Vote Republican.
I’m serious. It will accomplish three things:
1) Snap the neck of the Democratic party and put it out of its misery. A loss this election would do it. The majority of the party would be forced to re-evaluate its position and might even move back to the pro-American center. The far Left will be marginalized, as it should be. I know there are JFK Democrats out there.
2) Once we’re all comfortable that insane children aren’t behind the wheel, determined to drive us off a cliff, we can turn our attentions to reforming the Republican party. We can start pressing them to bring back those things we’ve come to expect from them: smaller government, better fiscal management, foreign policy expertise, and high ethical standards. If the far left is removed from foreign policy considerations, and more centrist Dems start participating in government instead of trying to bring it to a standstill, the Repubs might even feel free to become more creative about the prosecution of the war.
3) It will give the rising number of libertarian/center voters a chance to shape their voice. I think it’s a growing movement and will play a big part in the next presidential election.
Update: Four–four things
4) It’ll shine some light on our petrified political landscape. It’s the 21st century. Let’s try something new. The problems of society have changed over the last 30 years. Time for new answers.
Update: Five–five things
5) Nancy Pelosi has ordered new curtains for the Speaker’s office. Now, that just pisses me off.
Give ‘em the coup de grace.
affect, not effect.
Other than that, spot on.
In the context of the headline, Ahem means to make a political change happen.
Effect is the correct usage.
Sorry, it is effect.
But thanks!
Amen. Doubly so.
Besides, Ahem, the spectacle of far lefties clamoring for a revolution, the thing that will be the neck-snapping of the far-left Dem Party, cannot be missed.
Powerline has some interesting remarks regarding recent polling data.
Even if the net change is zero, with a loss here and a gain there, the image of far-lefties going bonkers in that case is simply too delicious.
Spot on, ahem, indeed.
By the by, my favorite polling pundit, Jay Cost, has some interesting if lengthy comments on Demcracy Corps/NPR polling methods.
Vote Democrat!
Not really, just trying to stave off the Fairness Doctrine.
Where’d you get that stuff about ordering new curtains—from me? Because that was supposed to be a joke, you know.
Barron’s is calling both Houses for the GOP, using an intresting measure for prediction of success: money in the bank.
Hot shot of snark in defense of their method:
I’m not quite that confident, but I am going to clear some room for a fresh load of schadenfreude just in case.
The Democrat’s answers haven’t changed. They’re still reading from teh FDR playbook, and that’s over seventy years ago.
Does anyone know where jeff was buried? Even if he was a dick it’s pretty sad he left us all so young.
‘Let’s try something new’
I’m all for this as long as by ‘new’ you mean that we will actually have debates in which defintion of the words used are not constantly shape shifting into some ‘new’ yet arbitrary definition created for the purpose of imposing a specific policy or agenda.
I think the reason why the Proggs are growing in intellectual madness is that everytime their words are rebutted they shape shift the definitions; they are running out of new forms to shape their logic and it’s driving them crazy.
Sorry, it’s affect. Effect is never used as a verb. So, “How to affect…” is “How to produce an effect…”
tw:high96 “Those summer days…”
The Dems won’t change if they lose. That’s wishful thinking. They get too much reinforcement from the MSM. It’s more likely that they’ll try to steer things even further to the left. They’re already in a state of denial.
If a little leftism is good, more is better, and too much is just right.
Good grief.
See item 10…
Another amen from the chorus. I have long suspected that the administration has suffered from a form of paralysis, since any significant change in their approach to the GWOT would likely be sold as evidence of defeat by the MSM.
syn: I think we’re actually ready for some serious debate. You can thank the rise of the Internet. More unbiased information is available to Americans than ever before. It’s affected me greatly, and I’m not alone. The time for real political change has seldom been riper.
Jojo: Well, Jeff’s not around to be a dick, so maybe you’ll do. And you are pink, so are you volunteering?
You forgot to add:
We want more “special comments” from Olbermann that will become even more rediculous after November 7.
EXCELLENT post Ahem. You crystallized my thoughts most eloquently. In federal level elections, I am voting republican (with nose somewhat pinched; I live in Ohio but Mike Dewine is of a magnitude a much better choice than Sherrod “the class warfare wager” Brown) and am hoping exactly for the scenario you mentioned. As a person who is firmly entrenched in category number 3, I am hoping for the best.
Well, I’m voting, right now, today! Effect. (The American Heritage® Book of English Usage. A Practical and Authoritative Guide to Contemporary English. 1996. Word Choice: New Uses, Common Confusion, and Constraints)
As a verb, affect means ‘to influence’, effect means ‘to cause’. I write for a living. Take my word for it.
effect – vt, to produce or act so as to bring into existence.
Wordweb. When I was younger I knew it all. Now, there’s more all.
In the final analysis, is this a debate about Kos or affect?
Jamie Irons
The effect effected by the trauma affected the patient’s affect.
Grammar Goddess’ Gavel
tw: Very few84 truly understand.
