Republicans in the News

[Uli]

Congrats, Michael Steel!

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Uli

Congrats, Michael Steel!

It's Steele.

The following is old news but what the hell.


MONTE SMITH
The Hill of Monte Smith is the site of the Acropolis of ancient Rhodes. The Green and beautifully laid out archaeological park contains the Hellenistic stadium, built in the 3rd century BC, where the Athletic events of the Alioi Games took place. There were a part of the major festival of the Ancient Rhodians held in honoour of the god Ilios.

[rollhead]

Fresh off his stint as a war correspondent in Gaza, Joe the Plumber is now doing political strategy with Republicans.

When GOP congressional aides gather Tuesday morning for a meeting of the Conservative Working Group, Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher – more commonly known as Joe the Plumber — will be their featured guest. This group is an organization of conservative Capitol Hill staffers who meet regularly to chart GOP strategy for the week

[Monte Smith]

Republicans Continue Infiltration of New Admin
Monte Smith News

Senator Judd Gregg is in at Commerce, becoming the third Republican in President Obama's administration. Asked for comment, the former nominee for the position, Governor Bill Richardson, said "Sonuvabitch!"

[Scott Dolan]

Gregg is a pretty smart cat. I've certainly disagreed with him over the years, but he's pretty fucking moderate compared with the rest of them.

I always thought Obama, were he to bring Republicans into his admin would tap the New Englanders.

Surely he has a spot for Olympia Snowe. I hear she draws up some awesome chots!

[LennyH]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Surely he has a spot for Olympia Snowe....

She votes with the Dems too much to risk her getting replaced by another Republican.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

Gregg is a pretty smart cat. I've certainly disagreed with him over the years, but he's pretty fucking moderate compared with the rest of them.

Gregg is one of the most conservative Republicans in the Senate. I suspect that Obama selected him to remove his Senate vote. His appointed successor will almost certainly vote with the Democrats more often than Gregg did, which was almost never.

Summary of voting record.

[Uli]

He is articulate for a Republican!



Thomas Sowell: Why Michael Steele is the right GOP 'talker'

01:51 PM CST on Wednesday, February 4, 2009

After all the hoopla over Barack Obama's becoming the first person of his complexion to be elected president, it was perhaps inevitable that there would be a small echo of that when Michael Steele became the first black head of the Republican National Committee.


For those of us who are still so old-fashioned as to be concerned about someone's ability to do the job, we're more interested in whether Steele can pick up the shattered pieces of the Republicans and put them together again to form a winning party. That is a whale of a job, for anybody of any complexion, gender or whatever.

As a political candidate, the questions about Steele would be the usual ones about his ideology, his track record in office and the like.

As chairman of a political party, however, the question is whether Steele can represent that party to the public. This is especially important when the party is out of power.

One of the huge and perennial handicaps of the Republicans is that they seldom have anybody who can articulate their case to the public. It is hard to win the White House with candidates like Bob Dole and John McCain. That was why Gov. Sarah Palin was such a sensation in arousing the grassroots Republicans. She could talk!

Try to name five articulate Republicans. Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln come to mind. After that, you have to rack your brain.

But Michael Steele can talk. That is even rarer among Republicans than being black.

Too many Republicans don't even seem to understand the need to talk. They seem to think it is something you have to go through the motions of doing but, really, they would rather be somewhere else, doing something else.

When President George H.W. Bush looked at his watch during a nationally televised presidential debate, he epitomized what has been wrong with Republicans for years.

Steele not only knows how to talk, he seems to understand the need to talk. In his appearances on television over the years, he has been assertive rather than apologetic. When attacked, he has counter-attacked, not whined defensively, like too many other Republicans. And when criticizing the current administration, Steele won't have to pull his punches when going after Barack Obama, for fear of being called a racist.

Beyond that, one can only hope that Steele understands what has been so disastrously wrong with the inept way Republicans have gone after the black vote for the past 30 years, by trying to be imitation Democrats. Democrats have pushed policies on numerous issues that are harmful to blacks, especially supporting the teachers unions instead of parental choice.

However good the GOP case is, somebody has to make it. Somebody has to talk.

Thomas Sowell is a Hoover Institution fellow and may be reached through www.tsowell.com.

[Scott Dolan]

The state of the Republican party is so bizarre right now. It's like they are that annoying copycat that we knew when we were kids. The Dems put Hillary out there, so they offer up Palin. Obama wins the Presidency, they put Steele in charge of their party.

It makes them look so incredibly desperate that they are now simply reacting instead of planning and thinking ahead.

