Quotes of the day
posted at 10:30 pm on December 23, 2009 by Allahpundit
“Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), suggested that conservatives need to have a more realistic sense of which races are winnable and with which candidates.
“‘Folks on the right, and frankly I’m one of them in terms of voting record, have to yield to the world as it is and not necessarily how they wish it would be,’ Cornyn told Reuters for a story about centrist Rep. Mike Castle’s (R) bid for Senate next year in Delaware…
“‘The world as it is in Delaware is that if Mike Castle didn’t run, Beau Biden would be the next senator from Delaware,’ Cornyn said, pointing to Vice President Joe Biden’s son, the state’s attorney general and a likely 2010 Democratic candidate against Castle.”
***
“With tea party activists increasingly dictating the party’s agenda, moderate Republicans are getting eaten by their own, and it didn’t take long for some of Graham’s once loyal supporters to turn on him. The Charleston County Republican Party voted unanimously last month to censure Graham on a litany of complaints. They claimed that South Carolina’s senior senator ‘in the name of bipartisanship continues to weaken the Republican brand and tarnish the ideals of freedom, rule of law, and fiscal conservatism.’ The group, closely aligned with the Tea Party movement, accused Graham of holding the GOP ‘hostage’ for engaging on global warming and even lambasted him for having ‘stated on many occasions that his primary concern is to ‘be relevant.” Graham, who won reelection in a landslide last year, isn’t worried. ‘I’ve never felt threatened by people who say that it’s a crime or sin to work with the other side because most Republicans and Democrats understand that for the good of the country you have to do that,’ he said in an interview just off the Senate floor…
“Make no mistake, Graham’s conservative credentials are rock solid. He has a 90% rating from the American Conservative Union. The only difference is he’s willing to look for compromise. ‘Two senators from opposite parties sat down today and discussed solving a problem,’ Graham says with a wry shake of his head, ‘the fact that that’s news is sad. That’s where we’ve come as a country. That’s why the [approval rating of] Congress is at 25%.’”
Blowback
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Can we just give Demint 2 votes and retire Graham?
BPD on December 23, 2009 at 10:34 PM
I think that’s more like it.
boomer on December 23, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Which is at least 15% higher than it should be. Hell, the CA legislature is at 17% and they are bankrupt. Oh wait…..
GnuBreed on December 23, 2009 at 10:36 PM
This antiquated SOB needs to go out to pasture as well. He is nothing but one of the elitist RNC types.
ultracon on December 23, 2009 at 10:37 PM
Pshh, if Graham is going to pick a liberal cause to anger Conservatives who gets the last laugh he chose global warming.
Marcus on December 23, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Lindsey still thinks SC sends him to Washington to produce more government. *sigh*
SouthernGent on December 23, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Amusing that you criticize Graham for seeking a reasonable compromise while, at the same time, whining about how the Dems are being too partisan and cutting the Republicans out.
Bleeds Blue on December 23, 2009 at 10:39 PM
Here’s what needs to happen. No more whining about “RINOs.” Don’t attack good assets like Newt just because he sat on the same couch as Pelosi and whatnot. Choose your battles, and don’t completely throw someone under the bus because they didn’t do what you wanted them to. Conservatives don’t need to moderate their message, we just need to stop pushing people out and become more inclusive. There is a way to keep your conservative principles and broaden your base at the same time. It has been done before.
Narutoboy on December 23, 2009 at 10:39 PM
Nothing to do with the criminals in your ranks or the unbelievable perks you give yourselves or the automatic pay raises, nooooo that couldn’t be it.
Wasn’t Graham the guy who voted for amnesty, saw it was going to die from the no vote count and then quickly changed his own vote to no?
Bishop on December 23, 2009 at 10:40 PM
YOU’RE FIRED!
DougDavis on December 23, 2009 at 10:40 PM
Do these ingrates want to be fiscally responsible or not? That’s the ONLY question I want answered right now.
Metro on December 23, 2009 at 10:43 PM
He would probably be a lot better off if he would quit talking about bipartisanship. And has he been paying attention to what’s going on right in front of his face. The Left doesn’t have any problem shutting The Right out completely then calling them the party of “No”.
