Say Anything Blog

Gack

...for great justice

Wither thou goest O once proud gop?

Maybe you could get W to stump for Jeb.

JC Watts
Chuck Hagel
Jeff Flake
George Voinovich
Jeff Sessions
Lamar Alexander
Gordon Smith

“If a conservative is still a republican after the last 13 years, he is blind to the fact that his party of choice has failed him utterly.” – Realitybasedbob

The names Romney, Gilchrist, and Boehner all come immediately to mind!

“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

As for the Democrats, Gore and Kerry have already been rejected by the voters, while neither Feingold nor Schumer could win over a currently GOP state if his life depended on it.  Of those mentioned, only Evan Bayh has some real prospects… and then only if he stays out of the way of the impending Democrat conflagration between the liberals and the radicals.

“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

As for the Democrats, Gore and Kerry have already been rejected by the voters,

Bat, Maybe you missed my point.

Despite that the above mentioned were rejected, they still generate excitement with their base.

A condition that is lacking with candidates like Romney, Gilchrist, and Boehner.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

Gore was rejected by SCOTUS, not the voters.  He got 500k more votes than Bush.

Saly,

I didn’t miss your point at all.  For Gore and Kerry only a necrophiliac, like say Dennyboy, could get excitedabout eithr of them.

Actually, that brings up a point.  I don’t think Gore or Kerry really excite anybody much.  Their “base” is excited by the prospect of beating the “evil” Republicans, no matter what the cost or consequences.  If there was polling date to show that Robert Byrd or Jimmy Carter could win in November, they’d run ‘em out just as fast as Lurch or Kawliga.

“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Gore was rejected by SCOTUS, not the voters.  He got 500k more votes than Bush.

Wrong on both counts.  SCOTUS didn’t reject Gore.  They rejected his plan to selectively recount parts of Florida in violation of the 14th Amendment.  There was nothing personal about it.  If Bush had tried the same stupid tactic the court would have turned him down as well.

As for the voters, the pity, of course, is we don’t elect a President based solely on popular votes.  Something Gore should have known before he entered the contest.  If he had managed to win his own home state, or Clinton’s, Florida wouldn’t have mattered at all.

Ya don’t change the rules to 4 outs per inning just because someone’s a sore loser.

“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

SALLY,

My apologies for the rough typing.  I know better.

“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

If he had managed to win his own home state

Bat, I said the exact same thing 8 years ago.  Prolly the only thing we have in common.

dannyboy,

The only thing you and Bat have in common is the dirt on Bats’ shoes and the muck in which you are encased.

The big difference is Bat can clean his shoes.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

Gore and Kerry have already been rejected by the voters…

Uh, not exactly. Gore won the popular vote, remember? That means that more Americans wanted Gore than Bush.

Is John McCain the best we have?  Well, yes. He’s the only candidate we have!  But, lighten up.
Here’s some news and views from the past that shold make you feel better.

He has no friends, only cronies. He left his first wife to marry his second one. I can’t believe a smart country will put up with such a phony and loon.

Campaign criticism of McCain? Nope. Criticism of Reagan in 1980 from SLATE.

I believe we must resolve the problem at our southern border with full regard to the problems and needs of Mexico. I have suggested legalizing the entry of Mexican labor into this country.

McCain hobnobbing and conspiring with the liberals?  Nope. A letter from Ronald Reagan, published in RONALD REAGAN: HIS LIFE AND LETTERS

Its all been said before about other republican candidates too.

We need to get over this self-defeating “woe is us” mentality that John McCain is unworthy. He is the GOP candidate, period.  Or would you prefer President Obama?

"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

“As a conservative, I will not be overly enthusiastic about voting for John McCain on November 4 - but I will be sprinting to the polling place to do so!”
Matthew May, conservative commentator, The American Spectator

However you and I feel about McCain, he can’t possibly be worse than Obama or Hillary.  One thing for sure is that McCain cares about our country whereas no one knows where Obama’s loyalty lies and Hillary’s loyalty is concentrated on herself.

You didn’t mention Thompson who would have been my choice.

You don’t have to be a moron to be a liberal Democrat but it sure helps.

We need to get over this self-defeating “woe is us” mentality that John McCain is unworthy. He is the GOP candidate, period.  Or would you prefer President Obama?

You already know how I feel about this candidate, pparets, and the state of my mentality is just fine, Thanks.
I believe it was you who said that McCain wasn’t a great candidate just better than the alternatives.I for one, refuse to merely settle.

You, however have missed the whole point. This isn’t about just McCain.

We seem to be at a disadvantage against the democrats who are enthusiastic about their candidates when most republicans are not. We are supposed to, as you, just accept him as our only choice. Some choice.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

Gore was rejected by SCOTUS, not the voters.  He got 500k more votes than Bush.

dhimmiboy has never heard of the electoral college. Possibly, hasn’t heard of any college!

