Is there an “enthusiasm gap?;” Update: Record turnout in Florida
Update: Maybe that NYT-reported gap is closing, after all. Florida primary turnout “may set record,” says the Miami Herald. Nearly one million in the Sunshine State have cast early and absentee ballots. “The last time there was a contested presidential primary on both the Republican and Democratic sides, only about 19 percent of Florida voters, or 1.34 million, cast ballots. But numbers assembled by the political parties show that more than 988,000 people had voted by Sunday. And thousands more voted Sunday afternoon in the seven Florida counties, including Miami-Dade and Broward, that were still conducting early voting. Lines at some early voting sites in South Florida snaked around buildings and stretched out onto sidewalks.”
***
As Floridians head to the polls, the NYTimes touts an “enthusiasm gap” between Democrats and Republicans. Is it that Republicans are less enthused about their presidential candidates–or that Democrats have more BDS-fueled energy to channel into the race?
In the first four contests in which both parties have competed, the Democrats have set records for turnout and substantially exceeded the Republican showing, according to state parties and state election tallies.
In South Carolina on Saturday, for example, more than 530,000 Democrats voted, nearly twice the Democratic turnout of 2004, and nearly 20 percent higher than the Republican vote the week before.
Other indicators of an enthusiasm gap show up in polls, with more Democrats than Republicans reporting excitement about voting this year and a strong commitment to their candidate, according to recent New York Times/CBS News polls. Democratic presidential candidates have also regularly out-raised the Republicans in campaign cash.
Some Republicans are downplaying the trend:
Republican Party analysts also note that both Ronald Reagan and the senior George Bush were elected after Republican primaries in which turnout was lower than in the Democratic primaries.
“Democrats seem to frequently ignore the lessons of history, and they do so in 2008 at their own peril,” said Alex Conant, a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
And others are depending on Hillary to be the glue that re-binds the cracked-up party:
Richard N. Bond, former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a lobbyist, said there was no reason for his party to “hit the panic button.” A nominee will emerge in his party, Mr. Bond said, and present a clear enough contrast to the Democratic nominee that “it will reinvigorate the entire Republican operation.”
Alluding to the possibility of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton as the Democratic nominee, Mr. Bond added, “No one has the capacity to put the band back together again as much as she has.”
Is that enough?
***
From Bryan Preston, stark contrasts between the parties like this help:
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Bush is red meat for the Dhimicrats and frankly, conservatives have had no reason to be excited.
Nope,not for me. There are no real conservatives running.
The Rev Al Sharpton to the former President of the United States.
http://imustimes.wordpress.com/2008/01/28/rev-al-to-wild-bill-just-shut-up/
Bill Clinton’s Dr Frankenstein moment, when his creation turns on him.
Whatever - the Phlegm ‘n Crap Party is gonna win, and all the blogging in the world ain’t gonna make any difference.
Even outside the blogosphere, the GOP base is depressed and deflated that they have no conservatives to vote for. Losing 10% or more of the base would be an unsurmountable obstacle. And it looks like that obstacle is firmly in place. It’s going to be a record-breaking phenomenon.
There’s got to be an option for conservatives that doesn’t involve voting for RomneyCare or McAmnesty or staying home. What should it be?
It is not a lack of enthusiasm for this upcoming election by Republicans. It is because Republicans have not known who the nominee would be. Why throw away money on a campaign that is not going to win the nomination? Democrats have known it would be either Hillary or Obama and so have been giving a lot more. Once we know the nominee, then the average Republican will start donating.
What the heck is there to be excited about?!?!?
The only choices are democrat or democrat-lite.
Both parties are exactly the same when it comes to their desire to screw the middle class.
Democrats want to take from the middle class and give to the poor lower class.
Republicans want to take from the middle class and give to the rich upper class.
Pick your poison… you’re screwed either way, if you’re not rich or poor!
That tax cut video says it all.It has been proven time after time that tax cuts make the country richer.It is a sick person that wants to pay more taxes.Even a far loon leftie should see that.I am patiently waiting for my enthusiasm to sprout.
Both.
