Larger Issue: Here is an opinion piece about Wayne Gichrest a 9 term MD republican congressman who just lost his seat in the primary to a hard right loon. He says:
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“I haven’t stepped away from my party,” Gilchrest says. “The party has stepped away from Eisenhower and Goldwater and Nixon and Ford and even Ronald Reagan. It’s been driven away by this anti-government combination of Milton Friedman and Jerry Falwell.”*
The piece also talks about Davis.
Smaller FWIW:
Gilchrest has endorsed Obama and is very, very biter about his loss and that fuels some of this. Although not at the same level as Gilcrest, Davis notes in the piece, he too is a bit miffed at Virginia GOP leaders who he felt kept him out of trying for John Warner’s Senate seat. In these cases these guys have some motivation for pointing out and “hating on” the GOP.
Sure, and that’s great, I guess. The question, though, is how he felt about all of this BEFORE he became unemployed. Was he a big fan of Far-Right douchebaggery before he ended up on the other end of it? What does his voting record show? It’s amazing how all of these ‘Born Again True Republicans’ only opened their mouths once they lost their jobs, or once they saw the oncoming 2008 bloodbath.
Really, when you get a quote from Callahan that “We can’t be a party about immigrant-bashing or gay-bashing or any other bashing. We should be a party of fiscal responsibility, which is how I got into it” I would really like to know what he had to say about those strategies in 2002, 2004, and 2006. Was it “Guys, that’s horrible, we shouldn’t be running this way”, or was it “Stick it to the libs/browns/fags, permanent Republican Majority! All praise Rove!”?
Gilcrest was very liberal for a Republican, pro-Choice and very pro-Environment. A Vietnam vet He was only two Republicans to “vote against the troops” by supporting the Iraq Supplemental spending bill that included a timetable for withdrawal.
He was as far left as a Republican could go - but Newt Gingrich and Bush and (tacitly) McCain endorsed him BEFORE the Republican primary this year. Because his opponent is a hard right traditional republican that will lose fairly big in November. I see him as a politician and trying to do what he can to keep his four offices and staff of 30 and $250K a year, anything to prevent resuming his High School teacher on the Eastern Shore career. He certainly wanted to do whatever he needed to win. In fact, he won in 1990 against an incumbent who was a Conscientious Objector to Vietnam (Gilcrest was a Vietnam Vet). He waved a “few traditional values of Marylander” flags in that fight. so I am sure he was all for hardball - but always was a lefty for a Republican on issues
Tom Davis isn’t a moderate Republican, by any stretch of the imagination. That the VA GOP wingnuts dislike him simply tells you how far over the edge of the world the Virginia GOP has gone.
1.) Nice veiled insult there! 2.) John Kerry is a brilliant man and skilled politician who would’ve made a very good president. Certainly better than George W. Bush, who has raped our economy with his unprovoked war, spit on our Constitution and driven us onto the brink of another Great Depression.
The fact that you apparently know so little about John Kerry’s actual record of skill and diplomacy, doesn’t necessarily reflect well on his campaign strategy against the likes of Karl Rove, but it doesn’t at all reflect on his superior ability to lead this nation against terrorism (which he has a long record of fighting – see the above link), or handle our economy.
I stand by my contention that anyone who could look back at the damage that George W. Bush has wrought, and still be willing to put him back at the helm, as opposed to at least taking a chance that the other guy might’ve been better, has an opinion that is not worth a lick of spit to me.
When I say the VA GOP has a bunch of guys who have fallen off the edge of the earth, here’s an example of what I mean: the treasurer of the Buchanan County, VA’s GOP, describing Obama’s platform in a newspaper column:
Shayna, you are very much a dedeicated democratic booster and I believe you are very much a true liberal. Kerry’s record is not very good as seen by people to the right of you. His academic record and ability to speak is also only a little better than Bush’s. Kerry did run an awful campaign and did little to help those that wanted an alternative to Bush. I don’t believe Kerry is half the man that Clinton or Gore was and Obama is and not half as smart as most of the others that ran that year. I don’t think we need to debate how poor a choice Edwards was. He could not even deliver his home state that I believe Obama is winning against a much better choice than Bush.
It was no veiled insult. I think it shows a clear character flaw in you that you would disregard another’s comments and words and opinions based on the one line that he would still vote for Bush over Kerry. It is not even as if Kerry was a good candidate. Tom Davis’s may have had some excellent incites into how the Republican Party is currently be run and mishandled. As someone that is an ardent supporter of the Democrats, you should probably be interested in what he has to share.
Jim (ex-Republican/Independent for Obama & Veteran for Obama)
I’m sorry, you dropped into this thread to say that Tom Davis’ opinion did not matter. I am pointing out a minor character flaw that I perceived in you.
You can take it in the mild manner it was given and reply to everything else I wrote on this subject or you can dwell on it as an insult. I have already thanked you in the past for helping me to decide on Obama over Clinton. I meant that very much when I did. You are very passionate about your candidates. That is a very good thing. I have never felt that way about anyone running for high office.
I dropped into this thread because the title interested me. I followed the link and started reading it out of a genuine interest. I got to a line that sent red flags up in my opinion, that this guy’s opinion on anything regarding the sorry state of the Republican party, given that he would still vote for that piece of shit George Bush, was worthless. That fact alone is enough to contradict anything else he might have to whine and bemoan about, since he clearly wouldn’t actually do the one thing that might’ve actually had a chance at changing it. While you may not share that opinion, it’s a perfectly valid one to have, and on topic for the OP. This, on the other hand, is not:
Please explain to me why I should ignore that and treat you as a legitimate debater who’s interested in my opinion on the subject matter? Especially since you are dead wrong in your impression of my politics. I voted for John Anderson in 1980; supported Ross Perot and was ready to vote for him in '92, until I saw Admiral Stockdale in the vice-presidential debate; registered as an Independent when I first moved to California, only changing to Democrat so I could vote in the primaries, which I couldn’t do at the time; and usually vote for the Republican running for most local and state-wide law enforcement positions, such as Attorney General.
Uhm, yeah. This isn’t the forum for “Debate Shayna’s politics and/or character flaws.” Thanks.
Where is that forum? I have been searching and searching…
[sub]I voted for John Anderson too. I even saw him in person in Baltimore after his debate with Reagan. I viewed him as the last hope for moderate Republicans…[/sub]
I’m pretty sure that’s been part of the Bush doctrine until recently.
And I am of the opinion that Kerry would have been a mediocre and ineffectual President but hardly the disaster-on-wheels that Bush has been. I must be getting old when I long for the days of the Reaganite Republicans. They were avaricious, bloated plutocrats but at least they weren’t actively trying to bring about Armageddon.
I have voted for Davis about six times and have met him on a couple occasions. He always struck me as someone with lots of ambition and no real ideas. He is a consumate politician and alway went wherever the wind blew. Right now, the wind seems to be blowing against the GOP so he is leaving the congress to be a rich lobbyist, no big loss.
