The next Republican civil war
A brewing melodrama in Florida
The next Republican civil war
Dick Polman, Inquirer National Political Columnist
How quickly the calendar turns. Scant weeks ago, it appeared that Pennsylvania would be hosting the ultimate Republican steel-cage death match between its dominant conservative wing and its recessive moderate wing. But the anticipated Senate primary duel between conservative Pat Toomey and moderate Arlen Specter was short-circuited by Specter's abdication. Conservatives were thus deprived of the opportunity to demonstrate their ideological purity by knocking off Specter and nominating a guy who is virtually unelectable statewide in 2010.
But conservatives can now take heart, simply by shifting their focus 1000 miles to the south. In the swing-state of Florida, they will have the opportunity to knock off a popular, electable Republican in a Senate GOP primary, and instead nominate an ideological conservative who would give the Democrats a chance to pick up yet another Senate seat. This scenario is not exactly the winning formula for a party comeback, but apparently it would allow the conservatives to marinate in their purity as the party shrinks further.
Charlie Crist, the moderate Republican governor with the deep tan and the 71 percent statewide approval rating, announced yesterday that he will run next year for the Senate seat being vacated by Republican Mel Martinez (who was deemed unacceptable by the conservative base because of his support for path-to-citizenship immigration reform). Crist has two assets that Republicans dearly need these days: he attracts Democratic and independent support (at a time when the Grand Old Party is increasingly saddled with its image as the Cheney Limbaugh Party), and he is a proven fundraiser who can raise the big bucks necessary to blanket Florida's multiple media markets (thus freeing up the national Republicans to focus their money efforts on Ohio, Kentucky, and Missouri - states where the GOP is at serious risk of losing more Senate seats in 2010).
The hitch, naturally, is that Crist is deemed by conservative activists to be unacceptably impure, and thus a threat to wind up in the Senate and become the GOP's new Specteresque irritant...which is why they're already lining up behind the upstart conservative challenger, the guy who will play the Toomey role in Florida. That would be Marco Rubio, the former state House Speaker, a young, eloquent Cuban-American who spent yesterday in full campaign mode - twittering that Crist is a faux Republican, telling Fox News that Crist is a faux Republican, and releasing an ad that shows Crist cozying up to Barack Obama (the ultimate sin).
Right now, it's hard to imagine that Rubio can defeat Crist. The governor has universal name ID (whereas Rubio is not even in public office anymore), and the early polls show Crist winning the primary in a landslide. But that contest is 15 months away, plenty of time for Rubio to work the conservative base. Democratic connoisseurs of Republican infighting will have ample opportunity to sit back with popcorn and enjoy.
Indeed, Crist has already failed the right's key litmus test; a few months ago, he not only decided to take all the federal stimulus money that had been earmarked for Florida, he actually shared a platform with the president and told NBC that "in the Florida way, we work together in a bipartisan fashion." Such behavior - agreeing to take billions of dollars to help the beleaguered citizens of his state - has naturally garnered kudos from a landslide majority of Floridians, but Crist's move could be a deal-breaker for the conservative voters who will dominate the Florida GOP primary...a contest that will be closed to Democrats and independents.
Actually, Crist's stimulus stance is merely the latest perceived miscue. Even though Crist has won some conservative praise for his fiscal policies, there is already a long list of heresies:
Crist appointed a black Democrat with a strong civil rights record to the state Supreme Court; he thinks that global warming is real, he wants a big reduction in auto emissions, he sponsored an environmental conference keynoted by Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and he once discussed green issues with Sheryl Crow; he doesn't believe that Roe v. Wade should be overturned; he refuses to push for a state constitutional amendment that would ban gay marriage ("I'm a live-and-let-live kind of guy"); he supports voting rights for felons who have completed their sentences ("I believe in forgiveness and atonement"); he wants to raise more state revenue by expanding legal gambling; he has taken on the insurance companies by slapping a lid on homeowners' insurance premiums.
And that doesn't include the innuendo about Crist's private life. Rubio won't need to touch it; his Christian conservative allies will take care of it. They can even reference Outrage, a new movie documentary about closeted gay politicians, which names Crist as one such denizen. That's not the ideal profile for a candidate in a Republican primary. Crist insists he is straight, but he is widely disbelieved. Conservative journals have long used code while writing about Crist; early last year, The National Review, in an attack piece on Crist, mentioned that, around the time he was graduating law school, "he married his college girlfriend. They divorced half a year later, and he's been single ever since."
Actually, Crist recently got married again, but a lot of conservatives think it's only for show. By contrast, Rubio is being touted as a fertile heterosexual; in the words of The Weekly Standard magazine, which has an adoring profile in its latest issue, Rubio "married his longtime girlfriend Jeannette, once a Miami Dolphins cheerleader and now the mother of their four young children."
Top that one, Charlie.
Given Rubio's personal profile, and his core conservative convictions on everything from immigration to the environment to abortion, his followers are incensed that the Washington Republican establishment has so speedily embraced Crist. Fifteen minutes after Crist announced his candidacy yesterday, the GOP's Senate campaign arm - the National Republican Senatorial Committee, led by Texas Senator John Cornyn - rushed to embrace Crist and pledge its support in the 2010 GOP primary. It's unusual (or it used to be) for the national party to take sides in a primary, but Cornyn has the wild and crazy idea that maybe the Republicans should staunch their intramural bloodletting and support candidates who can actually win in politically diverse swing states.
