Elections Blog

From Morton Kondracke:
Having failed to convince fellow Republicans of the merits of comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush now faces the even more difficult task of defending free trade against protectionist Democrats.
A tide of populism, protectionism, nationalism and xenophobia is washing over the country, fueled by right-wing radio talk show hosts, CNN firebrand Lou Dobbs — [...]

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The Wall Street Journal has gathered a collection of quotes that appeared in articles for their publication by the recently deceased Milton Freidman.  I highly recommend you read them all.  One in particular struck me, though, as being appropriate for conservativism right now, considering how free-spending the recently deposed Republican Congress was:
…[D]eficits are bad–but not [...]

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…but will she walk the walk? In a piece proclaiming that ending the war is her highest legislative priority (not winning, mind you, but ending - well, that easy, pull out all the troops tomorrow, and it ends - for Americans, and for now only - thank God for the Senate, and for Joe Lieberman), [...]

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More on the bid by Nancy Pelosi to give John Murtha the Majority Leader post from John Fund in the Wall Street Journal:
House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi’s endorsement of Rep. John Murtha for majority leader, the No. 2 position in the Democratic leaderhsip, has roiled her caucus. “She will ensure that they [Mr. Murtha and his allies] [...]

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Whatever one might make of the sincerity of Nancy Pelosi’s outreach to Republicans, one thing is certain: it’s business as usual in Washington.  First, Alcee Hastings, and now John Murtha.  Oh, I’m just a right-wing nut job ’swift-boating’ Murtha, right? Here’s Ruth Marcus in the Washington Post:
The videotape is grainy, dark and devastating. The congressman [...]

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The editors of The New Republic weigh in on the incredibly short-sighted (and just plain morally wrong) decision by Nancy Pelosi to put Alcee Hastings in charge of the House Intelligence Committee:
In one of her first important acts since Democrats recaptured Congress, Nancy Pelosi is about to make a decision that is both substantively foolish [...]

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Writing in the Christian Science Monitor:

With their votes, the American people asked for change. They cast their ballots in favor of a New Direction.
They called for greater integrity in Washington, and Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.
The American people called for greater civility in how Congress conducts [...]

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Mostly positive reaction, it seems, to the choice of Robert Gates for Secretary of Defense.  What negativity there is mostly focuses on question of his role in the Iran-Contra coverup.  First, some good, from David Ignatius in the Washington Post:
Robert Gates will bring to the job the attentive style of a listener. He rose at [...]

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I’ve been harping on Republicans to run on tax cuts and the economy for literally months now, and with the exception of George Allen, I’ve heard mostly crickets chirping.  Maybe that’s changing now:
Republicans seized on a drop in the unemployment rate to assert on Friday that tax cuts were invigorating the economy, highlighting just four [...]

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Any Republican candidate who doesn’t tout these figures in his last few days of campaigning is a hopeless fool who doesn’t deserve reelection:
The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs — flashing a picture of a strong labor market as the midterm elections draw [...]

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…lighter than normal posting this weekend, as I attend a family function, but before I get on the road, a few Foley-related items.  I concur with Tom Bevan that the effects of the scandal are not as obvious as some would pretend:
There is no question that the scandal destroyed the momentum that President Bush and the [...]

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Last night, I lamented the fact that the really important things like events in Baghdad have been swallowed up by the Mark Foley story (though I feel vindicated in saying that the story had peaked - I think that’s proven to be the case). Daniel Henninger is of a like mind:
It’s hard to believe [...]

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One thing’s for sure; the Foley scandal has highlighted the disillusionment many feel with our congressional leadership.  Our friend The Real Ugly American is one of them:
…12 years of basically unchallenged supremacy due to the feckless Democratic party (don’t get me started there) has made the GOP leadership soft. They are a collection of men who no [...]

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Earlier today, I noted how prominent left-leaning journalists (Bob Herbert specifically) were just SURE that Harry Whittington spelled the end of the evil reign of the Republicans.  Howard Fineman is sure setting himself up for a similar fall:
An Iraq war that has cost us nearly half trillion dollars—and the good will of the world—might not [...]

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Ouch!:
October 3, 2006
Dear Letter to the Editor [sic]:
I disagree with the editorial board of the Washington Times (”Resign, Mr. Speaker,” Oct. 3, 2006). We are all outraged about Mark Foley’s abhorrent and reprehensible conduct. He preyed on children entrusted to our care and he disgraced our institution.
Mr. Foley lied to his fellow members, he [...]

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Well, I suppose that was inevitable…I’ve said my piece many, many times now, and you all know where I stand.  It’s not about me, though; this is a political blog, and clearly the story is having an impact.  At the RealClearPolitics blog, Tom Bevan writes:
Foleygate has clearly mushroomed into a mini-nuke for Republicans. Democrats were [...]

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The National Journal’s well-respected and non-partisan Hotline reveals what any thinking person already knew: the Democratic attack machine is in high gear on the Mark Foley story.  Since the story broke, I have fought the perception that this is all just unorchestrated outrage and the natural course of events with such a scandal.  Read the [...]

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…in my neck of the woods as Freescale Semiconductor, a Motorola spinoff based in Austin, has found the proverbial pot of gold:
Freescale Semiconductor Inc., a maker of cell-phone chips that was spun off by Motorola Inc., said Friday it agreed to be purchased by a private-equity consortium for $17.6 billion.
The announcement comes days after Austin-based Freescale, [...]

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The Atlantis, at last, and Mark Coffey into the world of notebooks: That’s right, good ol’ Windows Vista Beta 2 finally completely locked me out of my own computer!  I can’t tell you how thrilled that made me, and such exquisite timing; kudos to Microsoft for destroying my computer…well done, fellas. 
Even more thrilling was the fact that [...]

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So much going on today that I haven’t had time yet for this welcome news:
Move over, Alaska. Geoscientists have made what may be the nation’s largest oil discovery off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas.
It could be the biggest domestic oil find in 38 years, but production is years away, and even then it won’t [...]

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