cicerone imposter wrote:yessssirrrr
Scotch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HeyMan!
Lash wrote:Love the Rude-ster.
Did you see Hillary accused of paying off the SC blacks for that endorsement?
Hmmm. (Of course, I KNEW IT (who didn't), but I didn't know they'd find out so soon...)
The Rude Man talks about Abortion and stuff in South Carolina...
Tells it like it is... 
You have to love the way he fields those kind of questions... "That's right, I said it"... if you listen closely between the lines you can almost here him say
now go f*ck yourself in a casual tone.
Rudy scares me in two ways. First, I think he's the dangerous candidate re the election and second, I think he's running for base motives (power and self-aggrandisement). It seems to me that McCain wishes the presidency for reasons of citizenship...to make things better. Which of the two of them dominates up the road will likely have a lot to do with whether the right in America continues its love for and trust in the loud and self-certain authoritarian bully type.
McCain, reaching for the religious right, is increasingly perceived as 'pandering'. Of course, he is. He has to in the same manner as Romney and Guiliani have to accomodate this base in some realistic manner. But it hurts McCain more than the others precisely because his prior reputation has rested upon integrity, honesty and a refusal to pander.
But it is certainly the case that having Romney, Guiliani and McCain as the Republican hopefuls comes as a significant surprise, each of them previously discounted by pretty much everyone because of their prior statements/positions regarding (particularly) social/religious matters. That clearly signals an overall move away from prior extremisms. That movement seems likely to continue and the RNC will have to adapt to it while trying to keep the RR on board. That will be tougher than it has been in three decades.
I have to admit that there is a positive in all of this. Each of these three men look to represent a level of ideological and personal independence (and intelligence) which we cannot attribute to George Allen or to George Bush or to many others who've risen in the new conservative movement. That's a very good thing in and of itself.
McCain is too inconsisten to trust him as our president. I prefer the other "two" conservative candidates.
Here's an interesting piece I just bumped into on Guiliani from a New York writer... I'll quote one bit which made me laugh out loud.
Quote:In his second term, Giuliani showed himself to be a classic micromanager, unable to delegate and unwilling to share the spotlight. He had already driven out William Bratton, his victorious chief of police, in a battle over credit. Bratton's fate was sealed when he, not Rudy, appeared on the cover of Time. Nor could Giuliani abide mockery. He went to court to try to stop New York magazine from advertising itself on the sides of buses as "POSSIBLY THE ONLY GOOD THING IN NEW YORK RUDY HASN'T TAKEN CREDIT FOR."
http://www.slate.com/id/2160285/
I remember the spat between them. Bratten was following his mayor's directive, and there was a laudable success.
Generally, when a subordinate succeeds by following his superior's plan, you know who gets the credit.
Still, the "story" has been framed as blatham's article suggests.
Cheney fundamentally disagrees with everybody. They're all so confused, they don't know who's side they're on.
'Secretive' Christian conservative club 'dismayed at the absence of a champion to carry their banner in the next election'
link
I was just going to link to that, blue.
This crowd is in serious "what the hell do we do now?" mode. The combination of their extremist ideas/policies in combination with neoconservative ideas/policies under this administration has worked up a witches brew that voters are deeply unhappy with. As the article points out, there's no one apparent who looks inclined to forward their agenda or even to serve as a pliable and electable puppet. I really expect that Ralph Reed was their big hope but if he escapes jail now it will be by a hair.
This is what I think they will do.
1) conclude they have to make the best of it with either of the three boys presently out front while cutting deals with him exchanging support for promises/appointments. I hope they are crazy enough to blow apart and go for a third party but I suspect they aren't that stupid.
2) almost certainly, the next election will be lost to them anyway, so
3) out of power, they'll revert to previous strategies...network building, getting people into points of local and systemic power (school boards, party machinery, state government, K Street, etc), increasing media ownership/control, and ferocious sustained attacks and opposition to any new Dem president and any/all programs he/she forwards particularly those which will likely produce a sustained advantage for the dems, like universal medical care (I recently found and posted a quote from the beginning of the Clinton presidency where Bill Kristol advising republicans to fight tooth and nail against Hillary Clinton's health care project because it would produce serious electoral benefits for the dem party... phuck the sick and poor).
From today's Chicago Tribune (page 3)
The Christian conservatives have Obama, McCain, Brownback and some other no-name Republican.
Obama's Christian but his church is really liberal. One of the first to allow gay clergy, one of the first to have women... pastors? (not sure about terminology), very diverse congregation, etc., etc.
McCain badmouthed them (Christian conservatives) and they're mad at him.
Brownback isn't viable (I'd hope anyway, he's a nutcase).
They're in trouble.
Re Obama---I thought the most important thing to the Religious Right was the anti-gay marriage stance. That's what gave Bush the win last time. Ohio made the difference, and they polled after voting heavily on that issue (in the guise of religion...)
He goes to church.
He's pro-CP--another favorite of the RR.
Where is he on abortion?
Re McCain-- I thought he just made a complete fool of himself making in-roads to the RR.
Also, re Brownback. I thought the RR was so powerful they could "make" a Presidential candidate...
I'll have to look into this further.
Obama's pro-abortion, so a problem with the RR.
Here is McCain's story:
McCain + RR = Collapse of credibility
Capital Punishment--he makes headway with them on that.
He really has alot to attract the RR.
McCain is working them, though.
Again, I see "pro-CP" as simplistic when it comes to Obama -- he has a lot of problems with the current system, supported Gov. Ryan's moratorium on Illinois executions, etc.
I think Obama is WAY too liberal for the RR.