Cornyn got nowhere with that one. A twittering activist at the conservative American Spectator promptly declared yesterday that it's time to "fire Cornyn," a blogger at the popular redstate.com wrote that Cornyn's rejection of Rubio was akin to "a stick in the eye," and another blogger at the website urged all conservatives to financially boycott Cornyn's campaign committee. Meanwhile, online yesterday, talk-show host Glenn Beck summed up his feelings about Crist thusly:
"BARF."
Let the games begin.
Comments (100)
Another republican story of demise, instead of an article about the problems facing the country or Pres. Obama or the congress, etc.! I can sum up my feelings too, 'BARF'! We get it Mr. Polman, the battle between conservative and moderate in the GOP rages on, lets let the primary sort it out and discuss something else! Bring on Mr. Yoo, may be we can have a grown up discussion about out troubled world, instead of this obsession with the party out of power, sheesh:)— NEPhilly- After reading this, I am left wondering which candidate Steele supports in this primary. Based on his past stances, I see a big rift forming between Steele and Cornyn that is sure to provide for some excitement. Personally, I am pulling for Cornyn as the true politician that seems to have the party's best interests in hand.— Master Dreamz
- Sorry, NEP, everyone, including most Repubs, are talking about the demise of your party. There just might be a reason for this. Join in the fun. Name your saviour. If you're depending on Obama to fail, that means you're a Rushie, right?— Djoko Pritza
- NEPhilly, I'd rather read some good news, like the fact that the Repubs are cannibalizing themselves, than another column about the "problems." Not to mention, what I consider the problems facing this country are the lack of universal health care, lack of gun control, and the lack of regulation in the fiscal sector.— HandNik
- As teh propganda guardog media knows, the best way to protect Obama right now is to raise silly things attacking repubs. Back in the real world there is: 1) 1.8 trillon dollar deficit, 2) social security is going under, 3) 2 car bankruptcies, 4) cash for clunkers, 5) in April spending fell unexepectedly, 6) uneployment is at 8.9%, 7) Obama is slashing the defense budget. Of course, None of this is news to "journalist" Polman.— CD75
- Dick, the great Ronald Reagan was divorced. Repubs don't care. Keep trying to smear.— CD75
- CD75: "Obama is slashing the defense budget". Only you could characterize an INCREASED defense budget as "slashed".— still_independent
Comment removed.- djoko, my savior is Jesus Christ or so they say when I go to church on Easter and Christmas:) I don't think everyone is talking about it, other than the eastern liberal elite such as our favorite columnist and he is over the top:) I enumerated yesterday or the day before and I'll do it again although I will number them correctly this time, last 8 stories on this blog; 1)Pitfalls of Shrinkage of GOP (we all hate that:) 2) Gender Justice (but none for Hillary) 3) Arlen in action 4) Ridge nonstory 5) Eliz. Edwards pain 6) Dick Cheney story 7) Health insurance 8) Republican civil war (how graphic:)! One story out of 8 on a problem that faces our country, 5 out of 8 on the party that is out of power and 2 stories about women:) What am I missing? Mr. Yoo will be a welcome relief:)— NEPhilly
- NEP, what are you missing? You're missing the elephant in the room. Or, more to the point, the elephant leaving the room. Sorry, but Repubs ARE talking about your demise, and I quoted one this morning, the former chair of the RNC. I could do hundreds more, but why bother. Hey, maybe you could get Jesus Christ to join your ranks? He's always ready to suffer for sinners.— Djoko Pritza
mmmmmmm marinate— potus- In the face of record deficits for as far as the eye can see the GOP needs to offer cuts, not increases in govt. spending! I'll start right now; 1) 'abort' that stimulus bill (save $700 Bil) 2) repeal omnibus bill that increased govt. budgets and change the increases to 0% for 2 years! 3) All govt. cola's for SS, employee raises, pensions, etc. cut to 0% growth for 2 years 4) All govt. foreign aid cut by 5% this year and kept to 0% growth next year. 5) Go through each govt agency and axe the ones that do nothing (Education, Commerce, etc). Next the GOP offers 'term limits' as part of it's next platform, 12 years from the date the law passes, any legislator has only 12 years in one job! Energy independence generated from the private sector w/govt. incentives to wean ourselves off oil for national security reasons! I'm working out the rest, what do you think?— NEPhilly
- djoko, if the gop does go down it would make your day and most lib'dems! We will see in the next election in 2010, which is only a year and half away at this point! IMHO, the American people will be so sickened by the deficit spending in Wash DC for 2 years they will send the adults back to Wash to stop the 'big govt.party', no matter the Presidents rhetoric about cutting govt. spending ($17 Bil is a start) when he is really increasing spending at record clips ($1.82 Tril record deficit)! I'm telling you, when the Chinese (or Chicomms, as Rush would say) start lecturing you about your debt, you better start taking notice:)— NEPhilly
- I think Jesus was already in the ranks:) For the party that is so inclusive of other points of view (including dictators, terrorists, gays, blacks, illegals, etc.), the democrat party sure gets nasty & less inclusive when someone disagrees domestically with them on a policy or a viewpoint (see Miss California or Sarah Palin or Joe the Plumber)! Why is that? Usually when someone gets nasty/mean in an argument (name calling, etc), it means their point is not very strong, don't you think?— NEPhilly
- NE--on the one hand, I agree that the subject of intra-party republican problems can get tired, but you can't criticize Polman for writing about this instead of healthcare. He is an electoral politics expert; that's his shtick. Like many of us, he probably knows jack about healthcare.— liberal
- lib, I understand! It does get grating at times:) Maybe he could talk about the democrat party every other story or so, just to keep it interesting? Just a thought:)— NEPhilly