Uh…speaking for myself, if McCain is the nominee I’ll spend the rest of the election year trying to avoid seeing or hearing anything about politics…not an easy thing to do. On the other hand, Romney is conservative enough, as far as I can tell, to enthuse a contribition or two from me. For now just wait and see.
Just got back from voting at Florida polls, wading through the Paul-nuts, Republicans were standing in line to vote — much more than on a regular election day. Busy shop.
BTW, Donks pulled their Florida delegates to reserve them for Clinton, so Democrats had little reason to be there.
Absentee ballots and voting were running way ahead of last election in my county, so said the workers, the enthusiasm gap is all in the useless minds the NYSlimes writers.
The only conservative candidate bowed out of the race just before the Florida primary. All we have left are “centrists” and RINOs. Not much to become enthused about. I held my nose and voted for Ann Coulter’s choice. The best of the worst.
If McCain’s the nominee what would there be to be juiced up about.We will never vote for McCain.If there is going to a amnesty and give a way to the illegal immigrants let Clinton or Obama do it.Hell even though I disagree with everything Obama stands for he gives a hell of a speech while old man McCain fumbles with his cue cards.What a picture that will make if it’s Obama vs McCain.A well spoken taller younger man against a old 28yr in the Senate old short McCain.How people speak and appear on TV matters it doesn’t to me but many people do not pay attention to the issues and since this is supposed to be a change election the above picture would really be somehting to see.
Everytime I think of TEAM MCCAIN I want to throw up.Graham,Martinez,Dr.Juan and the whole amnesty gang.Will be hoping like heck Romney pulls it out in Flordia.They had a poll at the National Review online last night that showed Romney +2 but in the margin of error.Zogby has a new poll this morning claiming momentum for McCain +4 I belive but still too close to call.Although he seems to imply McCain has all the momentum of course on election eve of 2004 he and his polls predicted a Kerry win.
The back in time gang, what do they have to offer that is new? Well they want to give jobs to illegals and you know who that will impact the most. I won’t embarrass them by mentioning them by name, but they continue to make idiotic decisions. If an open borders candidate is elected these same people can look forward to another 100 years of poverty it won’t matter how much these pols steal from the rest of us. Hey, I’m through caring about people who are stuck on stupid. Go ahead vote yourself off the island, see if I care.
The only thing that shocks me is the fact that in spite of the extremely dangerous times we live in these are the best candidates they could put forward. They are refighting the 60’s and this is satisfactory for dems in the 21st century? Absolutely pathetic. These people won’t make it on their own, left to their own devices alkayda eats them alive heck they might even vote for one as long as it feels right. If you think America is holding you down or getting in the way of your success in spite of all the opportunities out there you might want to reconsider whether you are really cut from American stock.
Don’t forget that plenty of moderates and conservatives suffer from what MM blithely calls “BDS,” too. Why? Because Bush himself generates it with his many foolish and destructive “policies.” You can’t ignore his idiocy; he can’t get himself past it, so why should we? Because he is allegedly a Republican?
Excitement? Dems are waiting for the Messiah, and eagerly grasp anyone with the slightest potential of being The One. The Kennedys are the best example of this: they love Osama Obama because they see him as the resurrection of the phony Camelot without which they would be as meaningless as they deserve to be.
Conservatives are simply looking for a leader. That isn’t as sexy as looking for the Second Coming as the Dems do.
A leader listens, learns and acts. That’s far different from someone who “takes care of us for our own good” while arrogating power for themselves.
Sadly, right now, a majority of the American people seem to want the latter.
If it’s a race between McCain and Obama, expect to watch as millions and millions of Republicans simply stay home on voting day.
What’s to lose? Well, ok several thousand innocent American lives when the Islamist mutts next attack. But other than that?
The Dems get to run the Executive Branch and the Legislative Branch. And you know how badly they’ll screw things up.
The blacks get to have a black as President. From then on perhaps we no longer have to listen to their incessant whining about racism in America. Just that relief alone would be worth taking a chance.
And maybe the Repubs would learn a lesson. OK, this is highly unlikely given how little they learned from the 2006 debacle. But it would be nice to see the arrogant peacock whose name is McCain go back to Arizona with his tail feathers tucked under his clipped wings.
Me, I’m voting on principle or I’m not voting on principle. Let the “Party of Even Bigger Government” be warned.
