If I recall correctly, no one had hardly even heard about the Contract With America until AFTER the elections.

I'm not saying they made it up post-election, but it was hardly the major theme of the Republican Congreessional campaigns.

If anything, Newt was able to use the unexpectedly large gains in the elections to provide post-hoc support for the contract. (You know - gotta use that political capital.)

The Contract did not play a major role in getting Republicans elected, though Newtie would love to have us believe that.

Posted at July 18, 2005 2:09 PM in response to The Topic Killer

"And if the words of Paul Starr ... are being distorted and misused in this manner: well, none of us are immune."


May I just say: duh

And I mean that will all due respect.

I'm awfully tired of reading about people continually coming to the realization that the Rove Machine has reached some kind of nadir. That this one really puts them over the line.

Drop the meme. It's over. There is no nadir. There is no line. It's a bottomless chasm and we're in free fall. It will get worse and worse and worse, until it's stopped.

And I consider myself an optimist

.

Posted at June 26, 2005 6:29 PM in response to Enemy Talking Points

god damn you guys make things complicated!

Granted, the issue of the SS trust fund is more complicated than balancing your checkbook, but the basic principles, in theory, are very simple.

The intent of the trust fund was to fund the general fund, such that the federal deficit, and hence the total national debt, could be minimized. When the time came to cash in the trust fund, the government could then comfortably issue new debt to cover the redemption.

That was the theory, and it's simple. You can argue about whether that it was practical to expect that to happen, but that's a different discussion.

As some have pointed out, the real problem is not the trust fund, but our astronomical debt and the cut-taxes at any cost psychosis that has taken us over. IF the federal budget had been kept in a consistent, relatively low-deficit state, there really would be no problem at all.  This was Clinton's great accomplishment and is what shook the Bushies and probably even Greenspan to their very core. (eg, remember Greenspan's utterly nutcase argument in support of the 1st Bush tax cut - that we were in danger of paying off too much of our debt, too fast? hah!)

You guys are thinking way too much.

Posted at June 15, 2005 9:49 PM in response to Social Security questions

STOP THE MADNESS!!!

If I hear one more idiot say that Dean gave the Republican Noise Machine 'ammunition', I'm gonna, I'm gonna...
(Well, I don't know what exactly, but it won't be pretty)

It boggles my mind that anyone who has paid the barest attention to national politics for the past 10 years and has three operating brain cells has not have figured out that the only ammo the machine needs is, well, pretty much anything they damn choose.

It's called propaganda, people, writ humungo.

If Dean says something, they'll twist it. If he doesn't say something, they'll just make shit up, either about him or someone else.

If we don't all understand this fundamental, basic reality, we're doomed.

Posted at June 11, 2005 11:23 PM in response to Defending the Doctor in Context

tom,
You seem to have missed the point. Message disicipline is not Dean's problem. It's the problem of people like Biden and Frank.  Message disicpline would demand that you use Dean's comment as an opening against the Republicans, not as an excuse to apologize, yet again, for ourselves.

As I pointed out with the 'global test' example, it does not matter what we say or do. It will be spun until it's inside out. Fine. Let them spin it. Accept it. Embrace it.

And then fight back. Relentlessly.

Posted at June 10, 2005 9:54 PM in response to Howard Dean is Doing What Dems Need: Shaking Things Up

Steve is right.
billmon is wrong
(first time for everything, bill)

It really doesn't freaking matter what Dean or any Dem says. The Repubs will take whatever word, phrase or snippet that they can grab and then beat us over the head with it. And the media will hold us down while they do it.

Remember Kerry's "global test"? The man was paraphrasing the damn Declaration of Independence for chrissakes!

The fact that so many Dems take an opportunity like this to apologize instead of using it as an opening to bash the Republicans just shows what a deep, dark hole  we're in.

Why can't every Dem respond to Dean's comments with "Well, I wouldn't have put it exactly that way, but ..." and then attack, attack, attack? And then attack some more?

We are so f**ked.

(sorry if this gets double posted, but I don't know where the first one went)

Posted at June 10, 2005 3:50 PM in response to Howard Dean is Doing What Dems Need: Shaking Things Up

Steve is right.
billmon is wrong
(first time for everything, bill)

It really doesn't freaking matter what Dean or any Dem says. The Repubs will take whatever word, phrase or snippet that they can grab and then beat us over the head with it. And the media will hold us down while they do it.

Remember Kerry's "global test"? The man was paraphrasing the damn Declaration of Independence for chrissakes!

The fact that so many Dems take an opportunity like this to apologize instead of using it as an opening to bash the Republicans just shows what a deep, dark hole  we're in.

Why can't every Dem respond to Dean's comments with "Well, I wouldn't have put it exactly that way, but ..." and then attack, attack, attack? And then attack some more?

We are so f**ked.

Posted at June 10, 2005 3:49 PM in response to Howard Dean is Doing What Dems Need: Shaking Things Up