GOP leaders also had looked forward to an early presidential nominee on their side to shift attention from their ties to President Bush. But that race is more muddled than ever.
New Hampshire exit polls indicate more GOP voters dislike Bush than many people had assumed. Not only did 92 percent of Democratic voters express unhappiness with the Bush administration, but so did half of those who voted in the Republican primary.
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Other signs are troubling for Republicans. Democrats turned out in far greater numbers than Republicans in both Iowa and New Hampshire, suggesting a higher enthusiasm that also is reflected in fundraising.
And GOP lawmakers are retiring at five times the rate of Democrats. Nineteen GOP-held House seats, compared with five Democratic seats, will not have incumbents running in November. Democrats say they will compete hard for 11 of the 19.
In the Senate, which reconvenes next week, six Republicans are retiring thus far, compared to zero Democrats, and the GOP must defend 23 seats to the Democrats' 12.
Let's summarize. Half the REPUBLICAN voters in New Hampshire expressed unhappiness with the Bush Administration. Yet it will be very surprising if the GOP leadership in congress breaks stride as they continue to, as the saying goes, "dig a deeper hole."
Please!! If what you are doing isn't working, you don't keep digging that deeper hole!! No wonder even right wing pundits, like George Will,(in his latest, This could be one of the worst for GOP) are talking about at least picking a presidential candidate who will LOSE with the best policy face put forward.
It is pathetic and, sorry, even despicable that the right wingers in congress are still loyal and supportive of the policies whose place in history has already been written-- the worst president ever. And let us not forget that he is probably the most hated, most despised man in the history of the world. Way to go! Ummm, Republicans, you might consider moderating loyalty with judgement. Just a thought.
So, we have two Democratic presidential candidates who now have a history of waiting until the last minute or avoiding altogether voting on tough issues. I don't think we can expect anything better in the month to come.
But there's some good news. The race between Hillary and Obama has gotten closer. That means neither candidate has the magic 50% of delegates plus one. It is looking more and more likely that the decision on who will become the next president could be decided at the national convention. That means that when you vote from your heart, and you're voting for Kucinich or Edwards, your vote could actually mean something.
And on the Republican side, so far the same thing seems to be true. A vote for Ron Paul, even though he's not the favorite, could at least influence the final outcome if the GOP ends up deciding its candidate in their convention.
Ah... but there's a rub. The cost of campaigning is so prohibitive-- those TV ads, you know-- that it is very possible that only one or two candidates will be able to hold out. This is a national tragedy-- an affront to democracy. It is far beyond the time that America should be engaging in serious election reform, beginning with something that Americans want by a large majority-- taking the money out of campaigning. The fastest and best way to do that is to require the television media-- those using the airwaves, sattellites, fiber optics or cable-- all of them-- to provide free advertising to qualified candidates. It should be considered part of what they pay for their right to use the airwaves or to have access to public lands where they bury their cables.
Maybe, if we got the money out of politics, we'd get the lobbyists's influence out, or down. And then, Nancy and Harry might decide they would have to listen to we the people. It would be about time.
The Dems know, after the first few primaries and caucuses, that they are in a strong position, or they think they are. Still, the approval ratings for congress are below 20%. It's time for voters to demand equal treatment for third parties and some form of instant run-off voting, so no president, not any candidate, is ever elected with less than 50% plus one of the vote
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