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Author: Gerardo Orlando (Page 164 of 169)

Prelude to Surrender

May 16, 2006 /

It’s a catchy phrase – Prelude to Surrender – I wish I had come up with that one myself. Rich Lowry uses this phrase to describe George W. Bush’s latest speech on immigration, otherwise known as his latest lame attempt to shamelessly use an issue to boost his poll numbers.

Lowry actually uses another title for his piece – “Clintonian at the Border.” As NewDonkey.com points out, things are getting realy bad for W. when the right starts comparing him to Bill Clinton.

This is a tough issue for Bush. He actually had a real policy here – he generally agreed with the Senate approach. He wants to toughen up enforcement (doesn’t everybody?), but we wanted a rational middle ground when it came to dealing with the illegal immigrants who were already hear. I don’t believe that the Senate bill can be characterized as amnesty. The earned citizenship provisions make people work to gain citizenship, after paying a fine, working for a number of years and staying out of trouble.

Yet Bush wasn’t satisfied with having a real policy that he believed in. His administration is such a mess, and his poll numbers are so low, that he decided to try to appease his right-wing base. Yet he’s treating them as if they are stupid. He has consistently insulted principled conservatives when they disagreed with them in the past (see the Harriet Miers debate and the ports fiasco). Now’s he’s throwing them a policital bone with the National Guard proposal, but he’s sticking with the Senate plan.

Lowry and other conservatives can see through this charade.

Immigration

Mel Gibson takes shot at George Bush

May 12, 2006 /

Mel Gibson became the darling of the religious right and many Republicans last year when he released “The Passion of the Christ.” With his new project, however, his many supporters might be shocked to hear what Gibson has to say about President Bush:

He tells British film magazine Hotdog, “The fear-mongering we depict in the film reminds me of President Bush and his guys”.

Gibson’s new film, Apocalypto, depicts the thousands of human sacrafices conducted by the Mayan Indians in an attempt to save their kingdom. Gibson will get plenty of opportunities to further slam Bush when the film is released later this year.

Republicans

James Webb gains support from prominent Democrats

May 11, 2006 /

James Webb’s campaign to unseat George Allen in Virginia is starting to get the attention and support of many national Democrats, including Minority Leader Harry Reid:

Senate Democratic Leader Harry M. Reid and other top Democrats yesterday announced their support for Senate candidate James Webb, signaling the national party’s growing belief that the antiwar crusader and former Navy secretary is the party’s best bet against Republican incumbent George Allen in Virginia.

Webb is fighting for the Democratic nomination against former technology lobbyist Harris Miller in the June 13 primary, the kind of race that national party officials usually stay out of. But Webb, a former Republican and an early critic of the Iraq war, is attracting national attention as someone who could spoil Allen’s plans for an easy reelection in November and a presidential bid in 2008.

I don’t know a thing about Harris Miller. He’s probably a good candidate and would represent the Democratic party well if elected. But he won’t be elected. He probably doesn’t have much of a chance against George Allen.

Webb, on the other hand, has a chance. Webb has a strong military background and he came out against the Iraq War when most people in the country were blindly following the incompetent Bush administration. He has credibility on this issue, and he can make this a high-profile race. He should be the nominee.

Democrats, Senate 2006

Howard Dean vs. Rahm Emanuel

May 11, 2006 /

The fight between Howard Dean and Rahm Emanuel over how the Democratic National Committee should be spending its money demonstrates the difficulties facing the Democrats as they try to restore the party to power.

Both men have valid arguments. Howard Dean is spending money in all 50 states in a long-term strategy to rebuild the party from the ground up. This strategy makes sense, and he should stick to his guns.

On the other hand, Rahm Emanuel sees the huge opportunity this fall to retake the House and Senate. He wants Dean to conserve resources so they can weather the inevitable GOP onslaught in tight House races. Emanuel doesn’t want to lose this opportunity. He’s also correct.

Unfortunately, even with solid fundraising, there’s only so much money to go around. Emanuel will probably lose this argument.

That said, the Washington Post article points out the Emanuel’s House committee has roughly the same amount of cash on hand as their GOP counterpart, and Chuck Shumer’s Senate committee actually has more money than their GOP counterpart (run by the hopelessly incompetent Elizabeth Dole).

On a more humorous note, the Post article is worth reading just for its description of Emanuel:

Emanuel, a recreational ballet dancer with the vocabulary of a longshoreman, has for 15 years fashioned a reputation as one of Washington’s most aggressive figures — first as an operative on Capitol Hill and in the Clinton White House, and after 2002 as a representative from Chicago.

Priceless.

Democrats, House 2006, Senate 2006

Karl Rove unleashed

May 11, 2006 /

Get ready for hurricane Karl. Howard Fineman reports how Karl Rove’s strategy for the 2006 elections will be to demonize the Democrats and scare the crap out of voters. Democrats should be worried. Rove is at his best when he’s fighting in the gutter, and he will do everything in his power to avoid a Republican meltdown in November.

That said, this strategy might backfire. Voters are obviously tired of Bush and the GOP, and they’ve heard all this about the Democrats before. Rove in essense will be doubling down with this strategy, and it could lead to even bigger GOP losses.

House 2006, Senate 2006

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