Cindy Munford on December 23, 2009 at 10:43 PM
Us bigots don’t need to shut the hell up!
Never forget! RINOs need not apply.
Speakup on December 23, 2009 at 10:45 PM
Come on now, shutting off the chamber lights, locking doors, ping-ponging legislation behind the scenes…that’s bipartisanship in action.
Bishop on December 23, 2009 at 10:45 PM
These guys have been in Congress too long…
Time to retire from politics, and try opening up a small business in their home towns and see what damage they have done to us over the years.
After a few days on the outside, swimming through the bureaucratic red tape they established, seeing their money evaporate into nothing, and being subject to the laws that they ever so often ‘exempt’ themselves from, then maybe they would join us at the ‘Tea Parties’.
Until then…. Grahamnesty and Cornyn can shut the fu%k up!
Seven Percent Solution on December 23, 2009 at 10:47 PM
I know that many people get upset with RINO’s for their political positions but what galls me is they still want to fawn over the Messiah, refuse to attack him and still want to find common ground with him when we conservatives all know he wants to bury us in a Carthegean peace so that we never rise again.
technopeasant on December 23, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Good interview of Dem turned Pub Parker Griffith by Mark Steyn: http://hotairpundit.blogspot.com/2009/12/parker-griffith-goes-on-foxnews-and.html
onlineanalyst on December 23, 2009 at 10:48 PM
Sure is getting hard to find good candidates down here in TX.
PaCadle on December 23, 2009 at 10:48 PM
They (the Left) apparently think so. Creeps.
Cindy Munford on December 23, 2009 at 10:49 PM
All in favor of cloning DeMint say “aye”.
Further destroying the economy via Crap-n-Tax and destroying our national sovereignty via amnesty are two areas where I, and most conservatives, DON’T compromise, Senator.
Dr.Cwac.Cwac on December 23, 2009 at 10:49 PM
Is this the same NRSC that endorsed Skuzzyflava and Crist?
Personally, I think conservatives, at least economic ones, already have a pretty good idea where they stand, considering that a hypothetical Tea Party polls in first place with the RINO party in a distant third.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 10:50 PM
FIFM
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 10:51 PM
I strongly disagree!!!
It’s at 25% because the government is no longer run by the people for the people.
It is full of lobbyist,liars,and crooks that have no problem bribing each other WITH OUR MONEY to push their agenda’s.
Our Congress does not listen to the public and do what is best for us and our future….they watch pols and steal our money for there “pay to play” schemes to buy votes and influence.
The people of this country do not trust our elected representatives,
……they do not believe what they say….
………..they do not believe they have our interest and future in mind when they pass legislation……
………..they see our Congress get special Health care while they piss ours down the drain…….
……….they don’t pay their taxes…………
…they don’t have to adhere to the same laws as us…….
………….they get special interest rates,business deals,
jobs for friends and family,and vacations galore on our dime……..
…………We have watched Congress gut our economy and send all of our jobs overseas while they jet around in private jets,shop for diamonds,and make more back room deals with their international cronies that cripple our way of life even more………
……………..these are many of the reasons that Congress sits at 25% approval…..not because Lindsey and the opposition party play patty cake every once in awhile.
Baxter Greene on December 23, 2009 at 10:52 PM
RINO’s=white guilt
technopeasant on December 23, 2009 at 10:52 PM
I must say after listening to Newt’s speech at Restoration Weekend I’m leaning in the direction you (and he) are indicating.
The fact is that this is still a center-right country, and like Newt says, the key to winning is to find big issues nobody can disagree with and stand next to them with a big smile. Looking for profound issues on which to debate the loonies ain’t gonna get it, since (a) they’re gonna lie anyway, and more importantly (b) despite the current upsurge in interest re political matters, most people don’t care to figure out what are to them abstract principles.
The problem, to me, is how to ensure that the guy I support is gonna do what Newt says: destroy the Left and salt the ground they stand on. Crush ‘em, don’t debate ‘em.
warbaby on December 23, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice and moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.
- Barry Goldwater
Equality, rightly understood as our founding fathers understood it, leads to liberty and to the emancipation of creative differences; wrongly understood, as it has been so tragically in our time, it leads first to conformity and then to despotism.