I live in Central Florida in a fairly conservative district. I spent a half hour at the polls this AM and noted that 9 out of 10 people received a Republican ballot; those who did not were divided between Dhimmocrat and Non-partisan. That says to me that the fight is not over.
However, it is true that all polls seem to show that the country is in the mood to elect Democrats and that, for reasons that escape me, at least 50% say Democrats are “stronger on national security” (i.e., they are willing to surrender faster).
This does not bode well for us, especially since they will run up the white flag, prostrate themselves before the UN and our “European allies” and impose a socialist medical program that will kill us all, despite the abject failures of Canada and the UK to provide even basic service despite having only a fraction of the population of the U.S.
I don’t think there is less enthusiasm, just less focus. The Dem race has become a two-donkey field, while the Repub race is still fairly wide-open.
if i’m not mistaken, didn’t Mitt beat ALL of the candidates at least 3 fold in Navada?
besides, i can’t tell if the democratic turn out is for Obama or against Hillary. it may not be enthuesiam at all, but fear.
obama, clinton or mccain there really isn’t much difference in their political ideals and/or record.
if mccain isn’t sent packing this will be a brokered convention; and i believe that huck the schmuck and mcamnesty have worked out a deal for it to go to mcamnesty. let’s hope that the delegates are listening to the base and those that do not have to commit their votes sway away from mcamnesty.
This particular conservative isn’t that enthused because there isn’t a single Republican candidate still in the race that I would actually want to be POTUS. Why should I be enthused about the Republican choices when I’m reduced to deciding which conservative blogger best exemplifies my political views so I can use them as a write-in candidate in November?
To get a Reagan we had to have a Carter.
The Dems are enthusiastic? Like the Gov of Kansas post state of the union address.
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2008/01/lean-to-left-lean-to-right-stand-up-sit.html
Judging by most of the comments above I’m going to guess the NYT is right this time. A lot of glass-half-empty folks in here today………
Gee, I wonder why. What are those demographics again?
That makes me feel a little better.
I haven’t voted yet today and no, I’m not that enthusiastic. However, I feel like the MSM is trying to put an end to the Republicans by saying only the Dems are excited about voting. I don’t trust polls and I don’t trust the MSM.
Looks better this way.
Keep your powder dry, mates, for we are in for four tough years. I think it’s true, there *is* an enthusiasm gap. Why?
Oh, I dunno… anyone else see that RINO on TV last night? And compared to McCain or Romney, Dubya is Teddy Roosevelt.
When Fred pulled out, the last hope for conservatism pulled out - and that’s where the “enthusiasm” in this party has always come from: its conservative roots. Not Romney’s perfect grooming, or McCain’s curmudgeon-mania. Conservatism is what gave Reagan his aura. It’s what made Newt Gingrich the leader he was there, for awhile.
Hillary has negatives that would give one of the RINO’s a chance. Obama? His race will work against him, for sure. Like it or not, rascism is real and can’t be ignored. It will also work for him, of course, since the black vote would go something like 95% in his favor. Hard to net it out, I’d guess.
But both McCain and Romney face a daunting challenge, because they are KNOWN to be RINO’s… and people like me are fed up. I don’t know how many people, like me, will show up on voting day and vote for every other item on the ballot - but will not pull the lever for a RINO.
Our non-vote will be our protest. Will it cost the RINO’s the election?
Like I say there are a lot of other issues giving each candidate serious baggage, but I’m guessing it will.
I see a Democratic presidency coming.
If I were the RNC, I’d be taking a hard, hard look at how to win back either the house or the senate, or things could get very ugly in another few months…
Excuse me for being a one issue voter, but pulling the lever for Romney against one of the Dems will be easy, even if Mitt still has not a single hair out of place. McCain? I’ll vote for my friend that I always vote for when there is no real choice, he won’t win, but I will have done the right thing.
I voted just before 8:00 AM. Turnout at that time was light. I was surprised at the number of candidates names still on the ballot.
But when I was leaving I was handed a brochure titled Why Stand in Line? Vote in the Comfort of Your Home. It contains a postcard to request a ballot. A postcard! No envelope required. No security provided.
