Howard Dean talks straight

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by lookout123

being better than GWB doesn't automatically make one great.

Now that statement I completely agree with on so many levels.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by lookout123

being better than GWB doesn't automatically make one great.

Now that statement I completely agree with on so many levels. I really think that GWB will be remembered as one of the worst presidents of the 21st century.

[lookout123]

well, there are LBJ and Carter to contend with. but sure, i'll go along with "one of".

[WabUfvot5]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

Because the children whine, the parents make the rules. The extreme Republicans consider themselves our parents, here to guide us and protect us from ourselves--just like the extreme liberals would if they were in power.

The hypocrisy is enough to make me cry. These are the same who complain about the nanny state when they are taxed too much. You are right though, both sides are ultimately after what they think is best for us whether it is or isn't. I'd much prefer a more diverse political realm where nothing gets done.

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by lookout123

well, there are LBJ and Carter to contend with. but sure, i'll go along with "one of".

No he won't. They're 20'th century.

[lookout123]

ouch, you got me there HM. i wasn't even thinking about the 20th/21st century bit.

[richlevy]

Originally Posted by lookout123

ouch, you got me there HM. i wasn't even thinking about the 20th/21st century bit.

I actually spent a lot of time on that issue. I took a look at the US presidents at the turn of the 20th century.

We started off with McKinley, who started the Spanish-American war based on 'bad intelligence' about the destruction of the Maine. We may have him to thank for Hawaii being a US state and for many US almost-states like Puerto Rico, but he did so by fighting Spain and conquering the local populations, some of whom fought against us for independence.

Harding was basically a marshmallow who let himself be led.

From here

Decidedly conservative on trade and economic issues, Harding favored pro-business government policies. He allowed Andrew Mellon to push through tax cuts for the rich, stopped antitrust actions, and opposed organized labor.

Harding knew little about foreign affairs when he assumed office, preferring to give Secretary of State Hughes a free hand. Hughes was concerned with securing foreign markets for wealthy American banks, such as the one run by John D. Rockefeller. Hughes and Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover used the Fordney-McCumber Tariff to secure oil markets in the Middle East, especially in modern-day Iraq and Iran. His administration revised Germany's war debts downward through legislation, passed in 1923, known as the Dawes Plan. Hughes also called for a naval conference with nine other nations to freeze naval spending in an effort to reduce spending.

Shaken by the talk of corruption among the friends he had appointed to office, Harding and his wife, Florence "Flossie" Harding, organized a tour of the western states and Alaska in an attempt to meet people and explain his policies. After becoming ill with what was at the time attributed to ptomaine (food) poisoning, Harding had a heart attack and died quietly in his sleep. The rumors flew that Flossie had poisoned the President to save him from being engulfed in the charges of corruption that swept his administration. The Hardings never had any children; Flossie died of kidney disease in 1924.

Coolidge was a least honest, although he didn't stop the Great Depression, although it is thought that he saw it coming.

Hoover inherited Coolidges mess. He also pushed volunteerism, which may be where GWB is getting his faith-based intiative ideas from.

Hoover came into the presidency as one of the foremost proponents of public-private cooperation -- what was termed “volunterism” -- to maintain a high-growth economy. Volunterism was not premised on governmental coercion or intervention, which Hoover feared would destroy precious American ideals like individualism and self-reliance, but on cooperation among individuals and groups. Hoover did not reject government regulation out of hand, however; in fact, he supported regulating industries such as radio broadcasting and aviation that he believed served the public good. But he preferred a voluntary, non-governmental approach to economic matters, the better, he reasoned, to protect what he called the “American character.”

Of course, Hoover was one of the first presidents to publicly screw over veterans, who had been promised money by Congress. The debt would not be paid until FDR's administration and over his objection that the priority should be the Depresssion.

Certainly a mixed bag of flawed men and policies. Both Roosevelts rose out of these men's mistakes. T. Roosevelt gained a lot of his reputation from McKinley's war and FDR picked up from Hoovers (really Coolidges) Depression.

So the public does learn from it's mistakes and choose a real leader after a series of mediocre seatwarmers.

I have a real hope for the 21st century. GWB has all three houses and all of the cards and still the country has an expensive war, rising debt, and the only plan to save Social Security contains a provision that would sap it's funding.

A lot of the true moderates and independents who gave him his slim margin on election day are smacking themselves in the head right now. Still, the Democrats might drop the ball by not giving the public the best man for the job. The Republicans might drop the ball for choosing another bitter partisan, or, worst case, Jeb Bush in hopes of a 3-man 6-term dynasty.

We live in interesting times. G-d help us.

[richlevy]

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - Randall Terry, who founded the militant anti-abortion group Operation Rescue and helped lead the effort to reinsert Terri Schiavo's feeding tube, announced Wednesday he is running for the state Senate, setting the stage for a GOP primary in which Schiavo could be the central issue.

Terry will face state Sen. Jim King, one of nine Republicans who sided with the Democrats to block a bill aimed at keeping Schiavo alive. The primary will be in 2006.

Terry said King no longer represents the Republican base.

"The Terri Schiavo matter was unforgivable to many of the Republican loyalists," said Terry, 46. He also said King's appointment of Democrats to key positions in the Senate and his call for higher caps on medical-malpractice verdicts alienated voters.

In a telephone interview, King countered: "I've been a real Republican all my adult life. I was not a convert. I'm a fiscal conservative and moderate on social issues. My success and voting record would indicate I'm pretty much where much of Florida is."

You heard it here first, folks. Randall Terry is now the official representative of the Republican base.

So with the Schaivo affair and the low malpractice caps, the new Republican base is someone who will keep someone on life support indefinitely while letting the doctor who put them there off the hook.

[lookout123]

no, randall terry is an asshat. an asshat without an elected position. he believes that he represents florida republicans. the voters will get to decide if they want his brand of asshattery in office.

[wolf]

Referencing back to the beginning of this thread ... McCain seems to be in a bit of trouble for skipping moderate and going hell bent to the left ...

The lowdown from the arizona conservative.

I have no idea if there's been any follow up on this ... It's been nuts at the nuthouse lately.

[OnyxCougar]

So ... because he's doing what he thinks is best for the country, regardless of which side the Republican party says he SHOULD be on, and because he does't mind working with Democrats instead of bitching at them, they are basically saying, "You can't be a Republican anymore"?

[Troubleshooter]

Politicians are worried that people are beginning to see behind the curtain.The curtain of partisanship. So they have to try and remind people that they are supposed to stay polarized.

[lookout123]

or they are pissed that McCain runs on certain ideas, but after the election he supports a program they believe to be amnesty.

[BigV]

[pa voice]Paging mrnoodle, mrnoodle, please report to the Howard Dean thread[/pa voice] Cause I'd like to hear his take on the McCain censure by the ARA. Seriously, his crime was working with other senators whose square on the seating chart was a different color? *shakes head in disbelief and sad wonder*

[Happy Monkey]

WHEREAS, Senator John McCain is presently co-sponsoring, together with his Democrat soul-mate, Senator Teddy Kennedy

Ooh, soul mates! People take this stuff seriously?

WHEREAS, Senator McCain led the Democrat Party in “reforming” campaign finance

Illiterates, plus air quotes. It sort of diminishes the effect of the flowery WHEREAS-style writing.