- Barry Goldwater
I wouldn’t trust
NixonGraham from here to that phone.Barry Goldwater
MB4 on December 23, 2009 at 10:54 PM
Maybe we should look closer at the scoring if the ACU gives Grahamnesty a 90% rating. I think that is a little high considering his positions on most of the major issues the past 3 or 4 years.
Sporty1946 on December 23, 2009 at 10:55 PM
A prediction…
A year from now, after the 2010 elections and Conservatives flood the Halls of Congress, Grahamnesty and Cornyn will be singing a different tune.
Seven Percent Solution on December 23, 2009 at 10:56 PM
I almost agreed with u till i remembered Graham slobbering ,on his kneepads,before La Raza.F*** That kinda guy.Kudos when he says something right but he needs to go.
theTarCzar on December 23, 2009 at 10:57 PM
Yeah, that was Lindsey. He was also the guy who told everyone to, “Shaddup! Y’all are racists!” when he was grovelling in front of La Raza.
He’s the creep that lives in McCain’s hip pocket.
Cody1991 on December 23, 2009 at 10:58 PM
Now, now, we both know that Graham deserves a 90% every bit as much as Obama deserves a B+.
MB4 on December 23, 2009 at 10:59 PM
The ACU’s conservative ratings are complete bunk. A politician can inflate their rating on a number of relatively insignificant bills then turn around betray core conservative principles without significantly damaging their ACU rating.
ACU ratings are virtually worthless unless they are weighted according the importance of the issue. It’s like saying that a serial killer is a decent man because he gave 10% of his income to charity for the past 20 years.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 10:59 PM
Just to expand on Newt’s recent points at Restoration Weekend…
As much as I am personally a lot more of a libertarian than a Republican, I still believe he’s got it right in the sense that I would prefer ending the 220 years of Leftist insanity to seeing my principles enshrined as the law of the land.
This is because even now, after 65 years of watching this crap erode all that is good, I have an enormous faith in my country, and the ability of its citizenry to find a healthy balance if they could just get the government off their backs.
I believe this because I must, and because I believe this country is indeed the last best hope of mankind. Call me a dreamer.
warbaby on December 23, 2009 at 11:00 PM
That’s a lie. He doesn’t look for them. He creates them. Big difference.
You can’t compromise with “rock solid” values or they’re not rock solid.
And lastly…Graham and those like him just don’t get that you can’t negotiate/compromise with socialist/marxist/democrats. With every compromise the marxisits move us closer to their agenda, not ours.
Graham’s a fool!!!
katy on December 23, 2009 at 11:01 PM
MB4 on December 23, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Nnnnnnnnnn…
….nooo!
It’s because neither party is fiscally responsible.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 11:03 PM
Lindsey Graham is not so bad
If you like the Martguerita
And don’t think his calling Americans bigots is so sad
Then he’s a pretty good for a Senorita
MB4 on December 23, 2009 at 11:03 PM
G.K. Chesterton
Weight of Glory on December 23, 2009 at 11:04 PM
“Make no mistake, Graham’s conservative credentials are rock solid. He has a 90% rating from the American Conservative Union. The only difference is he’s willing to look for compromise.
===========================================================
Compromise is okay,but the Liberal Party decided,as soon as
Obama was done for the second time giving the oath,that bi
partisanship was dead on arrival!!!!!!!
————————————————————
Well,wifey needs her quality time on the net,so,
good nite everyone,see ya’s tomorrow,and have a very
Merry Christmas:)
canopfor on December 23, 2009 at 11:04 PM
Tell ya what, buddy: The last stinking thing we need right now is “compromise!” We done compromised ourselves all righty! We are compromising ourselves right out of a democracy and into a socialist state. I hate this crap!
Sherman1864 on December 23, 2009 at 11:06 PM
Tea party activists never hang around
When they hear this mighty sound……..
“Here I come to pontificate all day!!!”
That means that Prissy Lissy Graham is on his way
Yessir, if there is a camera anywhere in sight
Prissy Lissy Graham will hop on the very next flight
MB4 on December 23, 2009 at 11:07 PM
There may have been Grahamnesty too but it was Brownback that got all the attention for doing that.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 11:07 PM
John,
You are stupid. You are making all the wrong promotion choices for Senate. Starting with Spector. Then Crist. Then Carly. Listen boy… You are not going to get the credit that you seek.
