Wednesday, November 08, 2006
A "day after" discussion ...
Random ruminations the "day after":
Bob Corker's besting Harold Ford, Jr., aka Junior, in the U.S. Senate race shows that Tennessee is not only a conservative state, it is a thoroughly Republican state as well. Yes, but, doesn't Phil Bredesen's big victory dispute this notion? Not at all. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected on a platform of low taxes and promises to use the power of the market to deal with issues like TennCare. That is, he more or less ran as a Republican. In fact, if an individual knew absolutely nothing about Phil Bredesen except what he or she had seen in the governor-to-be's 2002 television ads, the individual in question would have to conclude that Bredesen is a Republican.
Bredesen's re-election campaign was chock full of sloganeering on behalf of conservative causes (see illegal immigration), and he easily defeated an opponent will little money and no name recognition. Bredesen, however, had no coattails. Junior lost; and Bredesen buds like Bob Rochelle, Mary Parker, and Vince Springer came up well short in their respective bids to defeat GOP members of the State Senate.
The big question on everyone's mind today is ... what's next for Junior? It's no secret that Papa Ford is not happy with the fact that Steve Cohen is replacing Junior in the U.S. House (I'll leave the obvious racial aspect of Papa's "unhappiness" for others to discuss). It would not surprise me at all if at this moment Junior is plotting to re-take the 9th District seat. Look for him to take a job where he can make a lot of money while not having to do very much. This will allow him ample opportunity discuss Tennessee politics whenever a television program agrees to show his purty face. Steve Cohen will face a Ford-backed consensus black candidate in the August 2008 primary, and odds are that consensus black candidate will be Junior.
As far as the national elections are concerned, I just do not agree with something Hugh Hewitt posted on his blog this morning:
"It is a distinctly liberal trait to blame 'the people' when they don’t vote as one would dictate. I’ll brook none of that from our side. The fact is, we thought our country would be better off with a Republican congress. We made a case to the American people. They didn't buy it because they thought it was a weak case."
Republicans, overall, may have offered a "weak case" for why they should be elected or re-elected, but Democrats offered an even weaker case. It was almost impossible to find a Democrat who was willing to take a firm stand on any issue of substance. Their whole campaign theme seemed to be, "Vote for us because we're not Republicans." Republicans should force issues like tax cuts into the public debate and make Democrats declare where they stand. Democrats may have won this year's elections, but Republicans can drive the debate for the next two years. Indeed, the GOP could make the next two years a very long two years for Democrats who wish to govern as they campaigned -- that is, trying to have it, well, every way on every issue.
I also take issue with Hewitt's assertion that it's wrong for conservatives to take the voting public to task following an election. A simple, sad fact the day after the 2006 election is this: A great many capable legislators were dispatched in favor of candidates who, to be blunt, just aren't very bright. This may say more about the weakness of the Republican re-election effort; but no voter who was truly informed and well-versed on the issues would've cast a ballot in favor of Bob Casey, Jr., Jon Tester, Jim Webb, or Claire McCaskill. It's hard to imagine any scenario whatsoever in which these four distinguish themselves as legislators or statesmen.
Finally, the two biggest losers in GOP politics this morning have to be John McCain and Bill Frist. Indeed, Hugh Hewitt said it best:
"The long and short of this bad but not horrific night was that majorities must act like majorities. The public cares little for the 'traditions' of the Senate or the way the appropriations process used to work. It demands results. Handed a large majority, the GOP frittered it away. The chief fritterer was Senator McCain and his Gang of 14 and Kennedy-McCain immigration bill, supplemented by a last minute throw down that prevented the NSA bill from progressing or the key judicial nominations from receiving a vote. His accomplice in that master stroke was Senator Graham. Together they cost their friend Mike DeWine his seat in the Senate, and all their Republican colleagues their chairmanships. Senator McCain should rethink his presidential run. Amid the ruins of the GOP's majority there is a clear culprit.
"A second loser was Bill Frist. To be the Majority Leader of a majority that did not lead is lethal to his presidential ambitions. Like Senator McCain, it would be easier on everyone if he just exited the stage."