Between this and early voting; how many have already voted? And how many made false choices. It’s called Election day for a reason.
Something else to add; I am a registered Republican and have been for years. This is the first time in memory I received no get out the vote phone calls, no email solicitations, and no direct mail of any kind. Radio, TV, and Ron Paul yard signs. That was it.
http://www.votepinellas.com/index.php?id=67
BOB,
I’m sure there will be many people who feel the same way, just like there are always people who feel like me in every election.
What I’m saying is the relative balance has shifted.
A lot of us viewed Dubya as a really tough compromise in 2004. He had shown himself to be fiscally reckless, and his prosecution of the war certainly wasn’t endearing anyone.
But - even though he squandered the years when he had a Republican Congress - most conservatives felt that his positives outweighed his negatives enough to allow us to pull that lever. It was “against Kerry” more than it was for Dubya, for sure, but we did it.
Had we known Dubya’s position on immigration, I’m not sure he’d be president today. It was that close for a LOT of people.
And, like I say, compared to McCain or Romney, Dubya is *reactionary.*
McCain’s attack on Romney as being a liberal governor in Massachusetts is *legitimate.* He was liberal across a *broad* range of issues.
Romney’s attack on McCain as a liberal is *legitimate.* Ann Coulter does a great job at showing how McCain votes liberal more often than many democrats. He is also *broadly* liberal.
I’m just saying that this is too much, and there will be a lot more “anti-RINO” backlash than there was 4 years ago.
As with most of these things, the balance is so close that a shift like this is often decisive.
I won’t be happy with a demoncrat in the white house, but I’m tired of voting against my principals and then having to live with myself.
The people want bread and circuses? Grease up your chariots…
Heard on RUSH and read on Drudge that Independents are voting in some areas of FL.
How is THAT possible??????????????
I want to see a brokered convention and then have the powers that be wise up and call for Newt Gingrich to be the nomination. After all, the Democrats’ message is for Change and Newt was well ahead of them on that issue (and all others). Not only does he call for change, he lays out how to go about it. There is no way any Dem can debate him as well.
I will not vote for Juan McPain but i will vote all other CONSERVATIVES on my ballot…local, state and federal candidates. CONSERVATIVES not Republicans. I no longer can vote for a candidate just because of an R preceding their name. I have accepted the fact without Romney (he is what the country needs…a smart business man from outside of Washington) the country will suffer great financial hardships in the next few yrs. Might even become worse than the Carter fiasco yrs. High taxes, high unemployment, high interest rates, high inflation rates, higher cost of living and the reduction in our military defense(thx for that one bubba).
Independents can vote for issues only.
Remember the Democrats chanting “Every vote counts.” Well I guess Florida votes don’t count now with the Democrats. Something is fishy about that party.
It’ll have to be.
OK, so we won’t get a reincarnation of Ronald Reagan for the Republican nominee. What about it? I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: not every choice is between “good” and “bad.” Sometimes what you get is to decide between “bad” and “worse.” That’s life. Deal with it.
Do many conservatives consider McCain to be “bad?” You bet. Would Obama or Hillary - hell, any donk - be far worse? That qualifies under the category, “Self-Evident Truth.”
– Try a Supreme Court with another 2 or 3 Ginsbergs or Souters. Try HillaryCare 2.0, or John Edwards as Attorney General. How about doing the “Bug-Out Boogie” from Iraq and watching the whole region devolve into nuclear-armed chaos? Habeus Corpus, domestic criminal trials and NLG/ACLU lawyers for terrorists, anyone? Raise my taxes, please! Borders, schmorders, fence, schmence! Let untold millions of “Undocumented Americans” (i.e., future donk voters) come on in!
– It’s called “The Parade of Horrors,” folks, and we’re all going to get strapped into front-row seats for it if “worse” prevails over “bad.”
When it comes to the bottom line of this election, there is an unmistakable quality of carping and whining I’m seeing from many people on the right that is equally distasteful and foolish. If you take your ball and stay at home on election day, or if you cast some “protest” vote for a hopeless 3rd-party candidate, make no mistake: you are voting donk.
And you will bear part of the responsibility for the disastrous consequences of that “vote.”