[jesus marion joseph]

Using Joe the Plumber as a keynote speaker seems to indicate either 1. the current heads of state of the republican party are dumber than shit, or 2. they simply think their base is dumber than shit, so why not throw some other dumbass out there to affirm their views.

[Gary Sisco]

http://www.first-draft.com/2009/02/r...explained.html

[jesus marion joseph]

"Well, I've done a lot of observing and thinking, and it seems to me that the Republican party stands for two things.

1. Tax cuts are the cure for everything, including the common cold.
2. Fuck you."

That's some pretty funny shit!

[Gary Sisco]

Hard to argue with the logic.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Scott Dolan

The state of the Republican party is so bizarre right now. It's like they are that annoying copycat that we knew when we were kids. The Dems put Hillary out there, so they offer up Palin. Obama wins the Presidency, they put Steele in charge of their party.

It makes them look so incredibly desperate that they are now simply reacting instead of planning and thinking ahead.

The Steele election wasn't in any way a skin color reaction by Republicans to Obama's election. It took him six ballots to win the chairmanship.

[Scott Dolan]

Old Dixiecrat holdouts.

Sorry, I'm never going to accept this as coincidence. After 200+ years as a country, it's just a little too big of one for me to swallow.

[RBS]

Yeah, they do look like copycats, Scott.

Next thing you know, they'll have a bigheaded dude like Keith Olbermann talking about the Bush scandals.

[rollhead]

[rollhead]

[Al in NYC]

Originally Posted by Gordon B

The Steele election wasn't in any way a skin color reaction by Republicans to Obama's election.

You've got to be kidding me...

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Al in NYC

You've got to be kidding me...

Explain to me why it took six ballots and why Steele was trailing as late as the fourth ballot if you think he was put in power because of his skin color.

[Al in NYC]

There are any number of plausible reasons for that, as Steele's election definitely didn't go over well at all in some right-wing quarters. But certainly one plausible reason is that a number of Republicans still have difficulty with voting for, or being led by, a black person.

In any event, when a party whose membership is 90+% white, a party that has gone out of its way to attempt to make it more difficult for minorities to vote and has repeatedly accused them of wholly unproven mass voter fraud, a party whose congressional delegation until recently included several unreconstructed segregationists, and a party that 90% of African-Americans have consistently refused to vote for, suddenly decides to elect its first black chairman after getting its butt well and thoroughly kicked by a black presidential candidate it really is hard to take as a just a coincidence.

Nothing against Michael Steele personally, other than being a nutty Republican (albeit less nutty than most it seems), but it does remind me more than a little of when the GOP brought in token black Republican Alan Keyes (truly nutty) in an utterly futile attempt to beat Obama in the Illinois senate race.

[patricia]

It seems to me that when times are relatively stable, people put more importance on their personal prejudices. But, when they hit the wall, they panic and mis-read WHY they hit the wall and assume that it was something as simple as what race Obama is.
He was simply the best candidate, who captured the imagination, then the trust of those who supported his candidacy and voted for him.
Despite what all the talking heads keep saying about Obama being the first black President, he is much more than that.
He is turning out to be not only a thoughtful polician, but an oasis of calm among knee-jerk children.
If, God forbid, something should happen to him, just replacing him with another black politician would be insane.
It is astounding to me that the Republicans seem to think that black politicians are suddenly interchangeable.
If any good comes out of this it will be the realization that survival will depend on listening to the only grownup in the room.
But, the Republicans seem bent on stubborn self-destruction, rather than working as a team to heal the rift that threatens to destroy not just them, but the country.
Asking for the Republicans' input is smart on Obama's part. They need all hands on deck. But, if there is nothing but divisiveness forthcoming, there will come a time when their requested input will be written off as a bad idea.
Doing nothing is not an option.

[Deke Thornton]

Originally Posted by Gordon B

Explain to me why it took six ballots and why Steele was trailing as late as the fourth ballot if you think he was put in power because of his skin color.

Maybe his nose wasn't black enough.

I mean, he's got a real white guy nose.

[Gordon B]

Originally Posted by Al in NYC

There are any number of plausible reasons for that, as Steele's election definitely didn't go over well at all in some right-wing quarters. But certainly one plausible reason is that a number of Republicans still have difficulty with voting for, or being led by, a black person.

In any event, when a party whose membership is 90+% white, a party that has gone out of its way to attempt to make it more difficult for minorities to vote and has repeatedly accused them of wholly unproven mass voter fraud, a party whose congressional delegation until recently included several unreconstructed segregationists, and a party that 90% of African-Americans have consistently refused to vote for, suddenly decides to elect its first black chairman after getting its butt well and thoroughly kicked by a black presidential candidate it really is hard to take as a just a coincidence.

