Troubadour
Banned
- Joined
- Oct 12, 2010
- Messages
- 464
- Reaction score
- 181
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Liberal
It would have been a major achievement if pursued as a normal campaign cycle, but the introduction of unlimited (and probably foreign) corporate funding into GOP coffers thanks to the "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision makes it far less impressive.
... back toward the path of fascism pursued during the Bush years.
Now, however, Republicans will have to deal with the reality that they are largely limited to doing what they've already been doing - malingering and obstructing.
Only time will tell if the GOP has fallen far enough into insanity to immediately impeach President Obama upon assuming office, or if they will at least look for the shadow of an excuse before attempting it.
The GOP now has a choice, and either option yields defeat in 2012: To be guided by the fanaticism of its base, and totally destroy any lingering impression that they are capable of governing, or ignore the base and face the wrath of their own tools.
The people duped into voting Republican in this election were not voting to see gridlock or listen to Jim DeMint investigate whether the President's dog is an Iranian spy, but that's all they're going to get from Republicans: That and a never-ending supply of gaffes and scandals. Sweet dreams, my tea-drinking friends.
Amid unprecedented levels of untraceable corporate funding, ceaseless lies and propaganda from GOP-affiliated media organizations like Fox News, and a general atmosphere of auctioneering on the part of conservative groups like the "US" Chamber of Commerce, it was widely believed and asserted in Republican circles that the GOP was poised to "sweep" Congress.
While it is true that Republicans have made large gains from their current position and flipped the House of Representatives to their control, their best efforts - which is to say, lowest tactics imaginable - have failed to win them anything close to the current Democratic House majority, and have also left the Senate in Democratic control. There are currently 257 Democrats in the House, and after the inauguration of the new Congress in January, the Republican majority will hold 239. Furthermore, most of the defeated Democrats were conservative Blue Dogs who voted against their party much of the time anyway, so the actual shift in power is not even as significant as the numbers.
It would have been a major achievement if pursued as a normal campaign cycle, but the introduction of unlimited (and probably foreign) corporate funding into GOP coffers thanks to the "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision makes it far less impressive. With the aid of a lawless decision that, it seems, was deliberately targeted by conservative Justices toward making Republicans unstoppable, there was every expectation in its ranks of a "tsunami" or "red dawn" that could transform American politics back toward the path of fascism pursued during the Bush years.
Now, however, Republicans will have to deal with the reality that they are largely limited to doing what they've already been doing - malingering and obstructing. The American people can expect two years where absolutely nothing is accomplished except within domains exclusive to the Executive purview, and during which the public trust is repeatedly disgraced with random, profligate, costly investigations based on nothing but Republican malice, innuendo, and psychosis. Only time will tell if the GOP has fallen far enough into insanity to immediately impeach President Obama upon assuming office, or if they will at least look for the shadow of an excuse before attempting it.
The GOP now has a choice, and either option yields defeat in 2012: To be guided by the fanaticism of its base, and totally destroy any lingering impression that they are capable of governing, or ignore the base and face the wrath of their own tools. The people duped into voting Republican in this election were not voting to see gridlock or listen to Jim DeMint investigate whether the President's dog is an Iranian spy, but that's all they're going to get from Republicans: That and a never-ending supply of gaffes and scandals. Sweet dreams, my tea-drinking friends.
Republicans did not win due to propaganda or because of Fox News.
They won largely because most Americans do not approve of how the Obama administration is leading things.
I don't think we should try and undermine these historic results.
I think now the Obama administration has a choice. They can compromise with Republicans and truly act in a bi-partisan manner, or they can try to continue on with liberal legislation and have it fail in the House.
Republicans winning the House was a good thing.
While the Republican gains were not unprecedented, I don't think they should be discounted as something that is fairly routine either.
Elections in which a party gains 60 or more seats in the House have been uncommon.
Although President Bush undertook a range of policies with which many disagreed very strongly and fundamentally, it is more than a stretch to describe his Administration as fascist.
It will depend on where Republicans obstruct policy making.
If Republicans block policies that the public opposes, that won't be harmful for them.
If, however, they impede policies that the public desires and deliberately pass up opportunities for cooperation on matters that have potential large benefits for the public, that strategy could be costly for Republicans.
Fiscal consolidation offers one potential area of cooperation.
There won't be any impeachment hearings. From the fringes one might hear occasional calls for impeachment. But such calls have been made during the tenure of most recent presidents. The House won't act on them.
A policy path that coincides with a return of more robust economic growth wouldn't automatically lead to a loss of the newly-won Republican majority in the House. Given the Senate seats that will be up for election in 2012, it could increase prospects that the Republicans could gain control of the Senate. Of course, if there is a continuation of stagnation, the unemployment rate remains very elevated, or worse, then voters could turn with a vengeance on Republicans as they did in 1948.
It took eight years, two wars, the 9/11 attack and the worst economic disaster in years to give the Democrats their significant majority in the Senate.
It only took 22 months for the American people to realize the mistake they'd made.
As to nothing getting done in the next two years -- other than undoing some of the mess that's been made in the last 22 months
our country can do very nicely with NOTHING GETTING DONE by Congress for a looooong time.
No new taxes? No new spending? Give me a glass of champagne.
Amid unprecedented levels of untraceable corporate funding, ceaseless lies and propaganda from GOP-affiliated media organizations like Fox News, and a general atmosphere of auctioneering on the part of conservative groups like the "US" Chamber of Commerce, it was widely believed and asserted in Republican circles that the GOP was poised to "sweep" Congress.