To those who think that letting the donks change our national anthem from “The Star-Spangled Banner” to “Highway to Hell” will have some kind of tonic effect because it’ll “teach the Republicans a lesson,” just remember that come election day the donks and their fellow-travelers will be out in force - for they are motivated by implaccable hatred and unquenchable anger instead of ennui and self-pity - and they’re not in a mood to take any prisoners. Sit on your hands or suck your thumbs at your own - and everybody else’s - peril.
We don’t have to like it, but the fact is the Republican Party - for all its faults and shortcomings - remains the most effective bulwark against donkey rule. Until something better comes along, which isn’t likely in the near future, I’ll have my shoulder against that bulwark even if I don’t like whose name is written on it.
Because I know that what’s on the other side of that bulwark is far, far worse to contemplate, not to mention experience.
What’s on the other side of the bulwark is worse? Not to me.
I say it’s time for tough love. Like prohibition, 90 years ago. Let the country make the dumb choice. Let everyone “feel good” about open borders, deficit spending, and muslim attacks from all points of the compass. A chicken in every pot? We can do better than that: free healthcare for every human, dog, cat, and rodent in America. Free tuition, forever, for as long as Junior wants to remain a professional student.
Let “the rich” pay for all of this. Yeah, that’ll work…
And, like prohibition, we’ll eventually wake up and do what’s right.
This death by a thousand cuts is just that - death. Who would have thought 6 years ago that our post 9/11 border would still be this open? Who would have thought that a Republican President AND congress would inherit a good Federal Budget and trash it again? Who would have thought that Social Security would still be a ticking bomb?
Dubya and the congress flubbed the prosecution of this war, but other presidents (including Lincoln) have done worse. I can’t blame a man who sincerely tries, but simply doesn’t get it right for a few years.
People died because of those mistakes, but I can live with that. None of us are perfect.
But those other things, like immigration, and a debt that is now crushing the dollar and our economy, etc.?
I agree with you: you have to deal with “bad” and “worse.”
I just have a different definition of worse - and I don’t think I’m alone.
I think the anti-RINO backlash is going to be significant this year.
Regulus
Well put. I just hope and pray that all the people who say they would jump to Obama or sit out if McAmnesy gets the nomination think long and hard. The damage that Hitlary or Obama would do to this country might not be something we could ever recover from. Thinking we could come roaring back in 2012 a gamble I’m not willing to chance. The Supreme Court could take a generation to fix. Terrorist could destroy this country completely.
Ronald Reagan isn’t on the ballot and neither is Newt would eat Hitlary or Obama for lunch in a debate. We have to hope for the best of the rest at this point because the other possibility is going to be the country’s worst nightmare.
I do have one interesting suggestion for VP if Fred isn’t on the ticket. I know he wouldn’t accept but how about JC Watts? He is young and articulate conservative. Wouldn’t that be a twist that would leave the left scratching their heads trying to combat?
BOTH.
Really, if you can’t see it, you’re blind. The Right is tired and disappointed- we feel like we’re fighting harder than the people we elected, we feel like they payed us lip-service for the past decade or more, and we question their sincerity.
The Dems, on the other hand, have been throwing the mother of all temper-tantrums for the past eight years and are bent on seeing “their team” win. (as if this is an “us” vs “them” thing.)
The moment Newt confirmed he wasn’t running, I just rolled my eyes in anticipation of this RINO nightmare. He would have taken Obama and Billary to the cleaners. If McCain was a straight with Conservatives, he would have a clean shot, but people already know where he stands. I just came from voting, in this lovely south Florida day, and McCain didn’t take my vote. He was shot down in Viet Nam a long time ago, and this time he’s going to be shut down again, for good into retirement. I just hope someone runs in Arizona against him in the next Senate elections. Can’t stand those RINOs. It is difficult for McCain in this election to soar like a Conservative eagle, when he’s been hanging out with the liberal turkeys.
Rio
Semper Fi!
They choose the Governor of Kansas to give the Democrats address after the state of the union last night. Gov of Kansas, the last 5 years in Iraq, have cost us dearly in American military lives…hold on a minute Kansas is the home of Dr Tiller rymthes with something remember! I’m getting a lecture from a Gov., with a notorius abortion doctor practicing in her state. The Gov putting her own spin on Death! The Democrats are enthusiastic about what? As far as I can tell they are transparent and shallow.