- The last time a party disappeared it was the Whigs, replaced by Lincoln's republicans. The Whigs were followers of John Adams; they believed in government intervention in the economy and were against slavery, but they opposed immigration and the expansion of the right to vote. The Democrats at that time were the party of the common man and welcomed immigration, but wanted small government because they believed that an activist government always favored the rich; and they were proslavery. What killed the Whigs was their elitism; the new Republican party appealed to workingmen and was able to win elections. Today's republican party seems to be similarly painting itself into a corner by failing to reach out to new demographic groups.— liberal
- As a former registered Republican, I am sad to see the extremists in the GOp take over the party. On the other hand, the more they reject moderates and Independents, the less elections they win. And that is fine by me!— chasing history
- Crist should follow Specter's lead and join the Democrats. Besides being the biggest oxymoron, always thought gay Republicans were the biggest bunch of sorry-assed masochists on the planet.— phlcynic
- Reagan tripled the deficit, GW doubled it from 5 tril to 10 tril. Then when Dems get into power, Govt doesnt work??? it needs to be smaller, not so intrusive??? How dare the dems spend so much... or as NEPhilly says "stop the 'big govt.party'" been goin on for decades, hypocrisy at its finest.— peteike
- If the American people were sick of deficit spending, we would have seen it years ago. As far as Rubio/Crist, my hunch is that Rubio will have trouble fundraising.— SteveMG
- These comments about deficits and the collapse of the economy are pathetic. There just aren't enough ignorant, stupid people around who believes that garbage anymore. It's the same tactic Republicans have been using for 30 years. Do you think people don't know what the actions of the Republicans were 2000 - 2006? Huge increase in the size of government, massive deficits, no action on most of the critical issues that needed to be addressed. They were talking about gay marriage when Medicare, Social Security, skyrocketing health care costs, banking industry industry issues were being neglected. Bush increased Medicare benefits. And core Republican principles are a significant contributing factors to the current economic crisis that is driving the Obamma deficits and spending increases. Republicans supported the same policies when Bush was in office. The Republican Party had the chance to prove that they could be a more inclusive party during the last election. They had a left of center Democratic candidate against a moderate Republican candidate. What was the strategy to attract moderate and Independant voters from Obamma? Tact farto the right by selecting an unqualified, conservative VP. Why? Because the religious right were in a panic over the possibility that McCain would be elected without their support and that would have left them is the dust. Instead, they are stuck in a losing position. Toomey over Spector? What's the point? There's zero chance Tommey would win the election. Now the same is going on in FL. That is a story. It's not only a story about the demise of the Republican Party. It's about why they are in decline. Can they comeback? Sure. But not with the religious right. They don't understand compromise because their positions are rooted in their religious beliefs. And that's the story. The open question? When will they wake up and move to the left where the rest of the country is?— MikeP
- Just because the family next door runs up their debt, does that make it right for you to do it, times 4? I can't believe that the presidential candidate who railed against GWB for spending too much, will now set the record for deficit spending times 4 and the best the dems can come up with for a reason is GWB did it too! The dems are in charge now and they increased the yearly debt by 4 times this year and by 2 times next year, that is the 'big govt. party' I speak of ($3 Tri in debt in 2 years)! When most Americans and American company;s are tightening their belt, our govt. is headed for the biggest expansion since LBJ and saying that GWB/Reagan increased the debt so we can too is not a good enough reason for me, if it is for dems than so be it. Also, don't tell me Pres. Obama inherited anything, he fought and scratched and clawed to get it and now he has it!— NEPhilly
- I'm wondering whether or not Jesus would approve of torture, no matter potential information could be obtained. Seems to me he wouldn't. Why would you want to do anything against the will of Jesus? In the end you all will be judged by your actions in life. Do you think condoning torture is going to look good on your soul record? This is coming from a basically non-believer; in Jesus or in torture.— James TL
- Still Indy: You just make stuff up. Over half of the 17 billion in cuts Obama made were to defense, including axing radiation monitors at U.S. Ports. We truly are in more danger today, then 6 months ago. Cheyney is right.— CD75
NEPhilly the truth hurts, doesn't it? It's ok though, just turn on Fox News and you can go back to hearing what you want to hear.— wokmaster- Cheyney is right.....lolz— chasing history
- CD ".....the best the dems can come up with for a reason is GWB did it too!". That would be a reason NOT to do spend. Unfortunately the real reason is that after 8 yrs of republican rule the US economy is in a ditch. Now we need to spend some money here at home to get us out of the ditch. Remember back before W. when the dems were in charge and the economy was good?— PA_Dutch
- Wrong-o, NEP (when you say, “djoko, if the gop does go down it would make your day and most lib'dems!”). I have said before, and will again, a strong two-party system is important for this nation’s health and future. What your friends are trying to tell you is that the path you’re on won’t get you there. People like you, with hand firmly in sand, are the problem, not the solution. Get some cojones and kick out the Cheneys, Rushes and Hannitys.— Djoko Pritza
- wok, what truth is that? That our govt. will spend 4 times as much this year as it did last year and will borrow most of it from the Chinese! Also, if I wanted to only listen to Fox/Rush I wouldn't be here would I? I like listening to other points of view and discussing them:) That is one of the things that makes our country great, protected freedom of speech! Unless, of course, you are against gay marriage and in a beauty pagent or running for president, then you have to lie about your true feelings:)— NEPhilly
