During President Bush’s first term, most fiscally conservative Republicans remained mum as the administration gorged itself on a protracted spending spree that would have horrified previous Republican generations. But now that any concerns about his electability have been successfully dispatched, some of those same conservatives—including the diminished ranks of congressional moderates concerned about their own incumbencies in 2006—are beginning to push… return to article
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Reader Comments (21)Page 1 of 1 pagesMaybe Whitman should switch parties.
I used to drive with a bumper sticker that said
“Newter Gingrich”, when I was resident of Georgia.
I thought he’d been swallowed by his own rhetoric. He’s a jerk.
Posted by pick of the litter on Feb 17, 2005 at 4:28 PM You guys need to cover “Gannongate”.
http://mediamatters.org/topics/gannongate.html
This is a real stinky scandal.
The integrity of the White House press just gets better every day.
Posted by pick of the litter on Feb 17, 2005 at 4:51 PM best possible situation is the repubs imploding. with bush at the healm. pushing hard against everyone. then barack obama (sp?) coming up in 08 and taking the presidency. right now he’s the best hope. another senate term his prospects will be gone. senators vote and it’s too easy to tarnish them. so good job bush, get even more extreme and alienate everyone but your jesus americanus and laura.
Posted by e. kooi on Feb 17, 2005 at 5:58 PM Barrack Obama turned 43 in Aug. ‘04. He needs some seasoning that could be as the Democratic VP candidate in 2008. A ticket of Virginia Gov. Mark Warner/Barrack Obama could be mighty potent.
Posted by Mark Cartwright on Feb 17, 2005 at 6:13 PM The current makeup of the government is perfect for a republican implosion, because they hold a monopoly on all the power, and have for awhile. There is very little potential for blaming democrats for all the problems that will certainly result from this powerstructure. Unfortunatley the damage is probably going to be massive.
Posted by Hurin on Feb 17, 2005 at 8:05 PM Yes granted an republican implosion is possible, indeed likely as the extremist neo-cons led by King George W Bush become more and more obscure. However the Dems are not exactly doing well either, the Dems need to stop pushing this moderate bullshit and if they continue it by running Kerry, Edwards, or Hillary it is likely the progressives led by Howard Dean will make a split from the party and the Dems as we know them will no longer exist. By the way I believe an implosion in each to be a good thing to stop the two party duopoly which strangles our freedom.
The progressives and true liberals in the democratic party need to make an alliance with Ralph Nader a true progressive hero instead of bad mouthing him and shunning him.
Run Ralph Run
Nader in 08
www.votenader.org
Posted by Richard on Feb 17, 2005 at 8:16 PM Barack Obama has already shown that it took 30 Washington seconds to become coerced and coopted by money and power, and the desire to obtain and keep both.
His voting record the last several weeks is APPALLING.
He is betraying the very base and principles that put him where he is.
He’s a “Lieberman in training”.
Posted by Liberal AND Proud on Feb 17, 2005 at 9:20 PM And personally…although in the past I never believed a third party to ever really be viable, I also never thought I’d see this country become the constipated, angry, insular mess that it has become.
There are IMO now plenty of progressive conservative Republicans and progressive liberal Democrats that share common ground on many issues, and have the decency, maturity and proper sense of REAL devotion to the nation as a whole, to find compromise on those issues, to form a VIABLE third party option.
Posted by Liberal AND Proud on Feb 17, 2005 at 9:26 PM Yeah, I’d have to say that Obama’s early voting record seems to indicate he’ll need to grow some nuts before we start talking about him in Presedential terms. I imagine it’s a bit early to know that he’s a Lieberman in training. Haven’t seen him French-kissing President Chimp Boy yet and at least he voted against Mr. Torture for Attorney General. Early returns are not too promising though.
Posted by Matt Harris on Feb 17, 2005 at 10:19 PM So now the measurement of whether or not your a “moderate” is slipping the tongue to the Commander in Chief?
What’s next…“Gee…it wasn’t torture…we didn’t break ALL his fingers”.
Posted by Liberal AND Proud on Feb 17, 2005 at 10:25 PM As I recall, it was 8 years ago, after Clinton’s state of the union address, that Whitman gave the rupub rebuttal. What an arrogant idiot she came off as, stating that Clinton (the president) and the democrats should follow the repubs as they travel the golden path to glory, or some such stupidity.
I think a public retraction and apology are in order for Whitman.
Posted by Lefty on Feb 17, 2005 at 11:01 PM PS: “Whitman pens a scathing indictment against the “social fundamentalists” and “extreme right” factions that have hijacked the party in recent years.”
WHAAAAT? Whitman should take personal responsibility for her part in stupidly handing the GOP (and the country) over to the Fascist pigs and beg for forgiveness for being the stupid cow that she is.
