Tag Archives: Republicans
“Send In the Clowns…They’re Here”
BY RICH GALEN
Reprinted from mullings.com
To succeed in America – to truly succeed in America – you have to be more than excellent at what you do; you have to be a carnival barker making certain that every single person in each of the 50 states knows that you are excellent at what you do.
Government Shut Down
BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from thefeeherytheory.com
During the Eddie Murphy years, Saturday Night Live had an iconic skit that can best be called “Who Shot Buckwheat.” In a spoof of the media culture that glorifies murderers and assassins, it examined why John David Stutts shot Buckwheat.
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State Of Union Mish Mash
BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from the feeherytheory.com
Like the audience that was arrayed in front of him, the President’s State of the Union address was all mixed up in ways that made it unconvincing and inauthentic.
Energy & Commerce Chair Critical Call
BY GARY ANDRES
Intra-party fights for political spoils are one of the dark sides of legislative politics.
These battles are divisive and unproductive. They destroy party morale, political efficacy and even lifelong friendships. Fortunately, the incoming Republican House majority kept most of these internal squabbles to a minimum when it came to selecting their new leadership team.
Boehner: Washington’s Mr. Fix It
BY GARY ANDRES
Reprinted from weeklystandard.com
If the Republicans win enough seats in Congress this November, GOP leader John Boehner will become the next speaker of the House. The Ohio Republican would assume the gavel amid a maelstrom of polarization not seen since the late nineteenth century.
Religion and Elections
By GARY ANDRES
Reprinted from Realclearpolitics.com
With all the focus on the Tea Party this election cycle, another strong predictor of political behavior – religion – has not received as much attention.
Historically, religious groups have played central roles in electoral contests, but their impact and alliances have shifted over time.
This Election Won’t Be the Last
BY BILL GREENER III
Republicans—for good reasons—are pretty giddy about the prospects for Election Day. Unless unemployment suddenly drops, there is just no precedent in American history for the election to result in anything other than a massive victory for Republicans. The mainstream media can rant all they want about the Tea Party and the party of ‘no’, but it will not change a thing in my opinion.
But , in addition to the issues of the economy, massive spending, and ObamaCare, another issue is emerging as salient and defining. I am talking about immigration. Depsite, our election-year euphoria, my fear is that we Republicans are failing to fully grasp and understand the power of a defining moment in American politics, a failure that could have long-term implications that are not good for our Party.
Thomas’ Revenge
BY GARY ANDRES
Reprinted from weeklystandard.com
Bill Thomas loved schemes. The former California congressman, who chaired the House Ways and Means Committee from 2001 to 2006, practiced the arcane art of parliamentary procedure like a wizard, concocting potions that turned his political opponents into hapless frogs.
Thomas sometimes even kept the details of his grandiose plans a secret from allies. He once pulled Majority Leader Dick Armey aside on the House floor and whispered that he had a new idea about how to pass a controversial piece of legislation.
“Great,” Armey said. “What is it?”
“I can’t tell you,” Thomas said with a twinkle in his eye. “But you’ll love it.”
Thomas understood Congress’s dark side. His lengthy House tenure—28 years—convinced him that there is a gene in congressional DNA that leads lawmakers to kick the can down the road rather than make tough choices.
Biden No Jack on Message
BY JOHN FEEHERY
Reprinted from: feeherytheory.com
Sometimes, I just want to strangle Ronald McDonald.
From approximately 2 in the afternoon yesterday until about 8 o’clock yesterday night, my four-year old son had one message and one message only. He wanted to go to Old McDonald.
Old McDonald – as he likes to call the place where you get the Big Mac – serves Happy Meals, and apparently, the Happy Meal is the only thing that makes my son happy these days.
So, for every fifteen minutes, at various pitches and voice levels, my son requested that we go to Old McDonald’s and get a Happy Meal.
On one level, the discourse between my son and me was extraordinarily frustrating. I knew that he wasn’t going to get a Happy Meal yesterday, and he knew he wasn’t going to get a Happy Meal yesterday, but that didn’t stop him from requesting it on a fairly regular basis.
But on the other level, the message discipline that came from little Jack was very impressive. He stuck to his message, no matter how ineffective it turned out to be.
Little Jack reminds me a bit of Joe Biden.
Now, let’s not kid ourselves. When it comes to message discipline, Joe Biden is no Jack Feehery. Biden is usually on some crazy tangent somewhere, whether he is talking about Anna Chapman (probably my favorite Biden line ever), the President’s over-reliance on the teleprompter (a close second place), or whatever else comes through his transom.
Choosing the Next Justice
BY MICKEY EDWARDS
Reprinted from Politico.com
Given the increased focus on, and increased fealty to, one’s political party as an overriding factor in the decision-making process, it is highly likely that every Democratic member of the Senate will feel a strong sense of obligation to confirm the Supreme Court nominee of a Democratic President.
Add the fact that many members of the Senate, as confused about a Senator’s duties as are most journalists and private citizens, will assume that a President is entitled to have his nominees confirmed absent some overriding disqualification, and the path to Kagan’s confirmation would seem reasonably obstacle-free.
Republicans would love to have a reason to show that Kagan is a tool of some great socialist plot to undermine democratic values, but they’ve played that card to death and might actually long for a breather from that unending war. Which suggests that the Solicitor General might want to go shopping for some classy-looking black robes.
You Say You Want A Devolution
BY GARY ANDRES
From the Weekly Standard
Public opinion about the appropriate role of the federal government moves like the moon cycle, causing tidal shifts in citizen attitudes and election outcomes. After watching Barack Obama and Democrats in Congress over the past year and a half, attitudes about Washington are changing again, possibly giving those who advocate devolving power to the states a political advantage in the midterm elections.
Political scientist James A. Stimson nailed the ocean metaphor in his insightful book, Tides of Consent: How Public Opinion Shapes American Politics. Stimson demonstrates that the overall public mood about government starts to run counter to victorious political parties soon after they win. For example, voters typically elect Democrats when a more liberal, pro-activist federal government sentiment hits an apex. But for the big government crowd, Election Day is about as good as it gets. Going forward, sentiment soon starts to shift in a more conservative direction.
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America’s Mid-Life Crisis
BY JOHN FEEHERY
I have a theory.
America is going through its version of a mid-life crisis.
According to Wikipedia, the term midlife crisis was first coined “in 1965 by Elliott Jaques and used in Western societies to describe a period of dramatic self-doubt that is felt by some individuals in the “middle years” or middle age of life…The result may be a desire to make significant changes in core aspects of day-to-day life or situation.”
How do people who are going through a mid-life crisis show it? The “acquisition of unusual or expensive items such as motorbikes, boats, clothing, sports cars, jewelry, gadgets, tattoos, piercings, etc.; depression; blaming themselves or their partner for their failures; paying special attention to physical appearance such as covering baldness, wearing “younger” designer clothes etc.; entering relationships with younger people (either/or sexual, professional, parental, etc.)”
Here are some signs that the nation is going through the political equivalent of a mid-life crisis: