GOP says N.Y. would be swell with Zell

[Khephra]

GOP says N.Y. would be swell with Zell

Some Republicans are hoping that sharp-tongued Democratic Sen. Zell Miller of Georgia will appear at the GOP’s national political convention this summer.

“It would be great if he could be there,” said Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.). “Zell Miller is a Harry Truman kind of Democrat. He tells it like it is. He’s plain-spoken. He doesn’t mince words. He’s the person he is, and a patriotic American.”

snip..............

More recently, Miller has expressed a willingness to assist Bush’s re-election, “if there’s any way that I can help him,” and has delivered scathing remarks about Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) at public events.

snip............

For now, Miller is keeping mum about his plans. Asked whether he would attend the GOP convention, Miller replied, “I don’t know. I’m not going to the Democratic convention.”

snip..........


Democrats haven’t been as inviting lately. Miller no longer attends the party’s weekly luncheon meeting, after slamming Democrats in his book, A National Party No More: The Conscience of a Conservative Democrat.

more..................

http://www.thehill.com/news/061004/miller.aspx

[yellowcanine]

1. Zell Miller ain't no Harry Truman. And Harry Truman would have had some

choice words about the current crop of Republicans and Zell Miller that couldn't be printed in a family newspaper.

[CO Liberal]

21. Zell Miller = Benedict Arnold

[bif]

2. "He's plain-spoken"=he's verbally challenged.

That's what that means.

[Jeff in Cincinnati]

8. Unable to articulate a complex thought...

He and Pamela Anderson are both plain-spoken.

[THUNDER HANDS]

3. can't we just strip him of his party affiliation?

I guess not, since Lyndon Larouche is still a Democrat.

[Bandit]

9. The party can and should disown him

The Republican party did that with David Duke and we should with Zell. He is no Democrat and should not be allowed to tarnish the name.

[phillybri]

4. Fuck Zell, he better not show up at the DNC....

Let him go to the RNC, fucking turncoat piece of shit...

[Jack Rabbit]

5. Why not?

Miller's done everything but register Republican. If he wants to speak at their convention, that's his right.

Otherwise, Miller says he will assist in the re-election (sic) of Mr. Bush. Bush is now one of the major criminals of modern times. Let's hope Miller is proud of himself.

[DinahMoeHum]

6. Forget it, ain't happening. Besides, Zell already spoke at

the 1992 convention.

New blood is in order here. Either Howard Dean or Dennis Kucinich as keynote speaker, with whoever's not chosen to also give a key primetime speech.


:kick:

[Carolina]

18. and what a speech he gave in 1992

he literally gave the GOP and Bush hell. The Dems should pull it out and use his own words to show what a flip-flopper HE is.

But it's moot now since he's retiring and no one really pays attention to him. That's why he doth protest too much. Anyone who heeds Zell's words now or would support Bush because he tells them to is a repuke anyway.

edited for typos :dunce:

[Piperay]

20. I remember that speech and

it was TERRIFIC! In light of the way the guy is now I actually wondered if I had imagined the whole thing. I'm glad that you mentioned it so I know that I wasn't hallucinating the whole thing. :hi:

[bleedingheart]

7. Harry Truman should rise out of his grave and strangle Zell.

Personally I think we should eject him from the Democratic Party...

[PROGRESSIVE1]

10. and the MOST HONORABLE SENATOR JAMES JEFFORDS....

will speak at the Democratic Convention.

[nonbelief]

11. I don't understand...

As an Australian, I simply don't understand American party politics...


In Australia, someone like Zell would have been kicked out of his party by now, and forced to either stand as an independent or join another party.

What's the point of even having a party if the party leadership can't boot out members who actively campaign against it?

That's taking free speech to ridiculous levels

[qazplm]

12. they could kick him out

unfortunately the political hay that would be made by the right wouldnt be worth it.

Then again, AFTER the election, I say they kick him out.

[Khephra]

14. One reason why it's not worth bothering with kicking him out

Is that Zell is retiring. This is his last term in office.

