Increasingly, the Tea Party's growing power and influence has unmoored Republican politicians from their traditional alliance with Wall Street in favor of grassroots conservative activists.
"Our No. 1 focus is to make sure, when it comes to the Senate, that we have no loser candidates," said U.S. Chamber of Commerce top political strategist Scott Reed. "That will be our mantra: No fools on our ticket."
That budget is a disgrace.
It's the best we can get with divided government. You do know we have divided government, don't you?I don't need your condescension big boy.
I don't need your condescension big boy.
The budget is a disgrace whether it's the best we can get, the worst we can get or anywhere in between.
You do know what a disgrace is, don't you?
I don't need your condescension big boy.
The budget is a disgrace whether it's the best we can get, the worst we can get or anywhere in between.
You do know what a disgrace is, don't you?
There are some very good "Tea Party" prospects for the House, such as Mia Love, but what the GOP can't do is to put lemons like these three on the ticket in a winnable senatorial race.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dd/Todd_Akin,_official_109th_Congress_photo.jpg/220px-Todd_Akin,_official_109th_Congress_photo.jpg)
(http://images.nymag.com/images/2/daily/2010/09/20100913_odonnell_190x190.jpg)
(http://www.ontheissues.org/pictures/Sharron_Angle.jpg)
CoC has a big problem with their enemy identification. Or more likely, they don't...as they are acting like a tool for the Democrats and Republicans, both of which represent the real problem in our Government.
We have allowed our Government to systematically disassemble the Constitution as it was written, and after 100 years of incrementalism by the Left, Progressives and Democrats, the inevitable result is that you have the Government of, for, and by the People that answers to nothing other than the agendas of the two political parties. The States have been dealt out of the game and can do nothing, and both parties depend on their base of ill and under-informed voters to keep professional politicians in office until they die.
How long the People allow this to continue is an open question. Best to be prepared for what comes after this mess finally collapses of its own weight.
There are some very good "Tea Party" prospects for the House, such as Mia Love, but what the GOP can't do is to put lemons like these three on the ticket in a winnable senatorial race.
The States have been dealt out of the game and can do nothing, and both parties depend on their base of ill and under-informed voters to keep professional politicians in office until they die.
How long the People allow this to continue is an open question. Best to be prepared for what comes after this mess finally collapses of its own weight.
That budget is a disgrace.
Anyone who has the audacity to challenge the establishment in Washington is automatically a "lemon" to the establishment in Washington!
The only thing wrong with any of those candidates is that they did exactly that!
Wow, thanks for that Captain Obvious moment.
I don't need your condescension big boy.
The budget is a disgrace whether it's the best we can get, the worst we can get or anywhere in between.
You do know what a disgrace is, don't you?
...or septic tanks being pumped."Laws, like sausages, cease to inspire respect in proportion as we know how they are made."
--John Godfrey Saxe
Those with weak stomaches should not watch laws or sausages being made.
...or septic tanks being pumped.
The only thing wrong with those three candidates is, through their own inexperience and stupidity, they lost very winnable Senate races, and all because they weren't at all ready for prime time. But, the Tea Party got their wish, and got rid of a RINO in the primaries and elected Democrats to the Senate.
Sharon Angle was the worst of the bunch. What an embarrassment, although Rape Akin and his extremist views on abortion come in a close second. O'Donnell was at least somewhat qualified, but her "I'm not a witch" ad spelled doom for her.
They lost but not due to anything you said! They lost because they were running against a. the Democrat incumbent, b. the Establishment GOP, and 3. the media. (A and B are admittedly the same thing essentially.)
Sharon Angle was not up to snuff, not by any legitimate measure.
It's not condescension. You seem not to be able to distinguish the possible from the ideal.LOL..Mr. sink, you are absolutely disingenuous..and not very good at it.
LOL..Mr. sink, you are absolutely disingenuous..and not very good at it.
I will repeat the obvious which you fully realize and that is this bill is a disgrace, and it has nothing to do with any version of "the ideal".
I could list all the reasons it is a disgrace but in your case, I doubt seriously it would be worth my time or effort.
OK. I will no longer cast pearls.
CoC has a big problem with their enemy identification. Or more likely, they don't...as they are acting like a tool for the Democrats and Republicans, both of which represent the real problem in our Government.
Wynton Hall is giving his personal opinion here, and it is "unmoored" from fact.
The fact is, the Tea Party's influence is waning in the GOP, as exhibited by the overwhelming vote in favor of the just-passed budget.
The GOP is focused on taking the Senate, not on putting ideologically pure candidates on the ballot. Ridding the country of Obamacare, or crippling it, is the most important issue before the country. Holding both Houses of Congress will give the GOP a great deal of leverage in 2015.