- Oops, that was NEPhilly, I get CD and NEPhilly confused.— PA_Dutch
- pa, GWB inherited a recession too and 9/11 to boot, so let's keep the facts straight! The reason the economy is in a ditch is Fannie/Freddie led us there by carrying out a bad govt. policy that private banks competed against, IMHO! djoko, taking advice from the opposition is a recipe for disaster. Could you see the Eagles taking advice from the Redskins or Cowboys on who to draft? GOP values of smaller govt., lower taxes and strong national defense are winning issues if the message has the correct messenger, again IMHO :) Even an inarticulate GWB whupped the dems twice nationally with the same message, let's not forget!— NEPhilly
- Philly, Thanks for reminding us Bush failed to prevent 9/11. I think you're confusing "facts" with ditto-head, talking points. Yeah it was all Freddie and Fannie's fault.— PA_Dutch
- Thanks for reminding us Bush failed to prevent 9/11.....seriously, the Bush administration had intelligence stating that OBL and AQ were serious about attacking America. Yet they did NOTHING. Then they over reacted and invaded Iraq. Aagain, they were wrong but now, all of a sudden, Cheney is right! lolz......you guys just don't get why moderates and Independents are leaving your party.— chasing history
- "A former FBI man who interrogated an al-Qaida leader said Wednesday extreme techniques used by the Bush administration were 'ineffective, slow and unreliable' and caused the prisoner to stop talking." So much for Cheney's lies to cover up his own criminality.— Djoko Pritza
- chasing, GWB did have the intelligence, what was he to do, go to Logan airport and screen all the passengers? Everyone in America wanted to go to war and all our politicians (Hillary, Kerry, Edwards, included) either voted for it or argued for it at the UN (Colin Powell)! The facts are that GWB did inherit a recession and had to deal with the economy after 9/11 and chose tax cuts over govt. spending to get us out of it! The economy was humming along nicely until 2006 when the 'subprime mortgage crisis' started to hit with Fannie/Freddie/CRA/HUD at the heart of it all, believe it or not! While having poor people own homes is an honorable motive, using govt. policy and GSE's to promote that is a financial disaster as we have all seen! I look forward to the 2010 elections when the dems will have to defend their policy's instead of blaming GWB for all of the country's ills!— NEPhilly
- CD75: the defense budget went up over the last year by 5.7% (up to $515B) so as usual, neither you nor I have a clue as to what you're talking about. And for f**ks sake man, it's "Cheney" not CheYney". You'd think you could spell the name of you man-crush correctly.— still_independent
- Comment removed.
- Your fixation with irrelevant backwater details in the minority party is profoundly disturbing - especially in light of the cataclysmic upheaval going on in DC. Why not write about something of significance?— JC Denton
- Comment removed.
- hi janann, i've been waiting for you to join the discussion! GWB did inherit a recession when he took office, that is a fact as the dot com bubble burst and 9/11 did affect the economy negatively you would agree! As for the talking heads (and for the record, they are not my idols), they have a right to their opinion & to be heard just as you do and just as Maddow, Olbermann and Matthews do. Thanks for the complement on talking a good game, I try my best:) And finally, War is a stimulus as most of the money spent is on combat salaries, production of machinery, etc. all purchased from American companies! It's just that the spending is spread out over 8 years of war instead of compressed into 1 month :) The running for office is not a bad idea although i only speak for myself here, I wouldn;t have to work for a living anymore though:) Interesting:)— NEPhilly
- NEPhilly, do you really think anyone believes a thing you say? Obamma owns the current mess but "GWB did inherit a recession". The economy collapsed because of mortgages to poor people? Yeah ok. You have no clue. Save your breath. You're a clown.— MikeP
Mike P - shot scooorreee - give him a case of tasty cakes...!! ...."They don't understand compromise because their positions are rooted in their religious beliefs." .......Exactly! It's not only the root cause of the RNC's problems, our legislative problems, our economic problems, the conflicts around the globe but the very reason for the separation of church and state. Jimi Hendrix once said (one of my many gods) "When the power of love overcomes the love of power the world will know peace" - The religious right in it's quest for power (national and global)has tarnished a set of religious beliefs with some pretty good tenets - specifically the ten commandments - which none of their political or media reps honor - "thou shall not lie" - look either you're in or you're out with that one. If you can't hold your personal actions in line with your ten commandments - you're not a member of the flock. You are a fraud using the good people to gain power - surely a one way trip to he**. I'm beginning to think that the people who scream about religion the loudest don't believe in a higher power, great spirit, creative force, etc. at all - how else could they justify their flaunting of the very tenants they launch their campaigns from? Maybe that explains the Bush and Cheney sneer? Bad news for moderates the religious right wants a political party and the RNC has been hijacked for good - this could be the first signs of the birth a third party - which we desperately need!- I admit I quickly skimmed this article as I quickly realized it was another hit piece on a political party that surrogates like Polman have long ago declared irrelevant and unpopular. Correct me if I am wrong but is not Obama President and havent the Democrats controlled both houses of Congress since January of 2007? And isn't the unemployment rate rising despite such glorious Democratic rule? And isn't Obama showing a 1.8 trillion dollar deficit for his first year in office? Not so great for the party with all the " answers "
- Is a primary with candidates from the same party but different views something new? Was this just invented or something? Did not Cindy Sheehan run against Nancy Pelosi? Geez Polman! How about a story on the economy that Obama and the Democrats seem to have no solution on how to fix. Wake me when liberals will start to hold the Democrats acountable. Obama is President right?
