GOP Not Ready to Lead?
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15 comments
I will second that they aren’t ready for a return to power, however after watching the last year I’m not really convinced Democrats are ready to lead either – or at least the President.
Odd Mike I’d think you’d be pleased. The left wing thought they’d elected “the One” and instead they ended up with another calculating Clinton administration sans the fun times in the Oval Office. Ya gotta admit he’s turned out a lot more timid and centrist than he was painted eh?
As for Steele, are we sure he’s not a Dem plant? Probably not, I mean a double agent would actually try to avoid ticking off his dupes like that. Is it just haplessness?
North,
Obama might have been temporarily squeezed to the center due to his ineptness to get what he wants, but what he wants is not centrist.
Maybe Mike, but it doesn’t matter what he wants. What matters is what he gets. Since he’s failed to roll out any steel tariffs (or even try for protectionism for that matter) he so far has Bush Minor beat handily on the issue of trade for instance. Whether that’s because he’s incompetent, because he lied to his left wingers and is actually a moderate or because he’s afraid of the polls and thus is cowardly is open to interpretation. But he’s still a damn sight better than what the other side of the aisle offered.
Jaybird
January 6th, 2010 at 10:02 am
Tentatively in 100% agreement.
If HCR (isn’t it weird how in the 90’s we were terrified of HRC, now we’re terrified of HCR???) anyway, if HCR tanks, I will become Obama’s biggest fan.
North
January 6th, 2010 at 10:23 am
I’m sure that’ll be some consolation to him Jay. Though considering how his base will probably want to run him out of town on a rail if he doesn’t deliver something significant with the supermajorities he was handed I don’t know if he’d want to make that trade.
We’ll see though. It seems to be past most of its’ hurdles, warts and all.
Jaybird
January 6th, 2010 at 10:54 am
If I knew it’d guarantee a second term and gridlock, I’d provide the necessary to make sure we could have another Ken Starresque investigation.
North
January 6th, 2010 at 10:58 am
You are a patriot Jay. No doubt about it.
“Refreshingly candid”? There’s not very many people who take Michael Steele seriously, and frankly I doubt if you’re one of them.
Scott H. Payne
January 6th, 2010 at 11:51 am
I’m pretty agnostic as far as Steele goes. He seems genuinely torn between trying to chart a new direction for the party and feeling hewn to its base, which, I think, results in some off-kilter behaviour at times. But, honestly, as far as political answers in media go, I found Steele’s response to Hannity about the future of the GOP to be precisely as I described it, “refreshingly candid”. I got the sense that he really was speaking his mind.
The “principles” which are conveniently laid out in his new book, which AFAIK nobody has read. Somehow I doubt you would see this the same way if it were Rush Limbaugh or Hannity himself for that matter.
Scott H. Payne
January 6th, 2010 at 12:52 pm
So your argument is that no matter what I say I’m commenting in bad faith…
Not so much yours as his. Though now that I come to think of it, he might obtuse enough to genuinely believe it. To actually accomplish things in Washington will require GOP Congressmen to confront things that Steele has in general ran away from. More than that, Steele is really in no position to give anybody advice on anything. In contrast to Howard Dean, eg, no one really cares about his opinion including (I’m guessing) you.
Scott H. Payne
January 6th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Gotcha. Well, whether he’s right or not and whether he’s influential or not, I still thought his comment was candid and for that I’ll give him (perhaps meager) points.
There are likely individual members of Congress and small collectives within the Republican caucus that retain an interest in promoting alternatives in public policy (some of those speaking in after hours sessions on C-SPAN on medical insurance I think are among them). Considered as a whole, the Republican caucus has lapsed into vacuity, and Mr. Boehner is as responsible as anyone. Kevin Williamson offers some thoughts here.
http://article.nationalreview.com/?q=NGM0ZmJlZmU0Yzg2YjM5YmIzM2M1YzEyN2JmNDcwODA=