Grahmnesty,
You are a fool. You engaged John McCave to support TARP. How did that work out for GOP or your friend McCave? Here are two quotes from M.K. Gandhi you you might want to think about:
Note to both: We have had enough of the bipartisan BS.Look where we have come from Reagan Revolution. STOP.PREACHING.NOW.
antisocial on December 23, 2009 at 11:08 PM
Liberalism is a philosophy of the devil. With the dems on the one hand unwilling to work with conservatives on common sense legislation, and on the other hand stooping to downright criminal behavior to pass unwanted legislation, we don’t need moderates!!!!!! We need balls to the wall conservatives that will destroy those bastard dems with no hesitation! After the demrats start acting sane, THEN and ONLY THEN, can I live with a 90% conservative.
csdeven on December 23, 2009 at 11:09 PM
Why don’t we listen to Lindsey Graham in his own voice…
(Vomit Warning)
Seven Percent Solution on December 23, 2009 at 11:09 PM
What we need to do is get rid of the so-called ACU rating system completely.
A vote against a five hundred dollar pork payment to plant a tree in Podunk totally offsets a vote for a completely unconstitutional piece of feces like McCain-Feingold CFR.
A vote against four insignificant things and a vote to completely surrender American Sovereignty to the UN (or something like that) would still give these RINOS an 80% rating
LegendHasIt on December 23, 2009 at 11:11 PM
Peering into the GOP bowl, I guess I can’t tell the difference between all the limp-noodles.
Bishop on December 23, 2009 at 11:12 PM
+1
Those two are worth 50 times as much weight in the ACU ratings as voting the right way on two routine spending bills. Unfortunately the ACU ratings don’t acknowledge that fact.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 11:13 PM
The democrat party has become the embodiment of communism.
Did Reagan compromise with communism?
Hell No!
He crushed it!
Lindsey Graham and the rest of the RINO pricks are compromising the US history, liberty, strength and providence right out of 233 years of existence.
katy on December 23, 2009 at 11:16 PM
I will be voting Conservative and I really don’t care which party.
d1carter on December 23, 2009 at 11:17 PM
If you fight the devil in every area but the one he is attacking in then you are surrendering to the devil. It doesn’t really matter if his conservative credentials are rock solid if he is surrendering to the progressives in the key fights of our generation (Fiscal responsibility, Small Government)
chemman on December 23, 2009 at 11:17 PM
I think the almighty Senators Graham and Cornyn need a reminder about lecturing the base concerning moderates. How dare these elitist start mouthing off about the conservative movement. I just emailed both of them, and I hope most of you will, too. It is not like we don’t have a gut full of these government jerks!!!!
mobydutch on December 23, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Chesterton
Weight of Glory on December 23, 2009 at 11:19 PM
OK Lindsey, give us an example of one time you got anyone on the Left to come to the Right side of an issue. Another words, give us an example of the other side selling out their constituents and political party like you have. Hmmmm.
Don’t kid yourself everyone, Lindsey may have a strong conservative voting record from the past, but the way he tried to redefine the party with the last nominee and election? They only have themselves to blame. He and Johnny boy did their backroom deals and quid pro quos just like those that he is whining about now.
JeffinOrlando on December 23, 2009 at 11:19 PM
Grahamnesty and Cornyn…
Please sit down, take out a sheet of paper, a pencil, and respond to the following question.
You have the rest of your careers to answer the question.
Seven Percent Solution on December 23, 2009 at 11:21 PM
Chesterton
Weight of Glory on December 23, 2009 at 11:21 PM
I’m willing to be educated …
what, exactly, has Graham’s compromises gotten for any discernibly “Republican” theory of governance?
When Graham ‘compromises’, it amounts to agreeing with Democrats, right down to spouting their talking points against Republicans who don’t share his viewpoint.
Lindsey Graham is a man far too impressed with his own intelligence & discernment.
meaning – he ain’t nearly as smart or savvy as he thinks he is.
BD57 on December 23, 2009 at 11:22 PM
And your last Chesterton quote of the night:
Very little has changed in 100 years, yeah?