I find it hard to argue with the thinking that better a donkey screw up the country and get credit for it than a RHINOblican. But that won’t happen. The media still speaks of Jimma Carter with high regard and Bill of course got credit for the best economy ever in their eyes. The media will do their twisting and…They wear those blinders ya know…
In my humble opinion the most important reason of all to hold your nose and vote for one of these Rhino’s is simply, the Supreme Court. A couple of Darth Vader Ginsburg’s on the court and we can go ahead and turn in our guns and, well….the list is too long.
Think hard about it, please………..
I think Carter is a good example, actually.
Not that you can script anything, and there are always risks, but the Reagan revolution can trace its launch directly to James Earl Carter. Remember, Reagan not only defeated this incumbent president (never easy to do), he crushed him. It was a landslide.
All of the press-spinning in the world didn’t matter, and still doesn’t.
Nobody views Carter’s presidency as anything but an abject failure, with a small positive bump for Camp David.
His legacy is so bad, in fact, that he doesn’t get credit where it’s actually due. Carter was right to kill the B-1 bomber - a turkey, if ever there was one. What he couldn’t share at the time, but it was the right thing to do, was that he was funneling those dollars towards the F-117 “stealth” fighter. It was a brilliant move, and should be one of the few recognized bright spots in an otherwise catastrophic 4 years, but it’s not. The press is just too negative, and will stay that way.
Was 4 years of Carter too much to pay for 8 years of Reagan?
Again, you can’t script these things, but if you could… I’d sign up for 4 years of Obama for 8 years of another Reagan.
A lot of people like me are starting to think along these lines.
“Let the demoncrats have another Carter…”
Frankly if we get Coke vs. Pepsi I’m going to choose Sprite, probably in the form of Ron Paul. A vote for an R or a D is a vote for the status quo. I voted for Bush twice and was disappointed.
The candidates don’t even listen to what “We the People…” want, they do what they want to do and then tell us about it later. Frankly I think it would be interesting to see Paul in there as more of an Independent.
1) I don’t think he can do as much harm as people think he can regarding the War on Terror.
2) Although yes, immigration is a PITA I think true balancing of the budget and spending control is far more important than immigration.
I guess that would lean me towards voting for McCain as well, but I don’t want to reward a long-time Senator for just continuing the status quo.
Immigration looks like an issue that could be solved at the state level (ie. Arizona), besides it hurts state budgets the most.
I’d also like to see our Armed Forces come back from Iraq and deal with the crime/gang/drug problem in the inner cities and ghettos. That’s a bigger issue to me than Iraq is. Bush really buggered his priorities, Afghanistan should’ve been where all the focus was. The Iraq War is killing our budget.
I impatiently await my chance for marking my ballot against open borders Juan McCain on “Super Tuesday.” Other than that I really can’t get excited about any of the RINOs on the GOP ticket I would love to see a brokered convention with a real conservative picked over the current field.
I just heard Dennis Miller on his radio show say that if Rudy drops out, Dennis will go with McCain. Is he clueless as to McCennedy’s open border stance and letting terrorists be tried in a criminal court??????
I sent Dennis an email and I suggest others do too.
No, no, no. Please don’t confuse a temporal relationship with a causal relationship. Reagan followed Carter. Carter didn’t cause Reagan.
That’s similar to saying that eating causes sleeping because you go to bed after dinner.
So, in other words, “Young and Restless” is a liberal Democrat. That is what I have suspected about those supporting Ron Paul.
Their playbook is obvious: Have liberal Democrats pretend to be Republicans in primaries (and on blogs), try to generate interest in Ron Paul, and have him run as a third party candidate so he can participate in debates. In this way, he can siphon off votes from the Republican like Ross Perot did, and Clinton wins. 1992 all over again.
No one but a liberal would support Ron Paul in a primary.
There’s no denying that Reagan’s Presidency was enabled in part by the situation that Carter had us in in 1979.
Reagan had lost twice before the 1980 election. He was well known by the US populace, but his message had been rejected both times.
So what changed in 1978 and 1979? Jimmy Carter is a large part of the answer to that question, and a large part of the reason that Reagan won.