For any voter trying to choose between the two candidates for commander in chief, there is no better test than this: When American strategy in a critical theater was up for grabs, John McCain proposed a highly unpopular and risky path, which he accurately predicted could lead to success. Barack Obama proposed a popular and politically safe route that would have led to an unnecessary and debilitating American defeat at the hands of al Qaeda.

Frederick W. Kagan

docdave,

I didn’t mention Thompson or Hunter but they are great examples of what I’m writing about.

Both had a good message and both ran terrible campaigns. Did Hunter even leave the state of California?

I too was a Thompson supporter...but excitement would hardly be a word used to describe the way one would feel watching him during most debates. Bored indifference maybe.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

laydownsally: As I said, your “woe is us” mentality is, in part, responsible for the growing enthusiasm of democrats that they are going to win. Do you think that they are unaware of folks like you who pine for better times and better candidates, instead of working for a victory in November?

Surely, you don’t think that Obama and Clinton are quality candidates? They are cherished simply because the liberals smell a win! All that the dems have to do is pick one.

Your endless, relentless attack on John McCain goes a long was toward convincing visitors to SAB that we are losers backing a loser. If that was your intent, you have succeeded.

"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

“As a conservative, I will not be overly enthusiastic about voting for John McCain on November 4 - but I will be sprinting to the polling place to do so!”
Matthew May, conservative commentator, The American Spectator

Uh, not exactly. Gore won the popular vote, remember? That means that more Americans wanted Gore than Bush.

Time to brush up on your reading comprehension skills there, Jack.  We’ve already covered that topic once.

Of course, I’m sure the “fact” that “more Americans wanted Gore than Bush”, plus that really handsome Oscar on the mantle more than makes up for the fact of being one of history’s few incumbent Vice Presidents to lose a presidential election.

“Poverty of goods is easily cured; poverty of the mind is irreparable.”

Gore won the popular vote

But if a candidate is bright enough to actually become President of the US, he (or she)needs to be bright enough to run a campaign that results in a majority vote in the electoral college.

Maybe Gore ran the wrong campaign?

For any voter trying to choose between the two candidates for commander in chief, there is no better test than this: When American strategy in a critical theater was up for grabs, John McCain proposed a highly unpopular and risky path, which he accurately predicted could lead to success. Barack Obama proposed a popular and politically safe route that would have led to an unnecessary and debilitating American defeat at the hands of al Qaeda.

Frederick W. Kagan

I will only try this once and I’ll make it short:

The electoral college was designed to make sure that citizens in every state, no matter the size geographically and/or by population would have a voice in who became the leader of this country. That insured that big cities ro states, usually more liberal, could not make it possible that only liberals were ever elected POTUS, non-liberals thereby had an equal voice.

Florida was playing games with the hanging chads crap and other matters and SCOTUS made them fish or cut bait. The cut the bait, produced a vote count, Bush won the popular vote there and thus the electoral college. Do you get it now?

No matter the age or state of health, for a military man it is always glorious to tilt at windmills, rescue a fair Dulcinea and be a gallant knight in armor in a glorious cause.

I don’t think this even deserves an answer, so I’ll make it short.

Your endless, relentless attack on John McCain goes a long was toward convincing visitors to SAB that we are losers backing a loser

pparets, Please show me where in here I attacked McCain.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

No need to attack McCain, Sally.

McCain’s record speaks volumes for itself.

I don’t think this zebra is going to suddenly change his stripes at the callow age of 71.

He’s giving dashboard light promises to the Republican wing of the GOP, but once he’s gotten our votes, will grab hold of our collective ears and let loose with a Elvis-boogie-and-snarl.

At least Willie Jeff had the common decency to just hit the blue GAP dress.

You’re a complete dolt if you see anything else coming out of Juan McCain.

...for great justice

Hi Zig,

Yeah, I agree.

We could be wrong about this. But the consequences if we are right are could be pretty severe.

We could see loss of freedoms much worse than under a democrat administration. Worse, a lot of the fence-sitting independants would be cheering him on...not knowing what was happening.

It’s a safe bet some of his ardent supporters here will also be blind to his negatives.

Well, we’ll just have to see.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

I too was a Thompson supporter...but excitement would hardly be a word used to describe the way one would feel watching him during most debates. Bored indifference maybe.

I have never understood this silly summary of Thompson. It doesn’t make sense for so many reasons.