Weight of Glory on December 23, 2009 at 11:25 PM
Sen Cornyn/Sen Graham,
It is not the grassroots Republicans’ job to move towards the Dhimmicratic positions on the issues. While Republicans, in general, are more than willing to compromise on issues which are not of prime importance (such as gay marriage, or health insurance reforms of a moderate nature, or veterans benefits, or things which the base of conservatism isn’t primarily interested in), we, as a group, as NOT WILLING to compromise of taxes, the size and reach of all government, the liberties given to us by our Creator and the Constitution, or on the appointment of judges who uphold that document, and the legal and just execution of the public policies embodied in the Constitution. Primary among those tenets is the national defense and the troops who stand for us.
Whenever you, as so-called leaders of the Republican party, feel that it is the party’s job to follow you, instead of you following our wishes, then it is you who is wrong and needs to take a freaking hike, and not US.
Do I make myself clear, gentlemen? If not, piss off. How’s that for clarity?
Subsunk
Subsunk on December 23, 2009 at 11:26 PM
I think ACU ratings, in addition to weighting the issues by importance, should only count the initial vote. So if a politician votes the wrong way and then changes it when they realize they’re on the losing side, only the initial vote should be factored.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 11:27 PM
Yes…..
THAT’S the frickin’ reason, genius……
Couldn’t have anything to do with ignoring the people’s will, oh no….
Hawkins1701 on December 23, 2009 at 11:28 PM
Subsunk, Please email your comments to Cornyn and Graham. I couldn’t have said it better.
mobydutch on December 23, 2009 at 11:28 PM
LG would be fine politically (perception-wise) if he hadn’t referred to the majority of Americans as bigots. Simple as that.
Spirit of 1776 on December 23, 2009 at 11:31 PM
And I like your comments, too, Seven Percent Solution!!!!!
mobydutch on December 23, 2009 at 11:35 PM
Will The Situation be blogging on Friday? I’m thinking atheist don’t get the day off.
txag92 on December 23, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Wow. Quotes from losers.
Blake on December 23, 2009 at 11:38 PM
That is brilliant!
Compromise is a wonderful thing when both parties engaging in the compromise are fairly decent, upstanding people.
See,, conservatives and people in the Tea Party movement are not opposed to compromise. I compromise on things from time to time. Just yesterday I compromised with my wife. She wanted Chinese, I wanted pizza. We couldn’t do both, so we compromised. Today we go Chinese, next time it’s pizza.
However, had my wife suddenly gone insane and instead wanted to eat our children for lunch. Well, there isn’t much room there for compromise.
So, there are times compromise can be a wonderful thing when you have to build a highway and everybody has their own ideas of where it should head and how it needs to be completed. That’s normal democracy. That’s not the kind of compromise we’re talking about. We’re talking about GOP leaders who want to compromise our core ideals and principles. Why is this so freaking hard to understand?
JellyToast on December 23, 2009 at 11:40 PM
There is no such thing as “moderate” or “moderation” within the context of national politics at the federal level. I doesn’t exist; it can’t exist. The more centralized the power is, the more singular and monolithic and unresponsive it becomes. Only through decentralization can power become insignificant enough to be responsive, giving the necessary room for real compromise once the ends have been rightly and openly determined, and the means to achieve those ends correctly weighed. But not even Senator Graham wants to become insignificant enough for real moderation to take place. Nope that’s too high a price. In the mean time we have to endure his faux moderate inclinations as he laments at the lack of “bipartisanship”.
Weight of Glory on December 23, 2009 at 11:40 PM
Miss Lindsey Graham,
Just another limp-wristed vamp being actively
recruited by the feminazi doormat design industry!
“Let’s Roll”
On Watch on December 23, 2009 at 11:40 PM
The RINO message was a tough sell before. In the days following the Socialist December Revolution, the RINO message falls completely on deaf ears.
If anyone believes for one millisecond that the Republicans are going to run in 2010 on REPEAL of Obamunism, just read these two nitwits again. No chance. With an opposition like this, socialism is here to stay.
james23 on December 23, 2009 at 11:41 PM
Because your antiquated notions aren’t as profitable nor do they accumulate power over other men.
