Open Thread - 9/19/07
The Guru will be travelling today and won't be able to put up a daily round-up until later in the day, so treat this as an open thread. What races are you following? What big news stories are breaking? Does Grandpa Fred Thompson actually want to drill for oil in the Everglades? Maybe Grandpa Fred is just having a hard time keeping track of current events. Are you celebrating Talk Like a Pirate Day? Let me hear you!
posted by Senate2008Guru | 10:03 AM
7 Comments:
Mike Johanns announced he's resigning as Agriculture Sectretary and running for Senate in Nebraska.
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!
I'm now waiting for an announcement from Bob Kerrey. Kerrey running = hard fought race in Nebraska.
Kerrey not running = Senator Johanns
I don't know. Omaha Mayor Mike Fahey will still be a strong candidate mking it a hard fought race, though I'm betting on Johanns in that race. I just hope Kleeb doesn't run for Senate, he'll have a much better shot at the house seat.
I cannot believe the shameful stunt that Senate Republicans pulled today. Voting to reject Webb's BINDING proposal to reduce the length of an active tour of duty from 15 months to 12 months, which would have allowed for an amount of rest time equivalent to deployment, then voting to approve McCain's NONBINDING amendment expressing the "sense of the Senate" that excessively long tours of duty are bad for the troops.
We've always known that Republican politicians support the troops and love their country more in word than in deed, but they sunk to a new low today. Given this vote, along with shrinking budgets for veterans' benefits enacted during Republican rule, and the administration's opposition to a half-percent military pay raise, the distinguished members of our armed forces are increasingly turning to another party, the Democratic Party they've been taught for so long to fear and dread, to find the kindly patronage they so richly deserve.
The central theme of the 2008 campaign will be actions versus words. Who can the American people trust to produce desperately needed ACTION on the wide range of issues and crises confronting this country at the dawn of the next decade, from combating global warming and developing alternative sources of energy, to providing healthcare access for all citizens and bringing our troops home with dignity and veneration? HINT: It ain't the party of va blogger.
Jak, I agree with pretty much everything you said... here's the deal... the only Iraq policy wll change is if we get 60 votes... that means we need to have victories from Mark Warner, Tom Allen, Jeanne Shaheen, Bob Kerrey, Jeff Merkley, and the Minnesota Democratic candidiate... and even with those victories, won't quite be at 60 votes... this might not happen until 2010 as The Guru has pointed out on a number of occasions... however, if 2008 is anything on the level of 2006, the stars may be aligned and Ted "Strom Thurmond" Stevens, Elizabeth "Back Bencher" or "No Accomplishments for North Carolina" Dole, and Pete "Alberto Gonzales" Domenici may go down as well... I'm sure the President will keep up with the Iraq strategy that is grounded in idiocy... and the house of cards will crash.
I see no reason to view the 2008 Senate races with anything but optimism, but we must remain vigilant and see every race through until the last votes are in. The Republicans who today are so quick to caution Democrats against premature celebration are the same ones who confidently predicted victory months in advance of the 2000 and 2004 elections. As Republicans have demonstrated, confidence breeds success... to the extent that we do not become complacent which - judging by our sustained advantages in fundraising, candidate recruitment, and grassroots enthusiasm - seems unlikely at this point.
Remember, though, that the election of a Democratic president in 2008 would forestall the need for a filibuster-proof majority with respect to the war. Finally, we'd have a commander-in-chief who listens not only to neoconservative thinktanks or ideologically consonant generals "on the ground" (while forcing those with a dissenting viewpoint into early retirement), but to the entire military and intelligence communities, and the diversity of opinions they hold.
Suffice it to say, wherever I go, the people are tired and restless, and yearn for change. Whether the sour mood of the electorate and other favorable dynamics translate into a 2-seat gain or an 8-seat gain, no one can say with any degree of certainty. But can any of us remember an election where one side seemed so utterly deflated and demoralized, for reasons largely of their own making?
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