| |
|
Monday, August 27, 2007
|
|
US News & World Report: "It's terrible luck for Republican candidates in 2008 that just as the Iraq war seems to be ever so slightly turning for the better, the economy seems to be taking a turn for the worse, thanks to the spreading mortgage credit crisis. The former might not be decisive enough to save the party in 2008, while the latter might be just damaging enough to do it in for sure."
"2008 pres"
6:09:46 PM 
|
|
Colorado Confidential: "Rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may be changing the makeup of Colorado's grasslands from grasses that are hospitable to livestock grazing to woody plants that cow don't eat but which some wildlife species do. Research by Colorado State University scientists indicates that rising CO2 levels may be responsible for the encroachment of fringed sage, Artemisia frigida, which is generally considered a weed.
"2008 pres"
5:56:47 PM
|
|
Bill Richardson Weblog: "If you missed the Governor on Late Edition, watch it below."
Mike Huckabee (via The Swamp): "People are expecting him to basically come in and be the fifth head on Mount Rushmore." The former governor was talking about un-candidate Fred Thompson.
"2008 pres"
5:50:48 PM
|
|
Oliver Willis: "If it's one thing I've learned about the right in the last sixteen years of watching politics it is this: they must be outraged about something. Conservatism thrives on outrage, mad howling upset people enraged at some injustice or indignity. Contrary to the propaganda pushing people like Ronald Reagan as "sunny optimists", Republicans must use blind, seething outrage to get the conservative base out to the polls.
More from Mr. Willis: At the formation of the modern conservative movement in the mid-1960s, it was sufficient to whip up a frenzy against blacks. Those voters who saw the decay of society in equal rights for blacks found a home in the Republican party as a barrier between their white middle-class America and the supposed hordes of poor inner-city blacks - especially the men who were coming for their daughters. As time marched on, the Republicans regularly used this issue to outrage their base, from Nixon talking about law and order to Reagan's welfare moms and of course George H. W. Bush and Willie Horton. In that time conservatives have also used to varying degrees the spectre of a nation under assault by gays, Jews, and blacks to spook their base into voting Republican. To many of their voters Republican leadership preserves leadership that looks like them and their families.
But things have changed. It's not okay anymore in America for that sort of blatant prejudice to be a part of acceptable discourse. The Republican strategy of bashing blacks, gays, and Jews has had to move underground and while still a part of the conservative movement, it is used sparingly so as not to attract attention. It isn't dead, but close to it.
So what to do? Who is left to demonize?
Soon after the 2004 election the decision was made to transform "immigration" as a major campaign issue. Clearly many conservative Republican leaders realized that the close concentration of gay marriage referendums that helped get the vote out in 2004 would not happen again, and even so Americans are increasingly libertarian on the issue of same sex unions. The "Christian" far right somewhat realizes that there's no way to get an amendment banning gay marriage through the government. So immigration is probably the last gasp of the conservative Republican strategy to divide America by race and get white voters out for Republicans.
"2008 pres"
6:57:39 AM
|
|
Daily Kos: "It was just over eight months ago that George Bush announced his latest strategy for victory in Iraq. And so he sent in an additional 30,000 U.S. troops to curb the unending violence so the Maliki government could have the 'breathing room' needed to pass key legislation, at which point Al-Qaeda would run for the hills and the Iraqi people would drop their guns, hold hands, and sing kumbaya. But as the violence continues unabated, with the Maliki government on the verge of collapse, and with the date of the Petraeus White House report on the progress of the 'surge' fast approaching, that fairy tale is getting a bit harder to peddle to an increasingly skeptical public, so naturally it's time for significant political developments."
Juan Cole: "Al-Maliki tells off US pols., threatens journalists with libel lawsuits. A hint to Mr. al-Maliki: This kind of shrillness does not look prime ministerial and just hurts your cause. Muzzling criticism in the press is a contradiction of your claim to legitimacy because of a democratic victory in the polls."
Juan Cole: "Who exactly is the US fighting in Iraq? Graphed by self-confessed identity of captives, it is largely Sunni Arab Iraqis, often motivated primarily by the opportunity to earn some money from the resistance leaders...he second largest group is Salafi Takfiris, i.e. fundamentalists who do not consider Shiites to be Muslims and who believe they may be harmed with impunity. The third group is Shiite militiamen (how many of these are non-ideological paid employees is not specified). Self-identified al-Qaeda are only 1800 of the 24000 in captivity, about 7 percent. Foreign fighters at 280 are about 1.1 percent. While it could be argued that it would take bold captives to declare themselves al-Qaeda, there would be no downside to telling the Americans one was a takfiri. There is no reason to think the over 11,000 unspecified Sunni Arabs is fundamentalists. Opinion polling still shows a majority of Sunnis favoring the separation of religion and state."
"2008 pres"
6:51:39 AM
|
|
From The Denver Post, "Bush administration officials say Attorney General Alberto Gonzales will announce his resignation today. The embattled attorney general has been under increasing pressure by lawmakers in both parties, amid accusations that the Justice Department has been used for political purposes."
"2008 pres"
6:48:39 AM
|
|
Here's Part II of The Rocky Mountain News' series on the countdown to the 2008 Democratic National Convention. From the article:
When six Democratic presidential contenders took their turn addressing an Iowa labor group here this month, every one of them walked away recharged by audience applause. But there was attentive silence, too, when Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York got to the bottom line in her closing remarks. "I think we have to win this election," she said, the inflection of her voice stressing the words.
She rattled off things her party's faithful see in the balance - not only the war in Iraq, but health care, energy policy and economic issues. "Therefore, I'm running a campaign right now not just to win the nomination, but to win the general election and to beat whatever Republican they put up," she said. "And I think I know how to do that." That assertion - her ability to beat those other guys - has emerged as the single biggest point of contention in an accelerated contest to win the party's nomination at the Democratic National Convention in Denver.
The Moderate Voice: "Yet another poll is delivering the bad news to the Republican party that it's turning off an increasing number of young voters -- which isn't terrific news for the party in the long term: 'A Democracy Corps poll from the Washington firm of Greenberg Quinlan Rosner suggests voters ages 18 to 29 have undergone a striking political evolution in recent years. Young Americans have become so profoundly alienated from Republican ideals on issues including the war in Iraq, global warming, same-sex marriage and illegal immigration that their defections suggest a political setback that could haunt Republicans for many generations to come, the poll said.'"
"2008 pres"
6:38:44 AM
|
|
|
© Copyright 2009 John Orr.
Last update: 3/15/09; 1:21:27 PM.
|
|
|