FloatingRock on December 23, 2009 at 11:47 PM
Thanks… yours as well.
But keep your eye on that Bishop fellow…
:O)
Seven Percent Solution on December 23, 2009 at 11:51 PM
I hear so often that there is a big difference between Republicans and Liberals (Dems), but when Cornyn and Graham start their blubbering, I just want to throw up my hands and face reality.
mobydutch on December 23, 2009 at 11:53 PM
Ignoring the rationality of a balanced budget is, I guess according to some, a compromise…
Yeah, I’ll teach my kids to compromise between right and wrong… That will build some character.
mjbrooks3 on December 23, 2009 at 11:55 PM
The problem with Graham is this: to insure their victory in 2010, the Dems are going to attempt to pass a massive Amnesty program in early 2010 to get illegal aliens citizenship and the right to vote in the 2010 elections. Graham will vote with the Dems to make this happen. He has no clue!
Christian Conservative on December 23, 2009 at 11:57 PM
CORNYN IS A D.C. GET-A-LONG RINO
Graham is another Meet-the-Press Republican.
For the convenience of new Hot Air readers here’s a list (not complete, feel free to add those I miss) that are D.C. Republican Media Whores:
John McCain
Lindsay Graham
Richard Lugar
George Voinovich
Kay Bailey Hutchison
The Maine Sisters (Collins and Snowe)
Arlen Specter (oh yeah, he made it official he’s a Dem now)
Mel Martinez
Mitch McConnell
Sam Brownback
John Cornyn
Charles Grassley
Richard Shelby
Saxby Chambliss
Are there any more Republicans (WHIGS) in the Senate or House?
PappyD61 on December 24, 2009 at 12:00 AM
Pappy, your list needs to make it on the Drudge Report.
mobydutch on December 24, 2009 at 12:03 AM
What’s being left unsaid is that “compromise” is just a polite way of saying politicians are doing something just to be doing something. That’s what they did on Obamacare, they just wanted to do something, anything, so they compromised and now they have a horrible piece of legislation that nobody likes, but hey, they can pat themselves on the back for compromising.
clearbluesky on December 24, 2009 at 12:12 AM
I used to be in the McCain camp of moderation and cooperation.
However, those days are over. The progressives have chosen the methods of war and it’s time that the Tea Party/Conservatives storm the gates of the RNC, take the reigns and fight on the progressives terms.
Anything less is surrendering the field of battle to the enemy.
rickyricardo on December 24, 2009 at 12:15 AM
Graham and McCain aren’t “mavericks” either. The real mavericks are the congressmen with a conservative record.
The Dean on December 24, 2009 at 12:17 AM
Looks like Graham is being pushed by the MSM as Maverick II: The Reasonable Republican, now that McCain outlived his usefulness.
Oh, and I see a disconnect between the numberous “compromises” cited in the article, including this:
and this statement:
I seem to remember some smart politician saying “Trust but verify. If Graham ever learned that lesson, he’s apparently forgotten it and is all too willing to give the Precedent the benefit of the doubt.
cs89 on December 24, 2009 at 12:18 AM
What the heck is a “numberous compromise?”
numerous
cs89 on December 24, 2009 at 12:20 AM
That would be fine if you got some concessions there Senator Grahamnesty. But it appears from the results of your “negotiations” that when the other party sits down with you, their intent is to discuss terms of surrender. Somehow you interpret that as “bipartisanship” and are always more than willing to oblige.
Please prove me wrong. Please show me one “negotiation” in which you have gotten the left to back down on larger government, more control, or destruction of liberty. … and I don’t mean that you got them do it just a little less, but that you got them to abandon such an attempt.
AZfederalist on December 24, 2009 at 12:27 AM
I agree. The problem is that while it’s true that there are differences between the parties and McCain would have been a much better president than Obama, he’s also very liberal, perhaps even qualifying as a progressive. So while Obama/Reid/Pelosi are seemingly running around out in the far left field trying to destroy our nation, they are stretching politically. And if the R party were more conservative, the left would appear to be even farther out in left field and their footing more perilous still.