You can definitely argue that Carter’s ineptitude - ineptitude *directly related to his liberal policies* - were a major factor in the USA being ready to accept Reagan’s message of conservatism.
Did Carter “cause” Reagan? In some very real ways I’d say “yes.”
LOL - on BBC online news :
“He [McCain] accused Mr Romney of being a “liberal governor” of Massachusetts with a record of economic mismanagement.”
This is the same McCain who is quoted as saying, “The issue of economics is not something I”ve understood as well as I should.”
pot.kettle.black.
I wanted Fred but settled for Romney this morning. I’ll just be glad to end all the obnoxious robotic phone calls from McCain. You can’t tell me he wasn’t feeling desperate — twice I was on the phone with one robot when another robot beeped in on my call waiting. Enough already!
Why oh why did Fred have to drop out.. I cant help but wonder if he had hung in, with so much crap flying around, maybe that 10-15% could turn to a majority a little way down the line when one of the front runners takes a big fall and faceplants into political oblivion. I seriously want to vote, but there is nobody I want to vote for. This is just so wrong.
Not me.
If it was just an economic thing, you might be correct. A few years of Stagflation and the Misery Index to get another Reagan might be worth it.
Carter crippled the Shah which led to the Iranian mullahs ruling Iran. His limp response to the hostage situation emboldened the Soviets to invade Afghanistan. Osama bin Laden & the Taliban emerged battle-hardened and victorious after the Soviet withdrawl. Bin Laden escalated terrorism to spread Islamofascism which lead to 9-11 and the War on Terror/Islamofascism.
Twenty-two years after Carter left office we invade Iraq and spend hundreds of billions and sacrifice thousands of some of the best American lives to try to kill the weeds grown from the evil seeds Carter planted in the Middle East.
If that’s not enough, then think on this; Billy Beer.
OK, so I didn’t frame my point very well in #43. But I still will hold my nose and vote for the Rinopublican because we will most definitely get at least 2 more Ginsburg’s if Hill or Obama is elected. Does this not bother anyone?
Yes, you’re right, I’m a liberal. Too bad there’s not a roll eyes icon on this site.
1a) War on Terror is overblown, poorly fought and costing billions of dollars. I’m sorry but that’s the truth. Specifically I’m talking about Iraq.
1b)I had no problem with going into Iraq, but I didn’t really buy the reason . Bush should’ve been honest about saying, “The real reason we are going into Iraq is to fight them on their soil instead of here…” instead of trumping up the threat of Saddam. Everyone in Congress gets an F for that as well, why are Senators running when they enabled the fiasco?
2a) Any Federal Immigration Reform is going to be weaker than what states are doing to crackdown, ie. Georgia, and Arizona. It’s obvious that no one at the Federal level supports enforcement through attrition.
2b) For 4 years now I’ve advocated that if Bush/McCain/etc. want an amnesty they need to first show they will enforce the law. So start enforcing the law, either through harsh employer sanctions or whatever. We had a “comprehensive reform” in 1986, it failed.
3) I’m not all that crazy about the government in Washington for the past 15+ years. Why do we keep electing the same blankityblank’s over and over again?
4) Before getting any more support on the War on Drugs the government needs to step up it’s support or just stop the whole fiasco. I’m not convinced people who do drugs are awful people that need jail time.
At the same time you have to admit inner cities are out of control. Maybe the National Guard could use the training they’ve got in Iraq and crack down on the inner-city insurgents running amuck in the cities.
5) Trade with China (or trade imbalance or importing or exporting manufacturnig) is a bigger threat than radical Islam. The next 9/11 can just as easily be prevented through stringent immigration/”Who is in our country” enforcement as military action in Iraq. Focus on overseas intervention in the wake of 9/11 should have been on Afghanistan, but that is now an abject failure. We can’t go into every flippin’ country in the ME just because they harbor terrorism.
Bush preached, “Rule of Law” but Rule of Law has been running a-muck in this country and others since Clinton came in office.
I don’t really care about partisan politics, but I do care that this country is a great place to live with freedom. Just because I have different ideas than the party line or disagree with party line or even blogger-party line doesn’t mean I’m a liberal.