The GOP had the presidency and both chambers of Congress as recently as during the GW Bush administration, and what did they accomplish? Grew government and piled on debt. Republicans today are simply the other side of the DC establishment coin. I can't support them any longer.
The GOP had the presidency and both chambers of Congress as recently as during the GW Bush administration, and what did they accomplish? Grew government and piled on debt. Republicans today are simply the other side of the DC establishment coin. I can't support them any longer.
The GOP had the presidency and both chambers of Congress as recently as during the GW Bush administration, and what did they accomplish? Grew government and piled on debt. Republicans today are simply the other side of the DC establishment coin. I can't support them any longer.
OK. So don't support them.
Who are you going to support? Libertarians? Randians?
Good luck with that.
Ronald Reagan grew government and piled on debt. I guess you hated him too.
I will support the most CONSERVATIVE - by which I mean founded in the Constitution - candidate available in all cases at all times!
I will support the most CONSERVATIVE - by which I mean founded in the Constitution - candidate available in all cases at all times!
I will support the most CONSERVATIVE - by which I mean founded in the Constitution - candidate available in all cases at all times!
Even if he/she grows government and piles on debt?
The GOP had the presidency and both chambers of Congress as recently as during the GW Bush administration, and what did they accomplish? Grew government and piled on debt. Republicans today are simply the other side of the DC establishment coin. I can't support them any longer.
Washington, DC is now a money pit into which the wealth of the nation is being poured. 6 of the top 10, and 8 of the 13 wealthiest counties in the country are located in the DC metropolitan statistical area. And how much of that wealth benefits the rest of the nation? What does Washington make, other than laws and regulations enforced upon the rest of us, while corporate and labor lobbyists effectively work to exclude themselves from the costs of government and obtain unearned benefits from it?
Of course the national Chamber of Commerce wants to kill the Tea Party: they are increasingly captive to, and clients of the Federal government. And they very much wish to maintain the status quo.
You know, you would probably have better discussions if you didn't alienate so many people to the point of putting you on Ignore. 000hehehehe
OK. So don't support them.
Who are you going to support? Libertarians? Randians?
Good luck with that.
Ronald Reagan grew government and piled on debt. I guess you hated him too.
Commentary: Ronald Reagan and the Art of Compromise (http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/07/12/155433/commentary-ronald-reagan-and-the.html)
By Dan Morain
The Sacramento Bee
July 12, 2012
There's a move afoot to place a statue inside the Capitol honoring Ronald Reagan, the most consequential politician ever to come from this state and the only California governor to become president. It's a great idea, so long as it teaches a lesson about the vanishing art of compromise.
Sacramento public affairs consultant Doug Elmets, who worked in the Reagan White House, proposed putting the monument in the building where Reagan's political career began. Elmets laments the hardened stands of politicians, particularly in his Republican Party. An honest look at Reagan might help Republicans and Democrats tear down those walls. "Where has the civility gone?" Elmets asked. "Regardless of your political views, you cannot deny that Ronald Reagan was one of the most politically transformative – and collaborative – figures in recent history."
Reagan campaigned against "welfare bums." But as governor, he sat down with one of the most influential Democrats of the time, Assembly Speaker Bob Moretti, and overhauled welfare. He ran to the right, but signed legislation allowing no-fault divorce and "therapeutic abortions." He denounced the size of government, but pushed for the largest tax increase ever enacted in this state up to that point. In March 1967, Gov. Reagan pondered whether he would sign a bill authorizing income tax withholding from workers' paychecks. "I suppose if I were held with a hot iron to my feet and bound hand and foot," he told reporters. "Every man has his breaking point." The following day, this headline appeared in The Bee: "Governor seeks $946 million more in tax increases." Taxes on income, corporate profits, booze and cigarettes all went up. Reagan called it a "regrettable necessity."
Former Gov. George Deukmejian was the freshman Republican state senator who carried tax legislation that Reagan signed in 1967. "He was very pragmatic, very pragmatic," Deukmejian told me this week. "He set a tone that spelled out what he felt would be the best type of government. But he was willing to listen to all the arguments and try to work things out. Solutions sometimes involve compromise."
Assemblyman Curt Hagman, R-Chino Hills, is carrying Assembly Bill 2358 to authorize the statue. In keeping with the views of the politician who complained about government spending, the statue would be privately funded. The Assembly approved the bill 61-0, and it cleared its first Senate committee on a 12-0 vote.