Whereas if McCain were president, governing less far to the left, he would also be moving the practical political center farther to the left but would not have to stretch because he’d be perceived as the leader of the “right”. It would be a more stable, sustainable leftward shift.
So while Obama is certainly much more liberal than McCain he’s also less likely to accomplish anything, and after his term is up the rubber band should snap back past Bush’s right, moving the Republican Party towards conservatism once again, (like Reagan (and his coat tails) after Carter), resulting in the political center moving farther right as well.
McCain would have had much more success instituting his liberal policies, like cap-n-tax and amnesty, and the political center could then move further left as a result, or would be safer maintaining their present position.
So in the short term there will be pain but in the long term we may be better off because the center should shift right instead of left.
The question is, though, can we hold off disaster before the shift, and if not, can we undo the damage. And can we overcome the RINO’s that control the party apparatus that want to move left and will fight the rubber band effect.
(A bit rambly but I don’t want to refine it.)
FloatingRock on December 24, 2009 at 12:31 AM
Actually, your post is spot-on. We are dealing with a problem in which we have statists on both sides. People like McCain and Grahamnesty just want to move the statism a little more slowly, but they still are big government people.
AZfederalist on December 24, 2009 at 12:38 AM
Fixed
FloatingRock on December 24, 2009 at 12:39 AM
Just remember there are no conservative Democrats. And the party with the most members, gets to set the rules. Another reason to never ever vote for a Democrat.
Dasher on December 24, 2009 at 12:40 AM
It seems to me, the problem with Linsey and an assortment of other pols is that “compromise” often equals a win-lose scenario, or even a lose-lose. Rarely, when negotiating for compromise do both sides become winners. In practice, compromise literally means lose a little and gain a lot, or gain a little and lose a lot. Compromise is never a winning strategy. Generally, whatever outcome is achieved using traditional negotiation, the disputants will likely come back to conflict. The conditions for conflict continue because one side loses more than they bargained for.
If the goal is to reach accord, both parties can work toward a win-win, but not through concessions, promises (Scary Harry Reid-style bribery), or demands and counterdemands. Achieving a win-win resolution requires imagination, artful persuasion, a comprehensive understanding of the issues, brainstorming, dedication, and inner resolve. Perhaps Graham and some other seasoned pols haven’t learned what skill-set is necessary to resolve conflict and create solutions that match what their constituents actually want.
anXdem on December 24, 2009 at 12:42 AM
Oh, I am not voting for a Liberal (dem), but Graham and Cornyn just prove that they still don’t get it after all of this Obama crap. I guess D.C. really warps a person’s ability to think.
mobydutch on December 24, 2009 at 12:45 AM
If Minny sends a Franken, then Carolina needs to send an asskicking righty.
Good grief.
There should be fistfights on the floor of the Senate; cane whompings, the whole nine yards.
This isn’t the time to go wobbly, y’all!
There needs to be an Alamo before you can have a San Jacinto.
Bruno Strozek on December 24, 2009 at 12:50 AM
There is just too much dignity on the floor of the Senate for fistfights. They must maintain their integrity with lies, bribes, and elitism.
mobydutch on December 24, 2009 at 12:57 AM
That’s McConnell and McCain doing that, and if you look at the HA post comments on that press conference, I complained that they took that angle instead of talking down the bill. So did others.
I looked at the ACU rating system in 2007 to see why McCain scored so high. They look at 12 bills a year. Amnesty wasn’t one of them for 2006.
GOOD. LUCK. The strength of our Republic is that our founders came to see that the act of making decisions is bitterly divisive. It doesn’t matter how gently or fiercely or holy or richly–or realistically and sensibly– you wield power over human beings, they resent it. The strength of our system was a) limited government interference in family, society and economy; and b) a nonviolent method of overturning policy. That would create authority that could be universally tolerated at any given moment, if not celebrated.
The ideal of a Big Idea for Federal Government that nobody disagrees with, is loony. Even if I didn’t know in practice it meant a total Republican cave on conservatism, I mock it. Hell I hope he gives that speech to the Democrats, maybe they’ll keep their fingers in the air waiting to know which way to run.