I actually think Bill Gates has some decent ideas on non-governmental agencies doing good, or something like “kind capitalism”. It’s better for liberals like that to use their own companies (like Google) to impact change on the world rather than doing so through the current political structure. Current political structure stinks.
you expect me to read all that? pfft.
oops sorry, wrong thread. my bad.
Rudy supporter here, does the record turnout mean good things for him. This maybe me thinking with my heart and not my head however if turnout has been lukewarm in states he wasn’t competing in and now the turn out is huge and he is competing, then maybe turnout was weak because his supporters hadn’t come out yet. Any thoughts…
Rudy Giuliani has promised to nominate strict constructionist judges, and he fought the culture wars in NY.
Again, any candidate despised by the Jayson Blair Times should be conservative enough.
Respectfully,
eric aka the Tygrrrr Express
Oh and MikeVolpe, love your stuff on RCP.
eric
Nosheep,
If you’re worried about judicial nominees, you should not vote for either McCain or Romney.
Most of Romney’s appointments were democrats. :((
Romney and McCain are weak on judicial appointments, taxing and spending, amnesty, 2nd amendment, socialism and sanctity of life. And McCain has the McCain-Feingold horror.
They are the worst two offenders left in the RINO camp. Ron Paul would be a decent conservative if he wasn’t so mentally challenged when it comes to 9-11 (and if his supporters wouldn’t spam so much).
Huck has problems with taxing and spending and immigration.
Kaos,
Loved the “Billy Beer” line. The rest we could debate, but there’s no denying that Billy Carter was (is) quite a piece of work.
Sorry, I forgot Rudy (he is the worst). But he is also about done. Giuliani is a liberal. He supports abortion, and welcomes illegal immigrants to sanctuary cities. He opposes gun rights. He supported a Democratic candidate for governor in New York, and among his 75 judicial appointments, Democrats outnumbered Republicans by more than eight to one.
Giuliani increased spending in New York from less than $22 billion to over $27 billion in less than a decade. When Congress for once got its act together by reforming welfare in the mid-90s, Giuliani fervently opposed the reforms. His big government economic policies don’t stop here. Giuliani has fallen with Democrats on Medicare, supported increasing the minimum wage and backed regulations such as rent control.
All,
Before you drop the line “do you want another Souter? Another Bader Ginsburg?” please consider the following:
Who was it that blocked the Congress from using the “nuclear” option of forcing a straight up and down vote on his nominees? Remember the “Gang of 14?”
Who, in a Republican-majority congress, was the de facto leader of this group, a group sworn to prevent the President from appointing a constructionist to the court?
I believe you’ll find that it was McCain.
What would lead you to believe that he would *possibly* appoint anyone to the court who wouldn’t be as bad as Bader Ginsburg when he himself voted to confirm her?
I don’t want to make anyone cry here, but the “In name only” part of “RINO” really does mean “they’re actually liberals but, unlike Barack and Hillary, they lie about it.”
Thanks for answering my points. I can’t get over the fact that more than 1 person here thinks I’m a “liberal plant”. If I showed up to caucus with you or at a party convention would you strip me of my Republican party affiliation?
Most likely I’ll hold my nose and vote for a Republican, like I’ve been doing since I first voted for Bush I, but I don’t think any of the candidates are compelling or offer any new or revolutionary ideas. I tried to summarize some things that are important to me.
Yes I know it’s unconstitutional to use the National Guard the way I advocate it but does our police force impress you? Are they doing a great job fighting the “war on drugs”? No! They suck at it! You don’t think gang crime is a big issue in American neighborhoods? Maybe I shouldn’t have said, “inner city”, but the point is the same. Gang garbage is killing Americans at a greater rate than the Iraq War. Maybe this could be alleviated through other ideas like dropping the War on Drugs altogether.
Or stop the drugs at the border.
Huge amounts of illegals in gangs. There’s a starting point for your inner city mess, Look to the border.
Good stuff YoungAndRestless…you sound like a traditional conservative. I’m about where you are. Give me ideas and policies that actually work in the real world and save the rigid ideology for the far left.
Most police officers do impress me. It’s the courts and the lenient judges etc, where the law enforcement breaks down.