About ANWR...
Does anyone think that this would have happened...
The quest by Democrats and the media establishment to criminalize politics, to create scandals out of nothing, to perpetuate stories reported incorrectly so many times as to become understood as fact has gone largely unanswered by Republicans and the White House.
To DeLay's credit, however, he has fought hard, and will probably be rewarded with victory sooner or later. But if Republicans don't start thinking about the long game, and start taking the battle back to Democrats and the media, turning the other cheek indefinitely will start to cost them elections. And voting against ANWR will not save them, neither from the media or their own voters.
Democrats and the media are seeking vindication, not Republican capitulation. They will forever demonize George Bush and Republicans for who they are, for who their voters are and what they stand for, not for how much they compromise or allow the Democrats their political cash drives. Moveon.org eats up the lies, and they donate heavily to Democrats. But it is more than that. It is a mental perception that they have developed, a derangement of ridiculous proportions that forces them to crusade under the banner that "Bush lied" or "Republicans are corrupt" or "Rove!" or "fake but accurate" or "Halliburton!". This is not rational thinking, nor sane behavior. And there will be no rational solutions either. Their ideology does not permit them to admit failure or compromise.
By any means necessary, the Democrats are trying to pick off Republicans of substance. Republicans can't worry about appeasing the media. They need to play to win.
About that "not saving them from their voters" part...Michelle Malkin has some letters to Republicans illustrating my point.
Apparently Senator Voinovich can't read...
Top Republicans such as Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, R-Iowa, and Majority Leader Roy Blunt, R-Mo., worked into the night Wednesday refining the bill in an attempt to bring uneasy lawmakers on board. Florida Republicans were especially active, helping kill the offshore drilling plan and loosening proposed restrictions on food stamp benefits for legal immigrants....if this guy was still cracking the whip? I'm just asking.
The decision on the Arctic refuge was a big setback for those who have tried for years to open a coastal strip of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, or ANWR, to oil development. It was a victory for environmentalists, who have lobbied hard against drilling. Bush has made drilling in the Alaska refuge one of his top energy priorities.
The quest by Democrats and the media establishment to criminalize politics, to create scandals out of nothing, to perpetuate stories reported incorrectly so many times as to become understood as fact has gone largely unanswered by Republicans and the White House.
To DeLay's credit, however, he has fought hard, and will probably be rewarded with victory sooner or later. But if Republicans don't start thinking about the long game, and start taking the battle back to Democrats and the media, turning the other cheek indefinitely will start to cost them elections. And voting against ANWR will not save them, neither from the media or their own voters.
Democrats and the media are seeking vindication, not Republican capitulation. They will forever demonize George Bush and Republicans for who they are, for who their voters are and what they stand for, not for how much they compromise or allow the Democrats their political cash drives. Moveon.org eats up the lies, and they donate heavily to Democrats. But it is more than that. It is a mental perception that they have developed, a derangement of ridiculous proportions that forces them to crusade under the banner that "Bush lied" or "Republicans are corrupt" or "Rove!" or "fake but accurate" or "Halliburton!". This is not rational thinking, nor sane behavior. And there will be no rational solutions either. Their ideology does not permit them to admit failure or compromise.
By any means necessary, the Democrats are trying to pick off Republicans of substance. Republicans can't worry about appeasing the media. They need to play to win.
About that "not saving them from their voters" part...Michelle Malkin has some letters to Republicans illustrating my point.
Apparently Senator Voinovich can't read...
Snowe isn't the only moderate Republican to voice concerns about passing tax cuts this year. Sen. George Voinovich of Ohio, another Republican moderate, said he will vote against tax cuts because the government is accumulating too much debt and the economy does not need stimulation through tax reductions right now.I don't really understand the purpose of this hole Republicans seem to want to dig. I'd like to see the strategy guidebook they are using. The Anchoress vents her anger here, and Lorie Byrd agrees.
"It is time to recognize a simple fact of life," Voinovich said. "Contrary to what some of my colleagues seem to believe, tax cuts do not pay for themselves."
posted by ZP at 1:21 PM
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