- mike, like I said before someone with a weak position or point starts calling people names! GWB did inherit a recession as did Pres. Obama, nothing wrong with the facts there. If there were not so many subprime mortgages that went bust, there would have been no mortgage crisis, thus no recession! If the govt wasn't there providing incentives/forcing companies to loan people money that they had no business having, then this crisis wouldn't have happened, IMHO! We can argue the particulars if you want! Also, how is smaller govt., lower taxes and a strong military rooted in religious beliefs? I believe everyone has the right to be heard, even a certain beauty queen in California or the 'hard right', without being beaten down or condemned as un-american, stupid or racist!— NEPhilly
- NEP, I must have misssed the elections where GWB whupped the dems twice. The first election I remember, GWB got less votes that the other guy and the second election, he beat a weak clown by a few percetage points.— JimR
- Can I sum up Polman latest hit piece? Here it is anyway. " Ha Ha we won we won we won and I'm gonna shout it from the tallest mountaintop! Look how smart we Democrats are and look how dumb those Republicans are! Ta ha hee hee! "............. My question is at one point will Obama take ownership of his presidency? At what point will Democrats take ownership for a Congress they have controlled for over two years? Will the gloating stop by Thanksgiving? Or is this what we can expect? No leadership, just 4 years of gloating, running up deficits, and saddling our children and grandchildren with insurmountable debt?
- jim, he whupped Kerry by 3.5 million votes in 2004! And beat an incumbent VP who invented the internet & as we all know was the face of an administration that was very popular in 2000 and ran a surplus! I know he stole the election, but really it shouldn't have been close enough to steal! Well my friends, I will try to catch up with you all later tonight, I have to go to May Procession and a baseball game. Take it light and try to remember we are all Americans:)— NEPhilly
- Interesting comment, NEP, on war ("War is a stimulus as most of the money spent is on combat salaries, production of machinery, etc."). Spoken like a true neocon, NEP, not mentioning that people actually get maimed and killed in war.— Djoko Pritza
- NEP. maybe we hae to just disagree on what is "whupped" When the other guy gets more votes-you didn't "whup" him. When you slide in under the wire in a race with a one legged runner- you didn't "whup" him either. I hope you have a spiritual experience at both events tonight. And I agree with you on the topics here lately. It's getting a little tired.— JimR
- Mike, the Dems could not pass anything GWB didn’t want because he used his veto power for the first time in his presidency when the Dems took control. They didn’t have the numbers to override his veto. Obama cannot fix over night what took years of neglect by those in charge to create this mess (and the passing of bad laws and deregulation of the financial industry). I’m not happy about all this spending, but like Obama said, he will be a one term President if it doesn’t work.— USA#1
- Comment removed.
- janann, the left wing media has much more time to make their case than the right wing radio guys, when you take into account, NBC, MSNBC, CNN, CBS, ABC, NY Times, LA Times, Wash Post, etc. I am a plain old middle class, working, tax paying, though well educated, citizen of Philadelphia who happens to be a republican! The guys on radio wouldn't have such a big audience if what they were saying didn't resonate with the masses and have some kernels of truth! It is a known fact that when the dot com bubble burst, we had a recession and it was 2001-2002, google it if you don't believe me, but denying it won't make it go away! We also had 9/11 to deal with financially as well as militarily. I said the financial crisis belongs to the dems, not Obama himself, because they caused it with perverse govt. policy that gave incentives out for lending poor people $$$ for houses that they didn't have a record of paying back! I'm glad to debate the policy issues with you anytime, as we did on school vouchers, but to dismiss out of hand any thought or idea just because it was mentioned by one of the people on your forbidden list makes for a one-sided debate:) Every American has a right to have an opinion on our govt. and its policy's and to disagree with them if they chose, sorry if that rubs you the wrong way but it makes for a more vibrant country!— NEPhilly
- MEPhilly, you're really taking a beating today. I think people are more tired of your spiel than the righties claim to be of Polman's recent choice of topics. Hang in there!— Djoko Pritza
- LOL. Polman soooooooooooooo knows exactly what buttons to push with cons. He's so far in the head of of some of these guys, it's a wonder they have room for their own thoughts ... or at least those given them on AM radio.— sully64
- djoko, janann is an old friend, but you are right the dems don't like it when you disagree with them on a issue it seems! Thanks for the concern:) For all the talk of tolerance, inclusiveness and big tents, don't find yourself on the wrong side of an issue, just ask Ms. California who only spoke the Presidents position on gay marriage or Joe the Plumber who just asked candidate Obama a question and had his tax record looked into! It really isn't spiel to me, I am a true believer and I do differ on certain issues with conservatives, such as immigration, abortion, etc., but I just write during my breaks at work! I would only be checking my fantasy baseball scores anyway, so no big loss right! In any case, remember we were just lucky to be born in the greatest country on earth and we should be thankful!— NEPhilly
- Djoko- What in the world are you talking about? I thought NE Philly mopped the floor tonight with you liberal welches. Let me give you some straight talk. Obama is running a deficit that is 13% of GDP. Every liberal program like medicaid, medicare, social security is broke yet you want to add more entitlments by destroying the 240 million Americans who are insured so that you can provide awfull coverage for everyone. The math does not add up. Spin it how you want. Building insurmountable debt will not get your party re-elected. Like I said you can spin it how ever you choose. Gloating while adding debt like we have never seen before is not leadership.
- For a party that's purportedly in demise, President Obama sure seemed eager to act like a Republican today! Anyway, for what it's worth, the GOP had less than 40 Senate seats after the first post-Nixon election in 1976 and was in turmoil, but well, you know what happened in 1980...mark my words, a Democratic congress plus a Democratic president will not last; the liberals just can't help but go too far (e.g., the first two years of Clinton's first term), and it's when Republicans lose power that they suddenly remember how to be fiscal conservatives.— Vandy
- Comment removed.
- Comment removed.