[PATRICK]

15. It might have to do

with the Democratic defection of prominent Southern pols in the time of Eisenhower, the Dixiecrats. The original Dem base was strongly Southern and rabidly anti-GOP. Trying to keep an unsteady new coalition together under FDR is an ancient habit and one that the "New Democrats" are not going to upset in the least by blackballing an elected Southern senator when every vote counts.

Now that he has crossed way over that generous, expedient, fear engendered line it is almost too late to do anything but harm by excommunicating him publicly. The Dems "big tent" strategy has more real hope, but less guts than their GOP counterparts. The Dems stoop to any compromise, the GOP to any lie or ruthless strategy to woo the South.

In fact, it may be rightly assumed part of the Miller GOP lite strategy is to draw out the Dems against a Southerner. Now that he's "out" his harm can best be mitigated by considering him irrelevant as most of the party faithful down South would.

But yes, change the locks on the DLC restrooms and pour cement in his sports locker. And no double dipping with corporate lobbyists as a Dem and as a GOP supporter.

We are quite a few seats shy of party discipline. In parliamentary governments the tactics of coalitions with other parties(and removals and defections) makes it clearer. In ours where even the two competing biggies blend all around the spectrum it is a lot foggier and more dishonest.

[AlGore-08.com]

16. Slightly more detailed backstory for Aussies and other non-Americans :)

The U.S. Civil began after the abolitionist Lincoln was elected. Lincoln was a Republican, and as is the case with civil wars around the world, the side that lost the war never completely forgot or forgave the victors. The "Solid South" voted Democratic after that - - and when African-Americans were allowed to vote, they voted for Republicans.

But beginning in 1930s, Democrats worked to improve civil rights for African-Americans. While this won over most African-Americans voters nationwide to the Democratic Party, it alienated (most) white southern voters. When Truman de-segregated the Army, and insisted on a civil rights plank in his 1948 campaign, Strom Thurmond and a number of other Southern Democrats left the party. Thurmond ran a third party campaign in 1948, on a pro-segregation campaign. After he lost, he and the other southern Democrats who had defected joined the Republican party. The vast majority of the white southern vote followed them and votes GOP to this day. The African-American vote remained with the Democratic party.

Nixon strengthened the association in his second Presidential campaign, running a campaign that made veiled appeals to racists in the south. Reagan and both Bushes did the same thing.

Currently, the nation is more divided than it has been since the civil war, and this election might end up being as close as the 2000 election. Zell Miller's positions are embraced by a lot of conservative Democrats, especially in the south. Because of this, there are many Democrats who would love to throw Zell Miller out of the party, but feel that they can't risk alienating a single conservative Democrat by doing so right now.

Whether that's the right thing to do in response to Zell is another question entirely...

[John_H]

13. Zell should have been given the boot months ago!!!!!

Daschle could end this now. But since he needs to get reelected in a Rethug state, he's perfectly willing to let the GOP have a "Dem" at their convention. What a sad little man.

[toopers]

17. This might be another case of poetic justice for Roy Barnes' actions.

Zell came to the senate as a hand picked replacement for Paul Coverdell, a Republican, who died before the end of his term. When Paul died, the Georgia governernor, Roy Barnes - Dem, picked Zell to finish the term. Many of the wing nuts were livid because they felt that a Republican should have been appointed.

[Piperay]

19. Miscalulation as usual...

Miller is no good to anybody, not the Democrats and not the repukes. My cousin is a GA Repuke and she absolutely loathes Miller, she doesn't trust him cause he wears the 'D' label. They're all a bunch of stupid asses.

[GOPBasher]

22. Harry Truman would give Zell hell.

Truman would blast Zell for supporting budget-destroying tax cuts. We have red ink as far as the eye can see because of these stupid tax cuts, and Zell's partially responsible for them. A Harry Truman Democrat???? hahahahahahah

[Tabucky]

23. Zell Miller can suck my left testicle

Comparing Zell miller with harry truman is like comparing pat buchanan to barney frank

[kwolf68]

24. LMAO

Harry Truman? Zel Miller is a Harry Truman Democrat?

You mean the same Harry Truman who promoted NATIONAL HEALTH CARE? Yea, I seem to remeber Zell co-sponsoring lots of national health legislation.