Letters to the Editor
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Beyond Irony
Oh God how the following screams out for comment:
"After the terrorist attacks of September 11, Bush's fortunes were reversed, and he was no longer seen as drifting but masterful."
IOW, govern with such gross incompetence that under your watch the United States suffers the most heinous attack in its history, and then you'll be seen as a genius.
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I hope this is featured at some point.
Just for a few hours. Make it the featured article and give readers a break from the primary obsession.
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The difference between should and will
If the average American actually thought about things, everything in this article rings true. However, the general populace is driven by emotion and not introspection and reason. So get ready for President McCain. It is NOT the Republican Party that is imploding, it is the United States of America.
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Hmm.
Strangely enough, Blumenthal's fellow Clinton deadender, Sean Wilentz, wrote this exact same article in this week's TNR. (Wilentz's news-peg is the end of Reaganism, but the reasoning is basically the same.)
Notwithstanding that I find it hard to take either of these guys seriously anymore, is this end-of-the-GOP argument news to anyone? The Republicans have been on their last legs for several years now, at least going back to the 2006 midterms.
While I'm glad conservatism's misfortune is now obvious to all, that doesn't make stating it over and over again in print any more interesting.
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It's a race to the bottom!
Who will self-destruct first?
The Republicans, due to their myopia and ineptitude?
Or the Democrats, due to internecine conflict and cutting of their noses to spite their faces?
Stay tuned!
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This from a man who is helping pull his own party to shreds...
Sid, next week let's have a look at how blind ambition can drive a candidate, who no longer has any chance of winning her party's nomination, to attack and rage against her primary opponent.
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Blumenthal's insurance for the Republicans
Way to go Sidney! Lay out the vulnerability of the Republicans, then do all you can to cripple the Democratic party so that they'll lose a presidential election that's almost a gimme. As antithetical as the Republican party may be to American ideals, at least they know how to unite behind a goal. That's why people like Rove get tagged with the line "evil genius". They know how to get things done, even if those things involve destroying our nation. Maybe, for once, the Democrats might avoid the circular firing squad. Perhaps, they can come together with a great vision for a better America. A government focused on the good of the people. A country that actually lives its ideals! A country that.... Naaaaaaah. Never happen.
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Too funny
That's the problem with long book deadlines. This article is so completely wrong now it's funny. The Republicans are increasingly uniting behind McCain while the Dems are tearing each other to shreds, partisans of Obama and Clinton promise to vote for McCain or stay home if their other guy or gal gets the nomination.
Blumenthal is such an idiot, consistently wrong, so I wonder why Salon continues to publish him.
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Wishful thinking
This article may bring the illusion of an inevitable impending power shift to democrats who are so sorely in need of a catharsis, but it is just so much wishful thinking. I remember the same claims about the republican party being made after Watergate, but they were back in one term later and have grown stronger ever since.
The analysis was very careful to select only supporting opinion and arguments while leaving out substantial amounts of opposing explanations. For example, if republicans are in retreat, why is McCain pulling over 40% in polls now when he his virtually running on a four-more-years platform. He is referred to as a moderate and a reformer, but his record and platform clearly demonstrate otherwise. Do moderates really want to outlaw a woman's right to choose, teach intelligent design in schools, proceed with empire building despite its toll on the nation, give the wealthy permanent tax cuts, etc? Do you really feel better knowing that McCain would get to pick a couple of Supreme Court justices and make countless other appointments?
If the democrats had a platform that was strong and appealing it would be one thing. Instead they present concepts that should be no-brainers- like the need for universal healthcare- using the most timid and tenuous of presentations, always on the lookout lest they say something that can be used to label them as liberal, unpatriotic, or worse. And when they do "slip up," they are perpetually the hapless victims of the resulting disingenuous uproar from the right. Just their pitiful performance since being put in charge of Congress in 2006 with a clear message to bring change will enable the opposition to label them as equivocating and spineless. And yet again, they will be able to make the charges in the minds of average voters come election day.
Add to all this a press that walks on egg shells around republicans while attacking every possible word and action of democrats, either directly or by giving air time and plenty of "analysis" to others who attack them. Going after Dan Rather for one questionable letter in a mound of otherwise sound evidence about Bush's national guard travesty instead of focusing on and analyzing the validity of the story is a classic example. The time and respect given to Kenneth Starr and the analysis performed on all the so-called Clinton scandals, from Whitewater to "haircut-gate" to Lewinsky are others.
Finally, throw in a population that fears our declining influence as a nation, fears unpredictable acts of terrorism, and with a majority that is no longer able to analyze critically, and you have a formula for republican rule well into the future. Sure our jobs are disappearing, there's a new scandal everyday, the divide between rich and poor is growing, and we're bogged down in a unnecessary war thanks to poor planning. But, hey, those republicans sure are honest guys with family values, strong leaders- especially where national defense is concerned- and I'd like to have a beer with them! Those democrats are elitist flip-floppers and I don't even know what they stand for!
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Sun, Moon, Stars. Looking to the cosmos for the answers?
There are many ways to describe what is going on in American politics but resorting to astrology isn't necessary. More simply I would say that Republicans have slowly disenfranchised core voters. This is a natural result of sticking to an ideology - people progress but ideas stay the same - and eventually new ideas are old, dated, and discarded.
Add the dreadful authoritarianism that Bush has practiced over the last eight years and a recipe for decay in the ranks is to be expected. Top it off with a reputation for being a refuge to bigots and wingnuts and soon the smell becomes to much for voters.
Sadly a the mainstream media and Republican party have colluded so well and so long together there seems a slight chance that the Democratic Party may not yet win in November.