Chris_Balsz on December 24, 2009 at 1:01 AM
FWIW to those tossing the term ‘Whig’ around
Abe Lincoln was a member of the Whig Party until a fairly last-minute decision to join the new Republican Party so that he could run for U.S. Senate from Illinois. In those days Senators were elected by the state legislatures, and Lincoln was bitterly resisted by many Illinois Republican ‘purists’
First rule of Politics Club: Don’t be a cannibal
Janos Hunyadi on December 24, 2009 at 1:02 AM
I have a novel idea: How about we destroy the Left before we decide who to vote off our own island?
A destroyed Left cannot market shibboleths to targeted groups of voters, to keep them scared of a conservative agenda. No left = no fears being targeted. No fears being targeted = no fears from less-than-fully-conservative voters a given Republican or conservative has to pander to.
Before we purge our way to a Perfect Right while the Far Left consolidates power, let’s go for the kill, then decide with whom to share the spoils. While we worry about perfection, Fidel Castro wastes away. I believe when he dies, an opportunity will come for “regime change” in Cuba. Regime change in Cuba means the ability to open counterintelligence files on Soviet subversion in the United States. You and I both know there are names on those lists the Left would rather the public never know about.
If we do not right the ship of state right now, as in pronto, the Left could irreversibly consolidate power, dispose of all evidence of their traitorous perfidy, and we may finally become the perfect group of conservatives just in time to become an underground resistance. I prefer to become the next majority party, stick a stake in the heart of twentieth-century politics, cut its head off, stuff both ends with garlic and be done with it. Let liberal fascism die with the unlamented Baby Boomers.
Sekhmet on December 24, 2009 at 1:02 AM
1. Steal the liberal issues
2. ?
3. Huge profits!
Chris_Balsz on December 24, 2009 at 1:07 AM
This is BMS: Bad Metaphor Syndrome. Politics is constant conflict but it is the conflict which is inherent in the negotiation of important matters–not the conflict of war
The Alamo was courageous but a military defeat; the 2006 elections were in no way courageous and neither was the messy stupid 2008 McCain campaign. Defeats don’t lead to victories: The stupidity of the winners can ‘flip’ the fortunes of opposing sides in war and politics, but unlike war POLITICS AND GOVERNANCE NEVER STOPS
Even if 2010 brings a Republican Congress ( which I think is likely in the House and possibly the Senate ), the damage done to this nation in the preceding four years has been and will be insufferable
Janos Hunyadi on December 24, 2009 at 1:09 AM
Is this a joke?
When Time Magazine calls you “the New Republican Maverick” in the middle of the most partisan battle in American political history since the Civil War, you know you’re in trouble…
Given what’s happened in the past year and since 2006 when the DemocRATS took control of the House, there isn’t going to be any rush to embrace “moderate-y mavericks” anytime soon.
I think Time and the Left want us to forget what an angry mood we’re in…Not going to happen.
With each passing day and each time Congress meets on a weekend or Christmas Eve night to pass 2,000-page bills that no one can read or has read, “go along to get along” Republicans reveal themselves to be the real reason the country got itself into this clusterf*ck in the first place.
No.
“Mavericks and moderates need not apply.”
Theirs will not be jobs saved or created in 2010-Bank on it.
Jenfidel on December 24, 2009 at 1:25 AM
These Cornyncrats are so embedded in the GOP that it’s impossible to fix the problem.
Buddahpundit on December 24, 2009 at 1:26 AM
Just like we suffer from the abuses of FDR we will suffer from the abuses of Obama. As long as voters suck as much as they do, America’s politicians will continue to suck.
Mojave Mark on December 24, 2009 at 1:27 AM
Janos
My grandfathers both died last month. They lived through a time when 1/3 of adult men had no work, which means, since almost all women didn’t work outside the home, less than 1/2 of the adult population earned wages. People rinsed and reused aluminum foil, not just because they might struggle to afford more, but because they couldn’t count on a store having any on the shelf. My grandfather Dan went on to fly 50 missions over Germany and France. Their children grew up waiting for inevitable nuclear bombardment of all state capitols, major ports, and the federal government on two hours notice.
I don’t think we have it that bad. As bad as it gets, I don’t think we’ll have it that bad. And those of us who know it have a duty to say so, seems to me.
Chris_Balsz on December 24, 2009 at 1:28 AM
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