Well, its the day after. the Dems are in the House (maybe the Senate too), and the world has not ended. I agree with Swanny, its a pendulum thing. The GOP had its shot for 12 years and made something of a mess of it. Not saying the Dems won't too. In two years, if things are not on a better track than now, vote the Dems out!
Here in Ohio, we have had a major sea change in the Statehouse. After 16 years of GOP control, we have a Dem governor. He seems like a good man and I voted for him. His opponent was aligned early with the religious right, which really bothered me. Although I am myself a Christian and many of my fellow church members are very involved with GOP politics, we (my family) do not necessarily support all GOP candidates. The one I did support, Senator Mike DeWine, lost.
Politically, I am an Independent. I vote for whom I think will do a better job and cause the least amount of damage.
This election really was a referendum on W. It signifies that voters are ready for a change. Bush has done nothing but play partisan politics since the day he was appointed President. There is no compromise with this man. His mentality is "my way or the highway." Maybe that's why everything he's done, from his business ventures to running the Texas Rangers (the baseball team, not the law enforcement agency) to being the Chief Executive, have been abysmal failures.
I'm not saying that the Republican congressional leadership didn't continually shoot themselves in the foot (see Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Mark Foley, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney, etc.), but the voters' displeasement with the Bush administration's policies was the straw that broke the camel's back.
Now we turn our attentions towards the presidential election in '08. Here is the likely list of candidates for both parties as I see it:
Democratic: Clinton (I gotta be honest here-if she gets the nomination, I'll vote for her but I won't like it) Obama (who I really like-I've been a supporter of his since he was my state senator in the Illinois General Assembly)
Republican: Frist (there's a reason why he didn't run for re-election) Mitt Romney (see above) Jeb Bush (don't think he isn't thinking about running) Condi (she'll put her name out there, probably hoping to be the nominee's running mate)
I know it's traditional for the VP of the outgoing administration to run for the presidency, but I seriously doubt if Cheney will run. Political campaigns are very stressful, and I just don't think his heart could take it.
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Mike F.
May the Irish hills caress you. May her lakes and rivers bless you. May the luck of the Irish enfold you. May the blessings of Saint Patrick behold you.
Group: Super Moderator
Posts: 11,253
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Well, we Republicans got absolutely hammered and absolutely deserved it. We had opportunities to get a lot of things done and didn't do it. I'm not happy with the results, but I can't blame people for the way they voted. We'll see what the next two years bring.
MDF, you make some great points, but if you look at the Bush record in Texas, he did a great job their of forging bipartisan coalitions. He had to deal with Bill Hobby, who was a legendary Democrat in Texas. Nothing could get done in the legislature without his approval. Bush won him over and Texas was the better for it. I think the President failed to bring that to the table in Washington. I will say that the Yellow Dog Democrats of Texas are certainly not the same as the Democrats of the eastern establishment. Perhaps W had way too much naiveté about the inner workings of the Beltway.
So. I'll lick my wounds and come back to fight another day. BTW, John, I'm glad you voted and that you were conscious when you did it !
I would also add McCain and Guliani to the list of Republican hopefuls, neither of which excites me very much.
Have a great day, all!
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Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. -- John Quincy Adams
Do your duty in all things. You cannot do more, you should never wish to do less - Robert E. Lee
For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved - Romans 10:13 (KJV)
The Lord is good, a strong hold in the day of trouble, and he knoweth them that trust in him - Nahum 1:7 (KJV)
Two republicans I would vote for (for president) in a heartbeat: John McCain and Colin Powell. Hillary as pres? Not a snowball's chance in hell. Where I live, she is the boogeyman (or is that boogeywoman?). She is absolutely hated. She is pointed to as everything that is wrong with Dems or liberals.
I am not sure the country is ready for Obama. He is a good man though.
Haynes is correct when he refers to GWB's record in Texas. He is known for reaching bipartisan accord...when he has to!
Now that the Democrats have also taken the senate, the grin on my face is even wider. But I do have one regret looming in my face, and that is, the craggy, winning, tell tail face, of Joe Lieberman. He blows which ever way the wind blows.
And as far as John McCain is concerned, I lost all respect for him. The day he jumped on the religious band wagon, and folded like a cheep camera, when he came out against torture. It makes me feel like he gave up more then just his name, rank, and serial number. The very instant he was captured.
Now that the Democrats have also taken the senate, the grin on my face is even wider. But I do have one regret looming in my face, and that is, the craggy, winning, tell tail face, of Joe Lieberman. He blows which ever way the wind blows.
And as far as John McCain is concerned, I lost all respect for him. The day he jumped on the religious band wagon, and folded like a cheep camera, when he came out against torture. It makes me feel like he gave up more then just his name, rank, and serial number. The very instant he was captured.
Hey JC. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that the Government is all just a big game. You have to do what you have to do to survive. Not saying that that's the right thing to do.
Two republicans I would vote for (for president) in a heartbeat: John McCain and Colin Powell. Hillary as pres? Not a snowball's chance in hell. Where I live, she is the boogeyman (or is that boogeywoman?). She is absolutely hated. She is pointed to as everything that is wrong with Dems or liberals.
I am not sure the country is ready for Obama. He is a good man though.
Haynes is correct when he refers to GWB's record in Texas. He is known for reaching bipartisan accord...when he has to!
I used to like McCain, but that was before he started toeing the party line on the Sunday morning talk show circuit, most likely in hopes of W endorsing him for the presidency in '08. I guess the "Straight Talk Express" has been derailed.
I don't like Hillary either. She's grated on me ever since she was the First Lady. She's just too polarizing a figure.