Posted by Lefty on Feb 17, 2005 at 11:06 PM Yo LP, pretty much on your side here. Only saying it’s a little early to lump him with Liebermann after only 3 votes. Don’t know how my post would illicit the “What’s next…” comment. Whatever.
Posted by Matt Harris on Feb 18, 2005 at 2:00 AM The list of converts from the Jim Jones Kool-Aid school of neoconservatism continues to grow. John Delulio, Paul Craig Roberts, David Brock, and now, Christie Todd Whitman.
I remain cautiously optimistic that Bush will not last out another four years. Such monumental hubris and ignorance will not stand the test of time. Like a figure in a Shakespearean tragedy, he is marked for doom. He is going to push too far and it is going to all come crashing down on his pointed head like a ton of bricks. Mark my words.
Posted by Stephen Kriz on Feb 18, 2005 at 11:39 AM Matt…I apologize if I offended you.
LOL! I’m just a real cranky liberal these days.
These last several years have just gotten surreal. Even cliches like playing the Twilight Zone music in the background when you see and hear some of what is going on falls WAY short.
I mean…Ollie North is a RESPECTED JOURNALIST! We’ve got plants in the White House Press Conferences. Social Security is being turned into a political football. The US started an unprovoked war. Gosh…I could go on and on.
Posted by Liberal AND Proud on Feb 18, 2005 at 12:50 PM It’s no thing L & P. I totally agree. I keep thinking it’s just some kind of grade B horror movie and I’ll wake up soon. Things can only get better. Right??
Have a good weekend and keep up the good fight.
Posted by Matt Harris on Feb 18, 2005 at 9:57 PM What about the Wead tapes?
How are republicans going to react amongst themselves?
Betrayal from within!
But who’s the worse betrayer - Wead or Bush himself?
The drama!!
Posted by trixie on Feb 22, 2005 at 4:51 PM Bush smoked Wead. And snorted Koch. I wonder who’s smoking Gannon…
Posted by Matt Harris on Feb 25, 2005 at 11:25 PM Rover’s smoking Gannon. Who else but Rove could get that male hooker a daily press pass? He’s the head of their fascist propaganda. Without his OK, there’s no way Guckert, aka, Gannon gets in the white house press corp every day for 2 years.
The corporate media should be ashamed that they are not exposing the utter corruption and hypocrisy of this Gannon story. These neo-fascists have been given a free pass on the treason of outing Plame. Maybe it’s time for some billboards!
Posted by AmericanInsurgent on Mar 4, 2005 at 2:16 AM I read a lot of posts at ITT, and post a few myself, I’m crancky too, and depressed, and what frustrates me about our side is how many believe that the social, ethical, political construct of the last half of the 20th century is still in place. It is not. The standards by which we used to judge these people, have been swept away. The right declared war on this country a long time ago, just as fascists from other eras and in other countries declared it on their people. And they have won that war. We are an occupied country. An illegitimate regime holds power, controls the press, does the bidding of the corporations and the rich, re-writes or ignores the laws, packs the courts, changes the very meaning of the words we used to use to describe our existence. Theology now masquerades as science, illegal invasions, occupation, and the resulting casualties painted as liberation, our forces shoot civilians, journalists, torture and kill detainees, our generals brag about how much fun it is to kill, or how our god is better than theirs, our economy is reeling from massive debt, massive trade imbalance and massive military spending, and their solution is more tax cuts, more trade agreements, and more war. Oh and more religion. God knows, when they finish wrecking the economy, the educational system, social security, health care, and the value of the dollar, we’ll need some of the opiate that is religion.
Posted by Kenneth D. Brown on Mar 5, 2005 at 6:18 AM As far as Christie Todd Whitman’s disagreements with much of the Bush administration’s Right Wing agenda, and in particular, environmental policy, it should be noted that she is not as divergent in her views as some suggest.
In her book, It’s My Party Too, she makes the case that she was contradicted and used by G. W. Bush during her tenure as EPA Administrator. But, a closer read of her own words should be a flashing light to those who think her departure from the Bush party line signals a resurgence of the more moderate Republican views.
In touting her book It’s My Party Too, Christie Todd Whitman adds this bit of hypocrisy:
“There is no doubt that compromise on the environment is perhaps more difficult today than at any time in the past 35 years. Yet I believe that the party that succeeds in truly presenting a sensible, moderate position of the environment stands to reap significant policy gains and political rewards. The Republican Party has the heritage and the record over the past four decades to make it the logical party to do so.”The “logical party”? Now, tell me, is this the most incredible bit of hypocrisy and an outright lie or what? If Bush and the Republican Party succeed in selling this colossal piece of mendacity and the public swallows it, believe me, we have arrived at the 21st Century equivalent of the Dark Ages.
Posted by Richard on Mar 6, 2005 at 5:40 PM Page 1 of 1 pages -
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