You don't know? Come now LW.

They are forgiving him his role in Watergate and promoting his current anti-Bush rhetoric. (As if you didn't know)

Yes, I think Finn should apologize for promoting the weasel in the White House.

Business Week: For Bush, No Port in this Storm

[..] As the proposed Dubai Ports World takeover of operations at six U.S. ports wound its way through a federal review this winter, President Bush's economic and political advisers viewed it as little more than a narrow business issue. That was a major miscalculation.

Now, with the White House, congressional Republican leaders, and the government-owned Dubai company trying to quell an unexpected political firestorm, the simple business deal looks more like the thread that could unravel Bush's standing on many fronts. "It's an electoral disaster," says Republican strategist Frank Luntz. "This is potent because it legitimizes all the Democratic attacks of the past three years that the President isn't paying attention."

LITTLE HELP. Bush and the port-management corporation based in the United Arab Emirates are paying attention now. On Mar. 9, the CEO of DP World authorized Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman John Warner (R-Va.) to read lawmakers a press release announcing that the company "will transfer fully the U.S. operations...to a United States entity." [..] Bush press secretary Scott McClellan quickly noted that DP World's concession "does provide a way forward [to] resolve the matter." (See BW, 2/23/06, "Dubai: The Real Shipping News".

That may be wishful thinking. For Bush, the ports backlash has punctured public perceptions of his management skills and has complicated relations with a Middle Eastern ally. It has torpedoed the President's priorities on Capitol Hill and created deep concern among Republicans fearful that the party could lose control of Congress this November. And the collateral damage for the business community is not pretty sight.

"MINIMALIST" AGENDA. Take taxes. Business representatives in Washington realize that a President with job-approval ratings below 40% will not have the clout to help them win their tax agenda. Bush's predicament makes it more likely that business will have to accept offsetting tax hikes, such as curtailing foreign tax credits for oil companies, if it wants to retain low rates on capital gains and dividends. "Let's be serious about it: The President has diminished political capital," says R. Bruce Josten, senior vice-president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. "Last year the business agenda was robust. This year it's minimalist."

Even before the Dubai Ports controversy, companies were scaling back their expectations on Capitol Hill to focus on pension law changes and tax cuts. Now, however, they could be playing defense on a host of new fronts. In particular, Democrats and many Republicans are pushing proposals to give Congress veto power over purchases of American companies by foreign corporations or governments. Such a proposal would stifle foreign direct investment in the U.S., Josten contends. [..]

DETERIORATING IMAGE. Another casualty: Bush's carefully cultivated image as the first MBA President. The botched federal response to Hurricane Katrina, coupled with the ports backlash, have damaged Bush's image as a disciplined, skillful chief executive. [..]

According to a Feb. 28-Mar. 1 Gallup Poll, 40% of Americans believe Bush can manage the government effectively, down from 53% in July, 2005. The biggest skeptics include highly educated professionals. Just 37% of those holding graduate degrees and 39% of those earning between $50,000 and $75,000 give Bush passing marks on management. Among conservatives, 43% told Gallup that Bush is not paying enough attention to what his Administration is doing. [..]

[..] with his poll numbers in a political ditch, the port debacle has contributed to a perception of weakness that has liberated Republicans who once would never have dared cross Bush.

"He has no political capital," said Tony Fabrizio, a Republican pollster. "Slowly but surely it's been unraveling. There's been a direct correlation between the trajectory of his approval numbers and the -- I don't want to call it disloyalty -- the independence on the part of the Republicans in Congress."

[..] many Republicans are less willing to give Bush the benefit of the doubt as they once did. That became evident last year on domestic issues, when they abandoned his Social Security plan, criticized his handling of Hurricane Katrina and forced the withdrawal of Supreme Court nominee Harriet Miers. Just yesterday, the Senate Budget Committee passed a budget resolution that dropped Bush's proposals for tax relief, Medicare cuts and expanded health savings accounts. A frustrated Bush pushed back earlier in the week, accusing Congress of shortchanging Katrina relief efforts.

Now the estrangement increasingly appears even on national security issues, where Republicans long deferred to the president. Recent rebukes run from the ports deal to a ban on torture to Patriot Act revisions forced on Bush in exchange for congressional approval. Partly in the name of national security, Republican leaders also seem poised to dismiss Bush's proposal for a guest-worker program for illegal immigrants.

Fremont man lets Scripture guide bid for U.S. Senate

By MATT SANCTIS
Staff writer


Fed up with the national government, a Fremont man is making a U.S. Senate run on a platform that is anti-gun control, anti-abortion, and pro-prayer in schools. And he's a Democrat who says homosexuality is immoral.

Merrill Keiser Jr., 61, of 317 N. Granville Blvd., is a truck driver and a self-described "Biblicist," according to his business card. But he is campaigning in this year's Democratic primary in the hopes fellow Ohioans share his distaste for the way government is run. In particular, he said the government has been slowly turning from its strict religious roots.

"In my observation and others, the judges have been moving the country toward increasing ungodliness, and I don't like this," he said.

Hence his run for the Senate. A ruddy-faced man with a measured walk and slicked gray hair, Keiser said the best way to change those judges is from a seat in the Senate. Plus, he's not especially fond of the senators currently in office, who he says have been stalling legislation for years. Keiser will be on the Democratic primary ballot and will run against U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, D-Avon.

Sandusky County Democratic Chairperson Barb Tuckerman said the party is not endorsing either candidate. She knew little of Keiser's views on the issues, but was impressed he personally gathered more than 1,000 signatures.

Ohio Democratic Party Chairman Chris Redfern could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

Keiser stressed he doesn't really align himself with either party, but the last time he voted in a primary was the 2004 Democratic primary, against John Kerry. Because he's already registered as a Democrat, that's how he's running.

He said he lost faith in George W. Bush when the president allowed about 60 stem cell lines to be used for research.

Keiser patterns himself after previous legislators such as former Georgia Sen. Zell Miller and William Jennings Bryan, a three-time presidential candidate who also served as prosecutor in the Scopes trial. Bryan unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute a Tennessee teacher accused of breaking the law by teaching evolution in 1925.

"If you teach kids that they're here by accident rather than purposely by somebody putting them here, their self-worth won't be more than any other animal," Keiser said.

He added while he wouldn't personally draft the bill, he would not be opposed to legislation that would make homosexuality a felony offense punishable by death.

Nearly all his stances come from his interpretation of the Bible. After graduating from Colorado State University in 1970 with a degree in watershed management, Keiser said he also attended a seminary school in Denver, where he got a degree in Christian education.

For the most part, he's running the campaign on his own. Keiser doesn't have a staff of interns or enough money to send out ads. To get the 1,000 signatures needed to get on the ballot, he went door to door in Sandusky County. In all, he got 1,144 signatures.

But it's all part of the learning process, he said. He expects to win, but even if he doesn't, he's doing it to stand up for his beliefs.

"I don't claim to know what I'm doing," he said. "I'm just doing it and learning as I go."

That Dubai port thing is an ironic twist to Bush's "fear" tactics. It finally backfired on him. LOL

Tico wrote: "Who's correct on the Dubai deal, c.i. .... Bush or the Democrats who oppose the deal?"

I've always been a "free market" advocate. People must learn to separate crime and economics.

Tico wrote: "Who's correct on the Dubai deal, c.i. .... Bush or the Democrats who oppose the deal?"

I've always been a "free market" advocate. People must learn to separate crime and economics.

Tico, The answer is there; you must learn to "see" the message.