- Hey, SMike, what is a "liberal welch"?— Djoko Pritza
- SMike, I don't see any bragging or boasting at all in Polman's piece. I also don't see any word about Republicans going extinct. What I do see is a spotlight on an election that will be telling about the party that you are so obviously in love with even though they didn't do a very good job of executing their own supposed values when they had power. When you call something like this a "hit piece", you lose credibility. This kind of exaggeration belongs among those small minded thinkers who are too lazy to see anything but their own perspectives and want to make politics into wrestling entertainment. There is work to be done, not just elections to be won.— puttinonthefoil
- 'Pubs won't win until they take the first step --- realizing that it won't happen until it moves to the center (See Dems from 1978 through 1992). Judging by the hardliners here, there's more defeats ahead.— yobill626
- Djoko: I think he meant, "Libeal BELCH" --- which is what the Left will be doing after feasting on Republican carcasses over the next 6-8 years.— yobill626
- Comment removed.
- wwwbd? what would will bunch do?— beeron
- Yobil626- I meant "liberal welch." As in to sit and do nothing and collect other peoples hard earned wages so that slackers can have health insurance, beer money, a roof over their head, and take a couple courses at the community college. And this is the part where you will tell me that you are certainly none of those things and that you only believe in spending other people's money liberally for the causes you support. I think liberals should get out of everyone else's wallet, pay your taxes, and learn how to spend less than you take in. To be fair Republicans need to learn how to balance a budget as well but we are not the ones running the show right now.
- More evidence that the NYT is biased and not a reliable paper anymore: 1. "In its closing months, the Bush administration is pulling out all the stops in its eight-year effort to undermine the Endangered Species Act. In mid-August, the administration proposed two dangerous regulatory changes. One would free the government from considering the effects of greenhouse gas emissions on polar bears and other imperiled wildlife."--editorial, New York Times, Oct. 25, 2008 2. "Interior Secretary Ken Salazar has upheld a Bush administration finding that the Endangered Species Act is not a suitable tool for restricting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases threatening the polar bear and its habitat. We agree, with this codicil: . . ."--editorial, New York Times, May 13, 2009— CD75
- Langx-So let me get this straight. Private citizen Joe Wurzelbacher askes then Democratic Presidential nominee Barack Obama a tough question and a liberal administrator takes it upon herself to launch an illegal investigation into Jo Wurzelbacher? Then a gay panel judge askes Miss California a question on gay marriage that is virtually the same answer that Barack Obama has given on the subject then liberals take it upon themselve to besmierch the character of Miss California because they did not like the answer. Is this what it has come to? Liberals will destroy anyone who's speech is not deemed liberally correct? The left in this country has become our Taliban. So quick to castigate anyone who does not agree with their views and will use whatever means of destroying anyone who is not with the liberal agenda.
- puttinthefoil- Polman runs a hit piece on Republicans about every other day. To wit with the resurgent Taliban, insourmountable debt, 9% unemployment, record deficits, government run healthcare, and insolvent entitlement programs. Naw!... lets write a column on how fascinating it is to have a primary were two people from the same party with differing views run agains each other. As if this has never happened before.
- liberal wrote about Polman.."He is an electoral politics expert; that's his shtick. Like many of us, he probably knows jack about healthcare.". That may be true, but it never stopped him from writing about Bush's failed policies in Iraq (what does Polman know about war strategy); about Bush's failed handling of Katrina (when did Polman ever manage a natural disaster); about Bush's treatment of detainees and Guantanamo (did he ever visit the facility?); about Bush's and the Republicans wreckless spending and huge deficits; about Bush's imperial presidency. Now, we have a President who wants to limit pay in financial companies even if they did not take TARP money; we have a President dictating to a state what it can pass in its budget (see California and SEIU); we have a President violating the "absolute priority rule" and the Contracts Clause of Article V of the Constitution in the handling of Chrysler; we have a President who violated NAFTA with the stroke of his pen; we have a President flip flopping on military commission trials, "torture photos", indefinite detention, and the keeping of detainees at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan without habeus corpus rights; we have a President budgeting deficits of over $1 trillion and increasing the debt by close to $10 Trillion; we have the Speaker of the House lying about what she knew and when she knew it about the harsh interrogation techniques; and Polman writes about Charlie Crist? I suppose, liberal, if all of these acts had been carried by the previous administration, Polman would be writing about Diane Fienstein wanting to be governor of Pennsylvania. Also, one fourth of overseas absentee ballots (mainly from active duty and reserve troops), went uncounted in the 2008 election. At least according to the AP report.— tom - wilmington, de
- Correction....Diane Feinstein wanting to be governor of California, not Pennsylvania.— tom - wilmington, de
- smike, thanks for the help, it was getting lonely in here amongst the koolaide drinkers:) janann, I could care less what they say on the radio and the liberal mainstream media in this country is a known fact when even left-leaning Saturday Night Live is busting their chops over it! I am beginning to think half of the radio guys audience are dems who stew in their own juices over what they say(do what I do & telling by their ratings what most of the country does when MSNBC is at it, turn it off:). Did we see in the headlines today that Pres. Obama may bring the prisoners of Gitmo to the states, but just hold them indefinitley without a trial, etc.? That policy sounds familiar, doesn't it? The President will also block the release of 'torture' photos, reversing his previous position! Thus proving that it is much harder to make the decisions as leader of this country than it is to throw rhetorical bombs from the campaign trail or write in a blog such as this:)— NEPhilly
- Aother pertinent example....In his report of the stimulus package, Biden stated that the stimulus has "created or saved 150,000 jobs". As noted by the AP Factchecker, the economy has lost 1.3 million jobs since February (when the stimulus was passed). The administration has promised to "save or create" 600,000 jobs over the next 100 days. Even if the economy loses 5 million more jobs during that time span, Obama can claim to have saved some jobs. Of course this probably does not count the 80,000 people hired by the government for the 2010 census, right? I love the rationale that "yeah, things are bad, but if we did not spend $800 Billion it could have been worse". I am sure all those unemployed people love hearing how jobs were "saved". Had this been the previous administration, we would be reading how they were loose with the facts (heck, even the AP writes about it). Yet we get, like swedesboro said, more about two candidates vying in a primary who have different opinions. Gee, that is rare in our form of elections.— tom - wilmington, de
