Are we focusing TOO MUCH on Shrub?

[booley]

I wanted to save this post for my 666th since it's a devil's advocate post. but anyway...

My point is this... no matter how you feel about Clinton, I don't think any of you will disagree that the Repubs used dislike of Clinton to get Dems voted out of office and grab the congress. Fair or not, it worked. Clinton, already a conservative dem had to move even further to the right becuase of constant pressure from people like Newt and Helms and the repub majority.

But I don't see that kind of thing for Shrub. It's obviouse thats it's NOT that the case can't be made... Shrub' s policies were endorsed by conservatives. Shrub couldn't get away with anything if the repubs in congress didn't let him. if the repubs on the 9-11 panal weren't covering for shrub and giving him an easy ride, the truth would be out already and impeachement hearings would be in the works.

But when the evil that Shrub does is talked about, I don't hear nearly as often any talk of his accomplices, the republican party. I mean, even if we get rid of Shrub despite all the cheating he is planning to do, Kerry would stil have to worry about a repub controlled congress that will oppose him at every turn (remember, cons equate bipartisanship with date rape).

to really undo the harm that Shrub has done, we must get rid of his collaboraters as well.

So..what do you gus think? Are we when we present arguements against shrub, pinning all the blame on Shrub when the repub party deserves it as well? and if so, how can we link it so when ever Shrub does anything bad, it's understood that the repubs are responable too?

[President Jesus]

1. No. Keep focus on Bush until Nov 4.

Bush is the greatest unifying force amongst non-right-wingers in my lifetime.

If we start to take our eyes off the prize, we start to splinter. I believe we would start to lose those middle-of-the-roaders and Nader-lefties if we don't keep them focussed on ousting Bush.

Let's win this election, and then start to focus on issues of individual interests.

[booley]

3. But..

the repubs managed to stay pretty unified before Shrub was in the picture.

And what good is geting rid of Shrub if Kerry is hamstrung?

[onehandle]

6. Judges. Period. nt

[Go Eagles]

8. take out Bush is cutting off the head off the far right

Judges, the end of hack appointees that are gutting the environment, Ashcroft and the right wing takeover of the justice department is done, the tax cuts will expire and no more will be rammed through Congress and moving back to fiscal sanity, end of an arrogant unilateralist foreign policy that is P/O of the rest of the world and the neo-cons and their imperial foreign policy is history. Much of the blame of 94 also goes to the Dems in congress. Clinton had a majority in both houses and the Dems were very luke warm in supporting his initial budget/economic policies and left him twisting in the wind with health care. If the party was more unified and not allowed to be walked over by Gingrich and Dole then a different result may have happened.

[LynzM]

2. Valid point

And well taken. We do need to also focus on getting good reps back into the Senate and Congress. Yes, the president is important, particularly regarding appointing of judges, etc. And now, when the president has powers re: war, etc., that haven't been given before without oversight. But it is also very important that we continue to focus on the big picture and work for overall change in Washington, not just a new president. Right on!

[mouse7]

4. I'm not.

Please feel free to click on my sigline to support my favorite Congressional candidate.

[sniffa]

5. i'm a pessimist

but i'm absoLuteLy optimistic about the coming year. not onLy wiLL bush be booted out, he wiLL drag down his entire party in fLames. your LocaL seLectman can be forced out based on the 'r' next to his name.

bush is gonna have the opposite of coat taiLs. he wiLL have anchors.

[H2O Man]

7. bush must remain the target.

The administration will do anything to deflect attention from bush. Someone on here said maybe Condi Rice will flash a breast next Thursday at the 9-11 hearings to distract the public. We'll see more and more efforts to distract Americans from the most important thing in politics in 2004: we need to kick that jackass out of the White House. All the trash goes with him.

[Salviati]

9. I agree...

I think that we must not only discredit and destroy Bush politically, but also his accomplices in this assault on America. Bush, and even the neo-cons are merely the current embodyment of the facist tendancies in our government, and it should be our ultimate goal to excise them completly from our government, our society, and from the school of civilized political discourse.

The first battle in said goal is to reclaim a branch of the governmnet from the grip of these facists, and the the exective branch is the only one that hinges on a single race. I think that this is the easiest one to take back, and perhaps by discrediting this administration, we can give him some negative coattails, and press the cause in the house and senate as well.

Whereas taking down the Bush administration is not enough, I do think that is an appropriate place to start, and to focus, as long as the case is made that his failures are also the failures of his supporters.

[Go Eagles]

13. agree it is only the start

Defeating Shrub is only one battle but it is the most important. After 1992, the far right was angered and unified to go after Clinton and they did it successfully. If Kerry wins, the far right will be so enraged and their response will make 92 look mild. The Democrats need to not repeat the mistakes of early 90’s, go for their throats and show the nation that a bunch of far right, hateful extremists has highjacked the Republican Party.

[indie]

10. Absolutely

There is no way he could have gotten away with any of this crap if the senate had stayed in the hands of the dems. The fact that so much bad law has been created and signed could not have happened without a trifecta in government for the repubs.

Without the opposing side having the clout to temper bad legislation these guys have run amock. From the patriot act to the medicare bill to the deficit, it was all done with them in complete control. This fact should be pointed out again and again to the american public. There is a reason the founding fathers took such great pains to provide for a balance of power. It was so that no single entity could run roughshod over the the citizens.

Whenever and wherever we can, we should remind peoploe of this, and tell them to pay attention to the congressional/senate races in their areas as well.

[WhereIsMyFreedom]

11. I don't think so

I think that if we shift the focus away from Bush even a little then he'll do better in the election. If we don't beat him, then shifting focus wouldn't have made any difference. If we barely beat him, then shifting focus might have caused us to fail. And if we completely slam him in the election then I think he'll take a lot of Republicans down with him and the shift in focus wasn't necessary.

He has got to go and that should be our focus!

[goodhue]

12. yes

IMHO better to focus on our own ideas for helping the country rather than waste energy bashing bush

[booley]

14. well I may have gotton my answer...

.from an unlikely source..a guy at my work who voted for reagam Bush the first , and Dole..but today said h emay just have ot vote for kerry and then work on getting a lot of the other repubs out.

I think traditional conservatives are begining to wake up as to what happened to thier party.

[walldude]

15. Hi... Paranoid New Guy Here

Hi, I always assume that for every one thing bad we know about the Shrubs Administration there are 100 more worse things we don't know. Remember, the Shrubs father was the head of the CIA for years. He's probably got dirt on every Republican in the Senate and Congress. Thats why they back him, they can't afford not to. I remember reading an expose in Mother Jones magazine about the Office of Special Plans, they attempted to interview a White House staff member for the article and were denied, only being told "Those who speak,pay".. This administration rules by lies and fear, and they will stop at nothing to get what they want. They need to be stopped and it's not just G.W. either, really he's just a freakin puppet. Rove, Ashcroft and Rumsfeld are the guys pulling the strings here...

http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2004/01/12_405.html

[VOX]

16. * may not be the head of the serpent, but he is the part that's exposed...

And thus all the efforts to strike at it are worthy.