What Are We Going To Do If The Right Runs Against Bush?

[Mark E. Smith]

The poll news is terrific, and the political collapse of the Bush regime becomes more evident every day. But ask yourself this: Will the right be content to sink with George W. Bush? Or will they make his incompetence and weak intellect a scapegoat for the failures of their so-called conservative policies?

In other words, what if the right starts to go after Bush the same way we have been doing? What if they attempt to steal the issue of Bush's failures, and turn it into a political initiative of their own?

Perhaps the monster is merely attempting to peel off its old face and replace it with a new one? One that the American people will again find pleasing and believable?

Bush's poll numbers continue to fall, but are those leaving Bush now breaking to the center, or going further right?

Article you need to read:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9651882

[Caution]

1. Who cares?

As long as his base splinters and he continues to alienate moderates, the republican noise machine will continuet to falter and they will continue to have trouble putting their agenda through.

If the right goes after Bush things can only get better.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

7. No. Run with a positive message to fill the vacuum.

It's ok to be against something when they are in and you are out. When you are both out, you have to seize the day and be bold and move forward, not look backward.

[Cassandra]

2. Run against them as enablers.

"Too little too late" would be a good line.

[phiddle]

3. In brief, go after the right---they're wrong in so many ways.

The struggle is not just against Bush, but to discredit the entire pathology which is American Fundamentalist Reactionary Politics.

[Somawas]

4. We must massage his stench into the Republicans now

and every day, until they cannot wash the stench off, any more than Lady MacBeth could get all of that blood off her hands.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

5. Amp up their infighting so they chew themselves to pieces & can't regroup.

[jobycom]

6. Then we pop the champagne.

The Republican Party is more divided than the Democrats. The right and the middle don't like each other. If the right turns on the middle, the party will lose big. Real big.

A forgotten aspect of the 1994 Gingrich takeover of the House was the Democratic revolt against Clinton. Clinton was running 32% in the polls. Half the Dems running for Congress turned on CLinton. Most of the incumbents who lost had run from Clinton, towards the Repubs, and they got slaughtered. The ones who won their seat were either the Dems who sided with Clinton, or the ones who ran to the left of him.

That kind of reaction in the Repub party would be most welcome. It's what led to the destruction of the Dem party.

[mestup]

8. Great link.

OP: "Perhaps the monster is merely attempting to peel off its old face and replace it with a new one? One that the American people will again find pleasing and believable?"

This is what I fear. The hardline Reagan trickledowners puppeting a Giuliani figurehead. Fear not, we have a new father figure for you.

[Mark E. Smith]

16. The Right's damage control plan involves tossing Bush over the side

And you're right, it is very scary.

I don't think anyone should assume that because Bush is down for the count the right has lost. If all of our focus is on Bush we might miss something important.

[carpetbagger]

9. Well, they can run, but they can't hide. We weld them together.

Like this...

[MrBenchley]

10. Who is actually stupid enough to buy that?

Yes, remember that guy we sold you as the next Churchilll? Turns out he was an incompetent drunk, but over here we've got a real creampuff......

[mestup]

13. Most Americans are stupid enough to buy it.

The right's been demonizing "Democrats" as "liberals" since Reagan. Not much demonizing of Repubs till now. The dangerous Repub voters are those likely to think they're being progressive by "voting for the man, not the party!" I hear this from tv-washed Repubs all the time. That's how a Giuliani could get in.

[malaise]

14. There are many more doubters now

It's over.

[MrBenchley]

19. I disagree...

And I hate to see DUers showing open contempt for their fellow citizens....

[MojoXN]

17. "Who is actually stupid enough to buy that?"

That's an easy one, MrBenchley. Freepers. :)

MojoXN

[MrBenchley]

18. I wonder how many actually buy it...

and how many are just dumb enougfh to think other people will?

[cassiepriam]

11. They will only make themselves look bad. Let 'em do it.

[LostInAnomie]

12. The Republican base is *'s cult of personality...

... turning on * will be seen as turning on them. Without the foaming at the mouth, theo-fascist, neanderthal base the repukes can't get elected.

If Roe v. Wade gets overturned in the next few years watch the Repuke party fall apart. They will no longer have a wedge issue to dupe the one issue voters with.

[triguy46]

23. I think there has been growing unease...

between the zealot fundies and the *ies. he says the right words, but in reality he's an east coast Yalie from an Episcopalian background who has only consistently delivered the goods for the wealthy and business. They sense he is not 'true', and now with Meirs have the proof they need. They want Roe overturned, and while they may buy into a repeal of the estate tax, that issue is not one that 'God' speaks to them on. Their growing suspicion will cause the business side of the repugs to have to swallow very hard as they see their gop turned into an army of fire baptizing religious zealots intent on a theocracy. That is a 'concept' the CEOs have allowed as the price of the votes, never imagining that it could happen. *s collapse will allow the vacuum to pull them even farther to the religious right. Not sure the WSJ editorial staff fully buys into the fundie jihad like they do tax breaks for the wealthy.

You make a deal with the devil you have to deal with the devil.

[ElectroPrincess]

15. Unfortunately, what ever way you slice it the Corporate

Right Wing will win because they own the USA Mass Media. (Money talks!)

For example, I could only sit through five minutes of Chris Matthew's distortions and twisted conclusions from his manic evening of Fiscally Right Wing Hyper-Spin. This seemingly intelligent commentator is OPENLY carrying water for his Corporate Masters.

It's almost EVERYONE who has a commentator position on the major cable networks ==> they are fully read onto the Large Corporations' Best Interest Talking Points ... that OF COURSE, benefit only the Investor Classes, i.e., those who have over $300,000 in accumulated wealth.

Until we can break up the Corporate *strangle-hold* on ALL of our USA mass media outlets, nothing to the left of Fiscal Right Wing Conservative positions will even be granted "an airing" much less any true consideration by the USA's sheeple.

Everything is on track to continue this Reverse Robin Hood trend. The middle class is going to have to *hurt bad* before enough center Democrats can be elected to break up the HUGE and CORRUPT media monopolies.

Our true enemy is neither Bush nor Rove, it's the Corporate Media CEOs that continue to feed the American People disinformation and lies.

[Skidmore]

20. Remind them that not one of those idiots stood up against him

while the more and more pain was inflicted on the people. They were bought and paid for and active participants.

[salin]

21. major, major splitsville in the making

Remember Schaivo? THat is the far relg right, and the far right that panders for those votes.

Even here in red Indiana - mainstream repubs were HORRIFIED by that spectacle. These folks frighten a lot of even religious republicans.

Let them run further right - they will split themselves worse than Goldwater split them in 1964.

[triguy46]

22. What we do may be less important than what the fundies do...

I think there will be not a 'shift' but a 'yank'to the even more extreme right. The right of Falwell, Dobson, Buchanen,
the religious zealots will finally have total control from the 'business' and 'wealth' dedicated repugs who have used the fundies for votes but not delivered what the fundies want. This is very well explained in "Whats the Matter with Kansas." The fundies want conss. amendment for prayer school, total ban of abortion, total invalidation of any gay equality measures, but what the Bushies and 'business' repugs give them is a nod and a wink and a tax break for the wealthy. These are not the same groups, and their coexistence has been strained of late, and now may shatter. The fundies are outraged over * collapse and inability to deliver by direct confrontation. Listen to them re: Meirs, there is no hiding that they want an appointee who will go on the record, during hearings that Roe will go. That's more than a litmus test, that is their ultimate test of faith and belief and only that sort of zealotry will satisfy them. REgardless of how we view *, he has not met the fundies vision of a knighted savior.

[magnolia]

24. Regarding the civil war in the republican party...

...the democrats should say nothing. Which should be easy for them since they've been "saying nothing" for quite a while.

They need solid plans for every issue and positive messages and most of all, to unite. That's hard for democrats since we are all free thinkers and not sheep.

It will be a very long time before the average person can separate Bush from the republican party. Most people, even voters, aren't like DUers or freepers. They have minimal interest and don't really listen. This is why 9/11 got blamed on Saddama Bin Laden.

[blindpig]

25. popcorn

and New Deal 2.0.

[aaronnyc]

26. If the Right runs against Bush we win

As long as Bush is president he will be the face of the GOP. Thus, if the far-right abandons Bush, they will essentially be abandoning the Republican Party as well.

If a clear split emerges between the far-right and main stream Republicans, then Republican voters will cease to identify themselves as Republicans, and will begin to see themselves as a member of one of the two factions of the GOP. This will lead to highly contentious primaries with two possible results:
1. If a main stream GOP candidate wins the primary, then the far-right will either boycott the general election, or will vote for a 3rd party.
2. If a far-right candidate wins the primary, then moderates will either boycott the election or feel so disenchanted that they will turn to the Democratic Party.
Either way - we win.

The reverse scenario occurred with the Democratic Party in 1968 and 1972. In '68 the left boycotted Humphrey, and Nixon got elected; in '72 the moderates in the Democratic Party were so disenchanted with the nomination of McGovern that they voted for Nixon, and McGovern lost in a landslide. The lesson: a Party divided never wins. Let's just allow the infighting among Republicans to continue unabated - they are doing more damage to themselves than we could ever do to them.

[Mutley]

27. The fence sitters who typically decide close elections...

don't want radical right wingers any more than they want radical left wingers. They were duped into thinking *co represented their centrist views, and now they beginning to realize that they were duped. If the Dems can play their cards right, they can utilize that to their advantage next year and in 2008.

I consider myself being pretty far to the left, but I'd be much happier with a centrist in office than a zealot like Bush, Cheney, DeLay, etc.