- NEP, could you please make it easy for us by supplying us with a list of what we can and can't discuss?— PhightinPhan
- phightin, we can discuss anything you want, just not the same story 6 out of 8 days in a row! What we can't discuss is how old & hittable Jamie Moyer looked last night? It a shame as I was looking up to him as a hero for guys my age! Oh well, all good things must come to an end, right?— NEPhilly
- No, NEP, it's much harder to make decisions when the previous administration leaves you a pile of foreign and domestic sh*t to deal with.— Djoko Pritza
- NEP, on the torture photos, he's listening to his military leaders. Isn't that what you were advocating in commenting on policy toward Iraq? You don't want it both ways, do you?— Djoko Pritza
- djoko, I agree with the President on both counts (although I would just leave them at Gitmo)! Do you? I was wondering where the outrage was on the left over these issues as there certainly would have been if a repub was in the White House! Or is the left afraid if they disagree with this president on any issue, their taxes might get looked into or worse:) Any thoughts?— NEPhilly
- Why is Polman obsessed with the Repubs when they are totally out of power? The Democrats control EVERYTHING in Washington? The Democrats are the Establishment, they are the powerful! It's all on them. So...let's see some results. The phrase "Obama inherited it" will only last so much longer.— Frito1
- SMike: Why is it that Cons like yourself scream incessantly about "blue collar welfare" (individuals collecting), but tend to be mute about "white collar welfare" (businesses collecting)? You're right, I am willing to spend your & my money IF it benefits everyone, OR if it lowers the long range dollar cost to taxpayers. How long have the mega-farm collectives been soaking the taxpayer? Oil companies getting money for "research"? How about the brilliant NeoCon idea of dropping pallets of cash in Iraq? Sheesh! The incredible inequities of the Bush tax breaks? I'm more than happy to pay for things like a clean environment, police & fire services, better schools, improved regional & national mass transit, etc. That's what elections are all about. The Bushies screwed up, so the Dems will get their chance until the GOP gets its act together & can show that the Dems aren't cutting it.— yobill626
- yobill...I just love your statement "the inequities of the Bush tax breaks". I am still laughing. You are one funny dude.— tom - wilmington, de
- NEP, you really hit at the heart of the matter: Why did people get so upset at Bush, but not at Obama when they do virtually the same things? There was such rage at Bush because he had demonstrated incompetence over a long period of time (forget the small number who were mad at him off the bat, much as with those angry at Obama from Day 1). With Obama, there is a mixture of hope and good will. Give the guy a chance, people are saying. People, except for Rush maybe, want things to go well, the economy to work and the country to be safe. Bush wasn’t unpopular all at once. He worked at it. Obama may reach the depths Bush had. But people will give him more time. Even when he does the same things. We’re looking for performance, not ideology.— Djoko Pritza
- NEP, on Gitmo, I’m not totally sure how I’d handle the trials of the remaining detainees. I haven’t followed it closely enough to know how good the evidence we have is. As far as shipping to the states those we want to continue to hold, I have no problem with it. All the demagoguing over NIMBY sickens me. The Repubs make it sound as if we’d be “releasing” the militants into our neighborhoods, rather than placing them in max-security prisons. In fact, not only would I move them all out of Gitmo, in some fashion to be worked out, I’d work to close Gitmo and return it to the Cubans in a long-term negotiated rapprochement. If we have normal relations with Cuba, we don’t need a base there. I also think the criticism from Repubs (let’s face it, if Obama leapt over tall buildings, the Repubs would find something about it to criticize) and some dumb Dems that he shouldn’t have announcedGitmo’s closing till he had a plan is plain wrong. The deadline gives us an incentive to work it out; if there are lingering problems, we’ll just extend the deadline. What’s wrong with that?— Djoko Pritza
- Tom--are tax breaks that result in the richest 100 taxpayers paying income tax at a rate of 17% fair and equitable? Apparently they are from your perspective.— liberal
- Gitmo--first of all, we need to realize that Bush released the majority of the Gitmo prisoners, so it's only a fraction that remain to be dealt with. Bush's brilliant justice department immunized most of the rest against prosecution by using force in the interrogation process, making a great deal of the evidence inadmissable in a regular court. So those who are criminals can't effectively be prosecuted under the laws of most civilized countries. If their status were recognized as POWs, however, as they should have been in the first place, they can be held until the war against the Taliban is finished.— liberal
- Smike, you are free to complain about what does or does not get written about (yet you still keep showing up), but once again, this was hardly a "hit piece" in the style you often find at other, angrier, more extreme blogs (left or right). Secondly, I see little to no supposed "bragging" that your cute, quoted paraphrase claimed. After reading countless posts of yours, it is my (very) humble opinion that you see things too much in black and white. You have proven that your views are lockstep with Rush, and anyone who disagrees, you call "liberal". I'm sorry to say, but Rush is extreme. Political affiliation works on a continuum, which you do not seem to understand, and in fact, Polman's piece is about how the Republican party will decide to manage this continuum. However, I too agree that this topic is getting stale.— puttinonthefoil
- swede and NE--in your future polemics, you can save some time if you realize that liberals aren't really interested much in welfare, giveaway programs, softness on crime, and all that other stuff that Limbaugh uses, partly as racist code words, to scare the middle class. That tactic for demonizing liberals doesn't work so well any more. Liberals are concerned with the environment, healthcare educational opportunities, energy independence, etc. You'll find it harder to scare mainstream Americans with that program, but I hope you will try harder because good political dialogue, as opposed to sound bites and code words, is fun.— liberal
- Wake me when Obama is actually going to take ownership of his Presidency. I say go fix it already and quit whining about what you inherited. Reagan inherited Jimmy Carter's 20 percent mortgage rates and 14 percent inflation. Bush inherited a security situation that was derelict of it's duties and hamstrung by a " wall " that forbade the sharing of intelligence between the various law enforcment agencies.