In effect, you have affected the effect of the inaffectable effect on your affectations.
or not… affectionally yours…
OK, enough of that. The best thing that could come out of this election (in addition to the ‘Thugs maintaining their control) would be the lessening of the far left’s influence in the Democratic Party. There is no way that the Dems (although they will try) can run a “victory by defeat” scenario like they did in 2000, 2002 and 2004. They had every advantage in addition to the “contribution maven Dean” running the party. If they don’t take control after all of the posturing they are going to look limp and useless no matter what the rhetoric.
In effect…
A democratic victory assumes that the voting public have been ignoring the dems childish outbursts, questionable logic and inability to come up with a solution to any problem (besides “impeach bush”) and honestly, I don’t think thats possible. If anything, democrats have been doing a fantastic job of publicizing their defeatism and rumor mongering.
On a very unfortunate sidenote, there’s a link on Drudge where Stephen King is praising moveon.org. I’ll be having a paperback book burning this weekend, apparently though I’m pissed I won’t be able to finish the Dark Tower series without throwing as a result of my disgust at King.
Vote Democrat!
for Mosquito Abatement District Board of Commissioners. Nother higher, though.
The great irony being that, due to the Democrat’s successfull purging of DDT, that particular function is now completely irrelevant.
I LIKE IT!!!
Interesting post, ahem, though I’m a little skeptical about anything in Washington ever changing for the better. Also, one quibble:
Snakes don’t have necks.
The Dems haven’t had a platform to speak of in at least six years, and it has been even longer since they had a good platform.
The Republicans having been in power for as long as they have does incline one to think that they may face some serious adversity. But who here knows the incumbency rate in the Congress? Yeah.
Another reason: Defeated politicians rarely draw the right conclusions about why they lost. Just look at the Democrats.
If the Republicans lose their majorities in the House because they haven’t been ____________ enough, you can bet your firstborn they’ll be even less ____________ the next time they ever do get into the majority again.
Im not so hopeful. MY prediction is that if the Dems fail again, they will just make more noise about the repubs stealing the election, file court challenges and complain about their “message not getting out”, despite the MSM echo chamber.
In fact the truth is, if they lose it will be precisly because their message got out and it’s far too late for such obvious leftwing douches like Nancy Pelosi to change their tune to one of alleged conservatism two weeks before the election.
Appeasement doens’t work. If making the mess they’re making is getting them elected, they’ll keep doing it. Its much easier than getting things right and getting booted.
Don’t you know that these guys in power have NEVER been about ‘stay the course’? Vote for more of the same something new!
Pelosi’s been touting this first 100 hour agenda
But then theres still 2 years left till the next election.
As a former Republican who is fed up with the Right Wing relgious nuts and the neo-cons, I happily voted ALL democratic today as a protest.
Maybe Bush will finally get the message if he loses at least the House.
suuuuure ya did, moby. ;D
actus: No, I really think you’ll see a serious shakeup. The only thing holding back the tide right now is the fear of the far left taking over, an even worse prospect. Win or lose, things fall apart for the GOP after November 7.
Not many conservatives are happy with the GOP: they’re not conservative enough. And the liberals in the party think they’re trying to be too many things to too many people and not standing for anything.
You have to remember that one constituency of the GOP for the last two elections–a large one–has been liberals who feel they have no other choice, people like me. Independents and others who have given the Dems a good share of votes over the years and are dismayed to see them taken over by the far Left. Voting for a third party would be tossing away our only real chance at affecting events–and living to vote another day–so we vote GOP.
A GOP win this fall forces a retrenchment of both parties: they’d either have to come out as centrists or consign themselves to the margins.
The reality is that there’s a growing need for a party that embraces both Democrats and Republicans of good will who love the US, realize the danger it’s in, and want to fight for it. If the Republicans move to the right, a centrist movement will emerge to absorb centrists from both sides of the aisle.
Whoever moves to the center first wins.
It’ll be a win-win for all Americans–except for those at each extreme.
former republican:
“But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive you your sins.”
Mat 6:15
Say hi to Jane for us.
What does happyness have to do with it? Its about winning and losing. Are they winning? Good, they’ll go on and be themselves. winners. Why would they move to the right to the point of becoming losers?
Heh.
Heh, indeed? That is a great point, too. This batch of republicans is conservative, how? I heard FORMER President Clinton the other day stating that Bush has moved the party so far right that he has lost the party moderates. If it was said by anybody else, it would be an obvious case of projection. As it is, it probably is projection anyhow.
What, other than his social platform, has Bush done that is remotely conservative? Foreign intervention? No. Increasing the size of the federal government? Hardly conservative. On a more detailed note, expaniding the hell out of the department of education? What classical conservative would say, “yes, let’s make education a federal responsibility and pump tons of money onto it!”? NONE. For me personally, this administration is too far left where it shouldn’t be and too far right where it shouldn’t be. I voted for him SOLEY because of who was running against him. Also, he seems to get the threat from islamo jihadists that most democrats just don’t. And I was NOT a proponent of the Iraq battle in the mis-named GWOT.
Questionable, but possible. Obviously, I think they’d be smarter to move to the center, but what’s obvious to one person is not obvious to another.
After all, the Democrats moved to the far Left, and you can see what’s it’s done for them….
Oh yes. Way to the left ofthe 1960 platform.
Besides, it’s not only about mere ‘winning and losing’. Wherever did you get that notion? It’s about ideas. Many voters care only about expressing their principles–winning means nothing to them. You sound like you’re unaware that people have principles.
Not everything in life is an exercise in cynicism.
You want to reform your politicians, of whatever stripe?
Go to your party precinct caucuses. Take friends, bring a plan of action with specific points. I know that many folks here are registered as independents; I was for two decades before I “pinched my nose” and started attending Rep caucuses here.
Get you and your friends, or like-thinking members of your caucus who impress you with their candidacy speech, elected as chair, vice, secretary, and delegates to your county and state conventions.
Contact other delegates THAT night in the halls of the school or whereever your meetings take place. Network. Find out who is willing to work with you to (A) impress upon your incumbent the need to return to the fold or (B) assist in supporting a viable challenger and/or (C) who else is willing to make a run for county or state party positions if the county/state party is ossified behind “business as usual” candidates.
We are doing that here.
The Republican party lives and breathes from the base upwards. The Democrats (OPINION ALERT) seem to have their bylaws written so that the national party dictates. The Reps have a stronger party because more people do in fact have voice and interest from the lowest levels on up.
It all begins in the caucus.
You must take your STAND someplace.
This turing stuff is eerie….
Oh ya. Winners of elections certainly have those. But I think the way to encourage that is to vote for people when they exhibit them and not vote for people when they dont. Otherwise there’s no incentive.
re: principles
Principles are not neutral.
A person acting to exhibit principles I loathe and despise is not going to get my vote. An ax murderer, however honest and principled, is still an ax murderer.
Regards,
Ric
Ya. Of course. Thanks.
How to repair a building which is half collapsed:
– Live in the other half.
This will accomplish five things:
i, It will devastate those busybodies at City Hall who insist you move out because the remaining building is “dangerous”. Sure, half of it collapsed, killing 10 families, but half of it is still standing. If it was going to collapse as well, wouldn’t it have done so by now? Continuing to live in it will demonstrate once and for all that civil engineers are useless tax-sucking bureaucrats.
ii, Once we’re all comfortable with our continued occupancy of the remaining part of the building, we can turn our efforts to rebuilding the rest. Shore up the walls, make it waterproof, clear the debris, clean up the water, bury the dead, and make it livable again. If we only remove interfering nitpickers from the mix, the building can be clean, safe and pristine once more, just as we want it to be.
iii, It will give do-it-yourselfers a good project to work on. I think these are a growing movement, and will play a big part in rebuilding the structure.
iv, It will shine a light on the antiquated notions of City Hall that buildings can be “hazardous” while they are still perfectly usable. With housing tight, it’s time to try something new, and I think we should concentrate on the half of the building that ISN’T a wet, smelly disaster area.
v, The City Engineering department has a silly address, and I don’t like them.
actus:
Ya? Ya?
You’re starting to sound like one of those hookers in ‘Fargo’. There must be a cute girl working with you at Starbucks that says that.
As if.
You’re probably, you know, ‘funny-looking’.
Please clarify. Are you saying that GWB understands the jihadist Islamofascist threat the way Dems don’t? Or are you asserting that Dems don’t receive the threats from jihadists that GWB does?
thegeezer…I am saying, obviously not very well, that he understands the jihadist islamofascist threat the way the dems don’t. He understands that the threat is real. The dems (and Buchanon conservatives) seem to think that they are a nuisance and nothing more.
“Playing with actus isn’t good practice.”
C’mon, everybody sing!
(random show tune, vaguely like a tango)
(YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP YA-BUMP BA BUMP BUMP)
playing with actus isn’t good practice
fighting a duel with an unarmed man!
He is consistant and most insistant
being the tool for the moonbat plan!
(YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP)
Snarking and sniping, hiding and biting
no more filling than Chinese food!
Excusing egregious posting as specious
“She might be crazy” Oh! What a tool!
(YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP)
Making the most use (of) government produce
“Give it the money and let’s build roads!”
“Clinics for Cross-Dress, puppies for homeless
all of that pro – duce for your golds!!”
(YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP)
Feminist muslims moving through customs
an army invading the muslim states.
Jihandists will cower, Osama lose power
nagging will raise their suicide rates!
(YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP)
actus, annoying, so very cloying.
He is dissembling, that’s the plan!
Did he just say that? Oh it’s just old hat!
Reading the script from the leftist clan!
It’s – all – the – script—-FROM THE LEFTIST CLAN!!!!!!!
(YA-BUMP BA-BUMP BUMP BUMP…..BUMP-BUMP-BUMP)