Strengthening Constitutional Self-Government

No Left Turns

Moderates deserting GOP and GWB?

That may be the message of this WaPo poll and certainly is the message of this E. J. Dionne, Jr. column.

My take? As long as the Republicans stand for something and the Democrats for nothing, some of those in the middle will side with the obstructionists. But when the Democrats are forced to adopt a positive agenda, they lose, unless they themselves move to the center.

Will Democratic candidates make centrist noises? No doubt. Will the base and the donors actually put up with a concrete centrist campaign platform? Doubt. Will Republicans let the Democrats get away with only paying lip service to centrist positions? Let’s hope not.

Update:For flaws in the composition of the poll, see John Hinderaker’s characteristically perceptive post at Powerline., as well as James Taranto’s criticisms here.

Discussions - 11 Comments

Or we Republicans could take back the center ourselves, if we returned to our true principles - fiscal responsibility, individual rights, etc. - and stopped running to the right on every issue and focusing on issues that do much to distract but nothing to solve problems ...


- Charging RINO


www.chargingrino.com

But, Mr Knippenberg, Democrats have introduced bills that address America’s real challenges. (Details attached)

1. Women’s Health Care (S. 844). "The Prevention First Act of 2005" will reduce the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions by increasing funding for family planning and ending health insurance discrimination against women.

2. Veterans’ Benefits (S. 845). "The Retired Pay Restoration Act of 2005" will assist disabled veterans who, under current law, must choose to either receive their retirement pay or disability compensation.

3. Fiscal Responsibility (S. 851). Democrats will move to restore fiscal discipline to government spending and extend the pay-as-you-go requirement.

4. Relief at the Pump (S. 847). Democrats plan to halt the diversion of oil from the markets to the strategic petroleum reserve. By releasing oil from the reserve through a swap program, the plan will bring down prices at the pump.

5. Education (S. 848). Democrats have a bill that will: strengthen head start and child care programs, improve elementary and secondary education, provide a roadmap for first generation and low-income college students, provide college tuition relief for students and their families, address the need for math, science and special education teachers, and make college affordable for all students.

6. Jobs (S. 846). Democrats will work in support of
legislation that guarantees overtime pay for workers and sets a fair minimum wage.

7. Energy Markets (S. 870). Democrats work to prevent Enron-style market manipulation of electricity.

8. Corporate Taxation (S. 872). Democrats make sure companies pay their fair share of taxes to the U.S. government instead of keeping profits overseas.

9. Standing with our troops (S. 11). Democrats believe that putting America’s security first means standing up for our troops and their families

"Abusing power is not what the American people sent us to Washington to do. We need to address real priorities instead -- fight for relief at the gas pump, stronger schools and lower health care costs for America’s families," said Senator Reid (D-NV)

Rare is the opportunity to see such ridiculous posturing. Seeking a floor vote for nominees who have been denied hearings for four years is hardly "running to the right." If anything, the Republicans in the Senate should be criticized for taking so damn long to do anything about this appalling situation.

The sworn duty of the MSM is to throw a wet blanket on all things Republican and conservative. It is tiresome and repetitious but the good thing is that more and more Americans are realizing the fact. That is why the MSM is losing credibility with each passing day. Maybe they will, someday, lose their MSM status and drop to the fringes where they belong. We can only hope.

John Hinderaker has re-affirmed my belief that Democrats (liberals) are masters of cooked polls and surveys. They are but tools of the trade (the trade being liberal propaganda) for them. Just think of the consequences if their exit polls had done the job for Kerry last November.

America and Spain would have a lot more in common. Not to mention France.

A liberal friend of mine just showed me a quote from some jock at ESPN. The guy was mocking FOX NEWS’s "Fair and Balanced" slogan. My lib friend was gloating trimphant.

I guess they have to take their little victories where they can.

Just a bunch o’ frauds. . .

"Concerned..."

Just how do these things address America’s "real challenges?" Let’s go point by point:
1. Increasing funding for "family planning" means what? What organizations are involved? Planned Parenthood, or a Christian right-to-life organization? And why does Federal money need to be involved? And what "health insurance discrimination" do they refer to?
2. Can’t really argue with that.
3. That would be a first; will they raise our taxes to the pre-Reagan levels to "erase the deficit?"
4. What horse-crap! Rising gas prices are due to rising oil prices which are caused by significantly increased demand from other rapidly growing economies like India and China. Releasing from the strategic reserve will not fix the problem.
5. In other words, the problem is that there isn’t enough money...the same old argument that has been proved many times to be false.
6. Ah, yes, "minimum wage," which economists have repeatedly stated is the main reason for reduced employment.
7. Nad how would they do that? More government, i.e. more taxes, more bureacracy?
8. And what, exactly, is "fair share?" The government does NOT need to be telling corporations how to do business when it can’t keep its own books straight!
9. Considering that it was Democrats that stripped the military during the Clinton era, this claim is hardly credible. In addition, it is Democrats who have been consistently and most vocally against the War on terror, Iraq, and Afghanistan. Again, their credibility on this issue is questionable at best.

So, essentially, it is the same old Party line: more government, more taxes, same old failures.

Of course, if you were being sarcastic, my arguments are irrelevant.

Here is an excellent article about how the Democrats can begin to get bak on their feet. Hooray for a free USA Today in convo . . .

If Carville really wants his party to be seen as the party of "faith, family, and flag," perhaps he should offer this advice instead:

Stop suing veryone who utters the word "God" in public.

Stop blocking Bill Pryor because his Catholic.

Tell Ted Kennedy to quit comparing Bush to Saddam, and making statements like his press release yesterday that add nothing to the debate but provide a constant stream of propaganda for America’s enemies. And tell "moveon" to finally live up to their name.

Perhaps, if you are really looking for broader support, it would have been best to not throw a two-month tempertantrum after the elections. Using conspiracy theories to explain Bush’s relative easy victory, crying (?!) when the Senate accepted the electoral college vote, and collectively decrying the majority voters as morons and backwaters who only voted for Bush because we didn’t know better.

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