Nothing against Michael Steele personally, other than being a nutty Republican (albeit less nutty than most it seems), but it does remind me more than a little of when the GOP brought in token black Republican Alan Keyes (truly nutty) in an utterly futile attempt to beat Obama in the Illinois senate race.

Two things.

1. If you are implying that all black Republicans are nutty, then I am very disappointed that you think that way. If you imply that Michael Steele in particular is nutty, than why? There's no need to discuss Alan Keyes who is an embarassment to politics, as hard as that is!
2. Your response that it's plausible that Steele got over the top only because of Obama's skin color is closer to "It's arguable..." then "You've got to be kidding me."

[Uli]

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Elephant in the Room

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Important Things With Demetri Martin

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Joke of the Day

[rollhead]

The NYTs on Bobby Jindal's pile of steaming crap unloaded earlier this week:

February 26, 2009
Governor Jindal, Rising G.O.P. Star, Plummets After Speech
By SHAILA DEWAN
Gov. Bobby Jindal of Louisiana has been a rising star in the Republican Party, but his stock took a hit as he was roundly panned for his televised response to President Obama’s first speech to Congress on Tuesday night.

Conservative commentators were among the harshest critics, calling Mr. Jindal’s delivery animatronic, his prose “cheesy” and his message — that federal spending is not the answer to the nation’s economic problems — uninspired.

Mr. Jindal, 37, the son of Indian immigrants, has been regarded as a potential presidential candidate in 2012 who would bring diversity and youth to a post-Obama Republican Party.

But the speech raised questions.

“This was the moment for him to seize the mantle with new ideas, new direction, and lay the groundwork for himself as a creative new thinker,” said Thomas Schaller, a political scientist at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “He just used old platitudes and party clichés.”

Laura Ingraham, the talk radio host; David Brooks, the New York Times columnist; and Juan Williams of Fox News were among Mr. Jindal’s unimpressed reviewers in television commentary, while Rush Limbaugh defended the governor on his radio show. Several commentators noted that response speeches, in which a designated member of the opposition party delivers a short, canned speech with no live audience, have often been a recipe for failure.

“He went in there with high expectations, probably too high for any politician,” said David Johnson, a Republican political strategist. “Republicans are looking for a voice to lead them out of the wilderness.”

Still, Mr. Johnson said, “it was a flop.”

Asked about the comments, Mr. Jindal’s chief of staff, Timmy Teepell, said that the governor was responding to Mr. Obama, whom he called one of the most gifted speakers in generations. “I think the governor did a great job,” Mr. Teepell said.

In his speech, Mr. Jindal said Republicans would work with Mr. Obama in areas where they agreed with him, and he offered a kind of apology for his party.

“You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline and personal responsibility,” Mr. Jindal said. “Instead, Republicans went along with earmarks and big government spending in Washington. Republicans lost your trust, and rightly so.”

He also promoted his own record of tax and spending cuts and ethics reform in Louisiana.

Mr. Jindal’s first star turn was supposed to come at the Republican National Convention last summer, but he canceled his appearance after Hurricane Gustav hit Louisiana. On Tuesday, he told viewers of his immigrant parentage and his father’s awe of American ingenuity.

“It seemed like part of the speech he was giving was the speech that he was to give at the convention,” said John Maginnis, author of the LaPolitics Weekly newsletter. “And that wasn’t really appropriate for the Republican response.”

Mr. Maginnis said Mr. Jindal could be a very effective communicator when responding to questions or speaking at informal town-hall-style events. “But a prime-time, stand-up-and-deliver speech — he’s yet to master that one,” he said.

Mr. Johnson faulted Mr. Jindal for telling a story about Harry Lee, the sheriff of Jefferson Parish during Hurricane Katrina and who has been repeatedly accused of racial profiling, and for bringing up Hurricane Katrina at all, which Mr. Jindal cited as an example of the failure of big government.

“The one thing Republicans want to forget,” Mr. Johnson said, “is Katrina.”

[rollhead]

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Bobby Jindal's Republican Response

Daily Show Full Episodes
Important Things With Demetri Martin

Funny Political News
Joke of the Day

[Scott Dolan]

I couldn't believe how utterly horrid Jindal's "response" was. It made Obama's platitude riddled speech seem detailed and comprehensive. What a serious misfire.

If he truly is the future of the Republican party, the Dems are going to be in control for a very long time.

[Gentle Giant]

“You elected Republicans to champion limited government, fiscal discipline and personal responsibility,” Mr. Jindal said.

This is priceless. Actually, I think some people elected Republicans so they wouldn't have to see an Indian giving a prime-time response to a Negro.

[tippy]

David Brooks had called it the worst responses in the history of responses.