Bob Corker's besting Harold Ford, Jr., aka Junior, in the U.S. Senate race shows that Tennessee is not only a conservative state, it is a thoroughly Republican state as well. Yes, but, doesn't Phil Bredesen's big victory dispute this notion? Not at all. In 2002, Phil Bredesen was elected on a platform of low taxes and promises to use the power of the market to deal with issues like TennCare. That is, he more or less ran as a Republican. In fact, if an individual knew absolutely nothing about Phil Bredesen except what he or she had seen in the governor-to-be's 2002 television ads, the individual in question would have to conclude that Bredesen is a Republican.
Bredesen's re-election campaign was chock full of sloganeering on behalf of conservative causes (see illegal immigration), and he easily defeated an opponent will little money and no name recognition. Bredesen, however, had no coattails. Junior lost; and Bredesen buds like Bob Rochelle, Mary Parker, and Vince Springer came up well short in their respective bids to defeat GOP members of the State Senate.
The big question on everyone's mind today is ... what's next for Junior? It's no secret that Papa Ford is not happy with the fact that Steve Cohen is replacing Junior in the U.S. House (I'll leave the obvious racial aspect of Papa's "unhappiness" for others to discuss). It would not surprise me at all if at this moment Junior is plotting to re-take the 9th District seat. Look for him to take a job where he can make a lot of money while not having to do very much. This will allow him ample opportunity discuss Tennessee politics whenever a television program agrees to show his purty face. Steve Cohen will face a Ford-backed consensus black candidate in the August 2008 primary, and odds are that consensus black candidate will be Junior.
As far as the national elections are concerned, I just do not agree with something Hugh Hewitt posted on his blog this morning:
"It is a distinctly liberal trait to blame 'the people' when they don’t vote as one would dictate. I’ll brook none of that from our side. The fact is, we thought our country would be better off with a Republican congress. We made a case to the American people. They didn't buy it because they thought it was a weak case."
Republicans, overall, may have offered a "weak case" for why they should be elected or re-elected, but Democrats offered an even weaker case. It was almost impossible to find a Democrat who was willing to take a firm stand on any issue of substance. Their whole campaign theme seemed to be, "Vote for us because we're not Republicans." Republicans should force issues like tax cuts into the public debate and make Democrats declare where they stand. Democrats may have won this year's elections, but Republicans can drive the debate for the next two years. Indeed, the GOP could make the next two years a very long two years for Democrats who wish to govern as they campaigned -- that is, trying to have it, well, every way on every issue.
I also take issue with Hewitt's assertion that it's wrong for conservatives to take the voting public to task following an election. A simple, sad fact the day after the 2006 election is this: A great many capable legislators were dispatched in favor of candidates who, to be blunt, just aren't very bright. This may say more about the weakness of the Republican re-election effort; but no voter who was truly informed and well-versed on the issues would've cast a ballot in favor of Bob Casey, Jr., Jon Tester, Jim Webb, or Claire McCaskill. It's hard to imagine any scenario whatsoever in which these four distinguish themselves as legislators or statesmen.
Finally, the two biggest losers in GOP politics this morning have to be John McCain and Bill Frist. Indeed, Hugh Hewitt said it best:
"The long and short of this bad but not horrific night was that majorities must act like majorities. The public cares little for the 'traditions' of the Senate or the way the appropriations process used to work. It demands results. Handed a large majority, the GOP frittered it away. The chief fritterer was Senator McCain and his Gang of 14 and Kennedy-McCain immigration bill, supplemented by a last minute throw down that prevented the NSA bill from progressing or the key judicial nominations from receiving a vote. His accomplice in that master stroke was Senator Graham. Together they cost their friend Mike DeWine his seat in the Senate, and all their Republican colleagues their chairmanships. Senator McCain should rethink his presidential run. Amid the ruins of the GOP's majority there is a clear culprit.
"A second loser was Bill Frist. To be the Majority Leader of a majority that did not lead is lethal to his presidential ambitions. Like Senator McCain, it would be easier on everyone if he just exited the stage."
# posted by Joltin' Django @ Wednesday, November 08, 2006 