Fire in the belly? Most of his ideas weren’t “fire in your belly” type of ideas. Less government? Lower, simpler taxes? Securing the border? These were common sense ideas that didn’t need to be “sold” because people liked them. Fire in the belly kind of ideas usually involve some attempt to get the state to save people.
When I hear that he was boring, or unenthusiastic, I always shake my head. I got so tired of hearing people say “he’s just not exciting.” I’d always counter with “but he has the best platform,” only to hear back, “Well, yea, his ideas are all great, but he’s kind of boring.” Are we voting for a leader or a circus performer? Do we want a man who’s going to lead us or a man who’s going to do cartwheels and tie us balloon animals?

Thompson lost for a single reason that had nothing to do with his campaign. Everyone started saying he was taking too long to get in. The pundits (who have a lot more power than people give them credit) started shooting him down before he ever got in the race. The support level for Fred started dropping after that. When he did get into the race, many analysts on both sides started this “fire in the belly” nonsense that started sinking into the public’s collective heads.
Thompson had a laid back demeanor, and a straight to the point style of talking. He was all business, no nonsense, and sometimes even folksy in his speeches. But his townhall articles were brilliant, as were his campaign blurbs.

That we don’t have Thompson as a front runner is a direct result of people like Malkin and Goldberg writing him off. Shame on anyone who listened to them.

And we don’t have Tancredo or Hunter, because they were never given the time of day.

When we look at the “socialist paradise” that is Cuba, we must remember that a sizable share of the misery those people suffer is directly attributable to Che Guevara bringing Castro into power, and giving him many of the policies that have caused so much pain. The real symbol of Che should be the raft, to remind us of all those who have died on rafts in the ocean trying to escape the Cuban nightmare and get to freedom. And had he not been killed, begging for his life like a coward, he would’ve done the same thing again and again in countries all throughout Latin and South America. His actions have inspired terrorists across a continent and caused countless deaths.

I have never understood this silly summary of Thompson. It doesn’t make sense for so many reasons.

Kenny, you either misunderstood my comment or I was lacking in my explaination. I suspect the latter.

I (me, moi’) don’t look for fire in the belly in a candidate. I’m interested in their platform only, and Thompsons’ priciples were in line with my own, for all the reasons you stated.

That the media pundits were at fault this is partially true. But Thompson himself is to blame for a poorly run campaign. Instead of bursting out of the gate when he finally entered the race (which in hindsight was probably too late) he team wasn’t prepared. Remember, he fired his campaign manager soon after he announced.

Now, I agree with most of what you wrote. I want a leader, not a circus performer. But the point of my blog was that republicans in general don’t generate any excitement, and although this is not a necessary ingredient for me it is needed for a general election win. You should be enthusiastic about your candidate and his positions.

More and more you see republicans turning to McCain and they admit they don’t like him or his principles. How do they rectify that? It’s all about the party, regardless of how desructive his views may be to that of the party.

Was the media fair to Hunter? No. Should all the blame for his failure be placed upon the media? No.
Was Hunter prepared to enter the race? No. He didn’t have the money or the infrastructure.

There are a number of reasons for his failure. But certainly you can’t say he generated excitement.

Like you I’m thoroughly disgusted with some right wing pundits and the folks at FNC for their lack of attention to good conservative candidates.

“To love is not to stare steadfast at one another...it is to look forward, in the same direction.”
Saint-Exupéry

Fred Thompson, a man whose ideas I liked but whose candidacy I never supported, was a long shot - a very long shot - for a variety of reasons.
1. He had very low name-recognition when compared to McCain, Guiliani and Romney. 
2. Conservatives may have admired his message, but not enough to contribute substantially to his campaign. Fred was the ‘poor boy’ at the party.
3. Fred’s occasional antics - “I’m not raising my hand in response to a complex question” resonated with viewers, but sadly, his message did not.
4. Thompson had an interesting curmudgeonly ‘ole blood-hound’ personae that some found attractive but most found boring.
5. As LaydownSally has already pointed out, he got into the race way too late.
6. This is a personal one: I never felt it much mattered to Fred whether he would win the election or not. That’s Ok for a statesman, but its a fatal flaw in a campaigner

"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

“As a conservative, I will not be overly enthusiastic about voting for John McCain on November 4 - but I will be sprinting to the polling place to do so!”
Matthew May, conservative commentator, The American Spectator

From LaydownSally:

Please show me in here where I attacked McCain

OK

Is McCain the Best Republicans Have to Offer? Sadly, the answer is yes.

... Not to mention the numerous other far more vitriolic statements about McCain you have posted on other pages.
And one more thing…

We could be wrong about this. But the consequences if we are right are could be pretty severe.

They might be, but the consequences of inadvertently aiding the election of Obama or Hillary would be far, far more severe.

"Here lies, in honored glory, an American soldier, known but to God.”

“As a conservative, I will not be overly enthusiastic about voting for John McCain on November 4 - but I will be sprinting to the polling place to do so!”
Matthew May, conservative commentator, The American Spectator