While it is true that Republicans have made large gains from their current position and flipped the House of Representatives to their control, their best efforts - which is to say, lowest tactics imaginable - have failed to win them anything close to the current Democratic House majority, and have also left the Senate in Democratic control. There are currently 257 Democrats in the House, and after the inauguration of the new Congress in January, the Republican majority will hold 239. Furthermore, most of the defeated Democrats were conservative Blue Dogs who voted against their party much of the time anyway, so the actual shift in power is not even as significant as the numbers.
It would have been a major achievement if pursued as a normal campaign cycle, but the introduction of unlimited (and probably foreign) corporate funding into GOP coffers thanks to the "Citizens United" Supreme Court decision makes it far less impressive. With the aid of a lawless decision that, it seems, was deliberately targeted by conservative Justices toward making Republicans unstoppable, there was every expectation in its ranks of a "tsunami" or "red dawn" that could transform American politics back toward the path of fascism pursued during the Bush years.
Now, however, Republicans will have to deal with the reality that they are largely limited to doing what they've already been doing - malingering and obstructing. The American people can expect two years where absolutely nothing is accomplished except within domains exclusive to the Executive purview, and during which the public trust is repeatedly disgraced with random, profligate, costly investigations based on nothing but Republican malice, innuendo, and psychosis. Only time will tell if the GOP has fallen far enough into insanity to immediately impeach President Obama upon assuming office, or if they will at least look for the shadow of an excuse before attempting it.
The GOP now has a choice, and either option yields defeat in 2012: To be guided by the fanaticism of its base, and totally destroy any lingering impression that they are capable of governing, or ignore the base and face the wrath of their own tools. The people duped into voting Republican in this election were not voting to see gridlock or listen to Jim DeMint investigate whether the President's dog is an Iranian spy, but that's all they're going to get from Republicans: That and a never-ending supply of gaffes and scandals. Sweet dreams, my tea-drinking friends.
Most of America's disasters from 2001-2004 were leveraged to Republican advantage - it was only after Hurricane Katrina that Democrats began gaining. And, BTW, we still have the Senate.
Then why were most of the lost seats Blue Dog conservatives, why do Democrats still have the Senate, and why is the new Republican House majority so much smaller than the current Democratic one?
They can't undo anything with just the House, and even if they get things through the Senate there's always the veto.
As in, no unemployment extension? Oh, that'll play well in Ohio and Pennsylvania come 2012.
Those aren't mainstream priorities, and the GOP knows it. As for "no new spending," I suggest you take a look at the GOP's record the last time it controlled the House. Remind me of how much the Iraq War has cost us to date. Your paragons of fiscal conservatism will spend money like it's no object so long as it doesn't benefit anyone but themselves.
This has to be the biggest whiniest partisan hack sour grapes thread ever to hit the internetz. :lamo
Holy hell dude. You just got to accept it. The Republicans spanked the Democrats like a naughty school girl in the House race. Like the jokes we came up with were amazing.
The Repubicans had the largest gain by party since 1948.
And while they failed to take the Senate, they did narrow the gap considerably, positioning themselves to make a run at control in 2012.
I think the Republicans were given a strong mandate when it comes to reducing government spending and/or reducing the deficit.
Yes, the economy helped, but that was not the only factor in play here.
the Democrats clearly badly misread their mandate as a wholesale endorsement of left wing policies
but how far will the Democrats go to block the Republican agenda
If the Republicans push modest proposals that are a part of their mandate, such as preserving all of the Bush tax cuts, reducing spending, and perhaps even scaling back parts of Obamacare, the Democrats are the ones put in a no win situation.
It was a massive repudiation of Democrats who over reached on their mandate and specifically on Obama's spending policies.
Do you disagree with something I've said, or are you just really desperate not to talk about this?
I realize that the Republican base was motivated - the whole "black man in the White House" thing being a constant irritant to their sensibilities. But that in itself would have been overcome, much as it was in 2008.
Then why didn't they enact any?
Republicans don't have an agenda. They favor cutting the taxes of their funding base because it kicks back to their campaigns, not because they know or care about taxation, revenue, or economics. That's why they don't commit to specifics, it's just always "taxes are too high" - there's always more of the public Treasury to loot, more of our nation's economy to break up and sell for scrap.
None of that is "modest." The American people wanted a more rigorous healthcare system than the one that was passed; they prioritize balanced budgets and public spending priorities over tax cut; and they don't have this twisted fetish for constantly trying to make rich people richer at the cost of dismantling basic economic infrastructure. Republicans know their agenda isn't mainstream, and that's why most of the time they don't run on it - they just try to deceive people and make things up to rail against.
You're just projecting your own opinions on to the electorate. The economy is still bad, despite some growth having occurred, ergo the party in power loses seats.
Yesh your entire thesis is fail.
from the Rev
- again with the refereeing. You really enjoy both putting on the team uniform plus the stripes and whistle don't you? A good therapist might tell you that you show signs of an inferiority complex forcing you to announce your supposed victories over and over again to boost your own sense of self worth and confidence. But not being a good therapist I will not tell you that.
Dems had everything, and I mean everything, going for them after 2008, and in less than half Obama's term, they pissed it all away.
Last night was just the first quarter of a four-quarter rout. Did you see that map last night? Did you notice how red the midwest was? DID YOU SEE PENNSYLVANIA?
The ONLY thing that saved the Dems last night was that 2/3 of the Senate was not up for election. Otherwise, Republicans might own 70 seats in the Senate, too.
You know it's an important and meaningful election when there are record turnouts at the polls - regardless of who everyone voted for - in an off-season cycle.
I had to wait in line 3 hours last night to vote, and I live in a small town with just 3,000 people.
wah, wah, wah, wah, wah, (assorted thumb sucking and gurgling sounds) wah, wah, wah:
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