Gov. Jerry Brown was stepping into a Capitol elevator when I asked him about the concept of a statue of the man who unseated his father. "I want to see what other governors are similarly respected. What about Hiram Johnson? Is he in the park?" Brown asked, noncommittal, knowing there is no such tribute to the Progressive-era governor. Nor is there a statue of Earl Warren, the governor who became U.S. chief justice.
As governor, Reagan made some terrible decisions, like emptying state hospitals without making sure counties had money to pay for mentally ill people who had no place to live but on the streets. In the process, he made deals. John Quimby, an assemblyman from San Bernardino when Reagan was governor, recalled the night he and few other legislators had drinks with "Ronnie" in the basement of his Sacramento home, and started shooting pool. Quimby, intent on saving Patton State Hospital in his district, made a wager on the outcome of the pool game, and won. Patton remains open; Mendocino State Hospital was shut long ago. I suppose there are worse ways to make decisions. "He was a great one to socialize with," Quimby said.
Republicans who were children when Reagan was president buy into the myth that he was a rock-solid conservative, and politicians who are old enough to know better perpetuate the myth. No less a figure than former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush recently poked at some so-called conservatives by musing that Reagan, like his father, George H.W. Bush, would have a hard time navigating Republican politics today, given that they had a history of compromise. "Some of the things he did when he first became governor would make it difficult for him to be elected today," said John Herrington, who was among Gov. Reagan's political aides and became energy secretary during his presidency.
As governor, Reagan famously declared he was so opposed to withholding income taxes from workers' paychecks that his feet were in concrete. When he compromised with Democrats not long afterward, he quipped that the concrete was cracking. Of course, Californians should construct a great statue in Gov. Reagan's honor. But the legend should be leavened with facts. Perhaps the sculptor could place Reagan's feet in cracked concrete.
Our only truly conservative President in over 80 years compromised?
The most important things about Reagan:
1. He got elected (albeit against an easy candidate to defeat)
2. He did well enough in his 1st term, to get re-elected easily
Cuz if you can't get elected, you are merely a footnote of history
The GOP had the presidency and both chambers of Congress as recently as during the GW Bush administration, and what did they accomplish? Grew government and piled on debt. Republicans today are simply the other side of the DC establishment coin. I can't support them any longer.Oh you didn't know?
The GOP had the presidency and both chambers of Congress as recently as during the GW Bush administration, and what did they accomplish? Grew government and piled on debt. Republicans today are simply the other side of the DC establishment coin. I can't support them any longer.Actually, they only had the presidency and both houses for a brief time during those 8 years and I thought Noot and the gang did a commendable job...considering they were pubbies.
You know, you would probably have better discussions if you didn't alienate so many people to the point of putting you on Ignore. 000hehehehe
I thought he/she/it was going to STFU.
I knew it couldn't last.
Actually, they only had the presidency and both houses for a brief time during those 8 years and I thought Noot and the gang did a commendable job...considering they were pubbies.
Actually, they only had the presidency and both houses for a brief time during those 8 years and I thought Noot and the gang did a commendable job...considering they were pubbies.ACTUALLY I looked it up, and Reagan NEVER had a majority in the House, and DID have a majority in the Senate for the first 6 yrs. of his Presidency.
You're confused. Go back and check your history.Not at all.
Not at all.
The pubbies controlled the House and the Senate for 4 of his 8 years and his senate control was only marginal so his agenda was stymied. Their control was a dubious thing as it may have been good for committee assignments and controlling the docket but the margin was too small for any major achievement. At least that's what W thought.
It was only through the leadership of Noot that anything got done and, as I said, considering they were pubbies I think their achievements were commendable for that 4 year period.
Not at all.
The pubbies controlled the House and the Senate for 4 of his 8 years and his senate control was only marginal so his agenda was stymied. Their control was a dubious thing as it may have been good for committee assignments and controlling the docket but the margin was too small for any major achievement. At least that's what W thought.
It was only through the leadership of Noot that anything got done and, as I said, considering they were pubbies I think their achievements were commendable for that 4 year period.
I stand corrected ..it wasn't Noot. How could I forget those wonderful Clinton years.
But, Hastert or Noot, I still think the pubbies did a commendable job during the W presidency considering the extremely contentious and obstructive senate dims.
Jim Jeffords, didn't his party switch give the dems the Senate?Yep. It was amazing with these kinds of problems in the senate that W was able to accomplish anything. In terms of positive achievements, the Bush Tax Cuts may have been it.
Yep. It was amazing with these kinds of problems in the senate that W was able to accomplish anything. In terms of positive achievements, the Bush Tax Cuts may have been it.
Yet nary a problem with Medicare D, "No Child Left Behind" and "Bowling for African AIDS Dollars"Yes..that's why I said "positive".