"The last thing this country needs is two Republican parties," said Senator Edward Kennedy in a speech yesterday at the National Press Club. On the other hand, Senator, if there has been a realignment, your only chance is to become the party that resembles the majority party, at least for thirty years or so. There is much more in the speech worth noting; the crux is that it is a speech entirely in the Progressive/Liberal tradition. Very creative, and boring. I point out, without comment, that Bob Shrum (aka Kennedy guy) has announced his retirement.
The New York Times: "He leaves Washington with a mixed record, having served as an adviser on 26 winning Senate campaigns, perhaps more than any other consultant, but also eight losing presidential campaigns, which may also stand as a record." Shrum will be teaching at New York University. And John Kerry is asking candidates for the DNC chairmanship--as he is vetting them--to stay neutral in the presidential campaign of 2008. This means he is actually thinking of running again.
Kennedy’s speech was predictable and boring to no end; however, during Q&A someone asked about Obama Barak winning D’s & R’s in overwhelming numbers in his Illinois Senate race and wanted to know Kennedy’s reaction. Kennedy’s response was unintentionally hilarious, "Well maybe you should ask Obama Bin Laden that question...".
I wish that I could find the quote, but I will do my best to paraphrase Ann Coulter:
What we need is for the Democrat party to go away. We could still have two political parties: Republicans and liberal Republicans.
That way, liberals could have their abortion and gay marriage. And we will have to parties that will support and defend America.
Thanks for noting this. I heard something about it on a newscast (probably Fox) and was terribly amused...too bad it didn’t get as much play, as it would have had Bush misspoke thus.
Isn’t Bob Shrum 0-14 in campaigns that he has chaired? Is 0-14 a "mixed record"? That kind of feel-good, wishy-washy reasoning is just another reason why most voters don’t want the left running this country.
In our efforts to move towards a state of more civil discourse in this country, I thought a group started by a bunch of college kids from Virginia has the right idea.
They call it OrangeBand. They hand out orange strips of fabric that can be taken and personlized to represent an issue important to whomever decides to wear one. Then, when the band is displayed on a bag or somewhere else it can be used as a conversation starter. Together with educational forums, they are trying to bring us back into normal, constructive dialogue on a daily basis.
Good ideas are always simple. Check it out at
www.OrangeBand.org