- tom: I hope you know I did throw that line in there to get a reaction. I just didn't think it was going to be on the very next post. Although there's truth in it, it is out of place with the rest of my points. Good catch. Hey, maybe tomorrow we'll be talking about how the CIA lied to Nancy Pelosi about informing her on torture.— yobill626
- SMike: How long was it exactly before Bush started taking responsibility for his actions? Oh, yeah... we're still waiting... Seriously, though, based on what it is, I think somewhere between last Jan 20th & Christmas, 2009. The bigger the issue, the longer the turnaround time.— yobill626
- Pres. Obama didn't inherit anything. He fought and scratched and clawed and elbowed his way in to get it & now he has it! lib, we all should be worried about running a deficit of $3 Tril over the next 2 years (and that is if the economy grows 2-3% next year), whether we are repub or dems, the Chinese sure are:) Also, the President could have had univerasal health care already if he hadn't blown $787 Bil on a stimulus package that has stimulated nothing! Usually Presidents get one shot at a pet project or campaign promise, GWB chose to cut taxes on everyone and take a record number of people off the tax rolls entirely! Pres. Obama chose to sign a $787 Bil that does very little to stimulate the economy and was just a grab bag of dem pet projects and pork, IMHO!— NEPhilly
- liberal: Speak for yourself. As a middle aged tax paying adult, I just love to see an able bodied person collecting welfare.— yobill626
- lib, when those tax breaks also result in 5 million people coming off the tax rolls, expansion of the earned income credit, a credit of $1,000 for children up to age 16 (which is a refundable credit under certain circumstances), and the lowering of the bottom rate for millions more taxpayers, yes, they are legitimate and fair. I suppose we should penalize people by making capital gains subject to the same rates as ordinary income...that will really spur investment. BTW - did anyone else catch the Pelosi press conference today where she accused the CIA of lying? This is getting good. As for the NIMBY, it was suggested that the detainees could be moved to Alcatraz, but Diane Feinstein ruled it out saying Alcatraz was a "national treasure". Can you believe it....Alcatraz is a national treasure.— tom - wilmington, de
- tom: The EITC & other "bones" thrown to the middle class pales in comparison to the huge breaks given to the Rich. I'd be interested to see how much of the tax money saved by the folks in the upper tax brackets was put back into the economy as investments. I'd bet there is a correlation, but not a very good one.— yobill626
- Retail sales fell in April, prices rose, unemployment is higher than expected (I wonder how many jobs were saved?), and yesterday a memo was leaked from Obama's counsel that the EPA ruled CO2 a pollutant for political reasons with no scientific proof to back it up. Was any of that in the Inquirer or on Philly.com?— tom - wilmington, de
- NIMBY is ugly, whether Dem or Repub. It is the total opposite of working together to solve problems. But leadership at the top, (fed, state, local) is needed to overcome it.— Djoko Pritza
- Did someone honestly say Obama did NOT inherite the current economic conditions? Like we didnt already have a trillion dollar debt. The economic crash was the hottest topic in the presidential debate! Which in turn would mean the economy was down before Obama came to office.— MdeanL
- Comment removed.
1
Popular Posts
About this blog
Cited by the Columbia Journalism Review as one of the nation's top political reporters, and lauded by the ABC News political website as "one of the finest political journalists of his generation," Dick Polman is a national political columnist at the Philadelphia Inquirer. He is on the full-time faculty at the University of Pennsylvania, as "writer in residence." Dick has been a frequent guest on C-Span, MSNBC, CNN, NPR and the BBC. He covered the 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 presidential campaigns.
ARCHIVES
All commentaries posted before April 18, 2008, can be accessed at www.dickpolman.blogspot.com.
Search this blog:
Blog Roll
- American Spectator
- David Limbaugh
- Free Republic
- Glenn Reynolds
- Hugh Hewitt
- Human Events
- John Hawkins
- Matt Lewis
- Michelle Malkin
- National Review
- Opinion Journal
- Power Line
- Red State
- The Brody File
- The Daily Caller
- Town Hall
- Weekly Standard
- Center for American Progress
- Crooks and Liars
- Daily Kos
- David Corn
- Huffington Post
- Media Matters
- Mojoblog (Mother Jones)
- Open Left
- Political Animal
- Salon's War Room
- Talking Points Memo
- Tapped
- The Democratic Strategist
- The Grey Matter
- Unclaimed Territory
- Andrew Sullivan
- Attytood
- Chi Tribune's The Swamp
- CJR's Campaign Desk
- CNN's Political Ticker
- CQ Politics
- FactCheck.org
- Gail Collins
- Howard Kurtz
- Mickey Kaus
- NBC's First Read
- Obit
- Political Wire
- Politico
- Politics Daily
- Pollster.com
- Real Clear Politics
- The Atlantic Wire
- The Fix
- The Moderate Voice
- The Plank
- USA Today On Politics
- Wonkette
Classifieds:
Site Services:
Partners: