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Born To Lose


Digby says it all:

McCain, the Republican rebel maverick, showed that Republicans are moral and look out for their troops.

Bush, the Republican statesman and leader, showed that he is committed to protecting Americans but that he is willing to listen and compromise when people of good faith express reservations about tactics.

The Democrats showed they are ciphers who don't have the stones to even say a word when the most important moral issue confronting the government is being debated.

As I quoted Josh a few weeks back:

We know the president's final strategy to keep the subpoenas at bay in 2007 and 2008. Put the worst al Qaida bad guys at Gitmo and force a rushed debate over legislation over how they will be tried. An up or down vote, either the president's kangaroo courts or nothing. Dare Democrats to vote for nothing. If they do, mutilate them with 30 seconds. If they don't, sow dissension among the opposition.

Josh only got one thing wrong: the Democrats we so weak-kneed there wasn't even any dissension. They just rolled over.

As to the larger picture, well, Marty Lederman's title says it all: "U.S. to be First Nation to Authorize Violations of Geneva." If the Democrats cannot be bothered to oppose torture, not because it makes good or bad politics, but because it is wrong, well then, to hell with 'em, they deserve to lose in November.


Sean Paul Kelley September 21, 2006 - 7:24pm
Sean Paul Kelley's diary | printer friendly version | digg
( categories: Liberties )

Defining Compromise: GOP Sticks It To The Dems

I've got to hand it to the Democrats. The strategy of allowing the Republicans to "thrash out" their differences on the treatment and prosecution of detainees has played out exactly as planned...for the Republicans. Don't let anyone convince you that you can go to the well too often...that is if you are a Republican and your opponent is a fully inept Democratic Party.

Amidst a trend of favorable polling data and a firestorm of speeches by the President to refocus the voting public on their fear of terrorism, the Democrats stood in the background for the past two weeks and watched what the GOP will call the difficult work of creating legislation that preserves our commitment to civil liberties while at the same time providing our determined President with the essential tools needed to pursue those who seek to kill us all.

OK, perhaps I'm being too harsh. There is a possibility that in the past two weeks the Democrats were able to devise their sixth iteration of a campaign slogan and strategy to roll out with less than 50 days to the election. Perhaps they could call it "Fifty States, Fifty Days...But Never Fifty Percent"? It's catchy, it's succinct, and it may well be accurate come November 8th. Arrrgh!

Read more here:

www.thoughttheater.com

Daniel DiRito September 21, 2006 - 10:12pm
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Falling into the trap

Once the Democratic Party has the majority of even a single branch of government, then complaints about any inability to do anything or stop odious legislation may have some merit.

Meanwhile, I find it distressing that the dominant theme amongst many progressive blogs in recent days is how allegedly ineffectual the Democratic Party is. This is exactly what Rove/Bush & Gang are after. And it is alarmingly easy for them to accomplish.

Let's crawl out of the trap and get back to discussing who the real incompetents are -- at least at anything besides getting their opponents to eat themselves.

P M Bryant September 23, 2006 - 2:56pm
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Correct.

Morale is a tangible.

This circular-firing-squad business is ridiculous - WTF are the critics planning to do? Vote Republican? Not vote? Yeesh.

Escher Sketch September 23, 2006 - 5:50pm
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