I know it will be terribly difficult to face the fact that their control of the Whitehouse must end, even harder to let go of that control.
But if the Republican party is to survive, it must face the fact that Bush and Cheney have been the worst executive team ever to hold office. The Republicans must face the reality that their party could literally become extinct if they passively sit by and allow Bush and Cheney to continue the incredibly destructive job of leadership they have been doing the past six years.
It is not just about saving their party. It is about saving the nation. The US is no longer tumbling down an economic and diplomatic fall. It is plummetting down, losing economic viability, losing allies, becoming the planetary pariah that was once the role of Bush.
Bush is already among the walking dead. His secretary of state is one of the most ineffective, useless ever. His appointees have, deservedly, earned the mistrust of the world. Why would anyone trust ANY of the appointees Bush has chosen?
Every day the Republicans in the congress continue to allow Bush to stay in office, they violate their duty to their constituents, to the nation, to the constitution, to international laws.
Now, it's understandable that the Republicans don't want to give up the last bastion of federal power they have, but failure to do will cost them even more dearly in 2008.
It is notable that no polling organizations are asking the question-- Will you vote for a Democratic or Republican presidential candidate in 2008? They're not asking because the answer will be devastating to the Republican party. Shame on the pollsters for not asking. Then again, having commissioned public opinion polls myself, I know that it may be that the questions are being asked, results gathered, but NOT reported.
Now, if the Republicans start facing their unpleasant reality, that they MUST initiate the removal from office of Bush and Cheney, it is likely that they will want to negotiate. They might want to get the Dems to authorize a replacement for Cheney, before Bush and Cheney resign. They might ask for approval of a Republican vice presidential replacement.
Of course, this is wild speculation. But it would take the bite out of the Republican loss, if they could keep the executive branch. The possibilities are pretty wild.
The Dems could approve a republican VP who would become president, if a Democratic VP were also agreed upon.
Or the Dems could approve a democratic VP who would become president, if a Republican VP were also agreed upon.
Of course, if the Dems hold firm and insist on removal of Bush and Cheney, then Nancy Pelosi would become president.
But if the dems do their usual spineless, invertebrate kind of move, they will allow the Republicans to pick a replacement for Bush. It is unlikely they will accept one of the front running Republican presidential candidates, since incumbency would give that candidate an enormous advantage. So they will probably insist upon a moderate, low keyed, less ambitious candidate. Unfortunately, there aren't many.
Hmm. Who would they suggest? Jeb Bush? No. I don't think so. Trent Lott? No way. Forget about McCain, Giuliani, or Romney and leave Ahnold out while we're at it. If this wild scenario were to occur, a blue state republican governor might be a possible candidate, or one of the few remaining moderate Republicans, like Olympia Snowe.
Sure, this is wild speculation. And my own preference is to wait until the Republicans are forced to walk, en masse, to the Whitehouse to tell BUsh and CHeney that they are going to have to leave and that it is better for them to resign than to be impeached, with the cooperation of republicans. But we need to generate all the possible idea scenarios we can. America will probably survive two more years of disastrous Bush leadership, but it's not certain and we don't know how badly injured she will be. We have to stop the bleeding, the damage, as soon as possible.
The bottom line is, can Republicans rise above party interests to save America?
Rob Kall is executive editor and publisher of OpEdNews.com, President of Futurehealth, Inc, inventor . He is a frequent Speaker on Politics, Impeachment, The art, science and power of story, heroes and the hero's journey, Positive Psychology, Stress, Biofeedback and a wide range of subjects. He is a campaign consultant specializing in tapping the power of stories for issue positioning, stump speeches and debates. He recently retired as organizer of several conferences, including StoryCon, the Summit Meeting on the Art, Science and Application of Story and The Winter Brain Meeting on neurofeedback, biofeedback, Optimal Functioning and Positive Psychology. See more of his articles here and, older ones, here.
The framed magazine cover, with the word "IDEAS" spelled out in lightbulbs, is based on an article Rob wrote for Writers Digest, telling the magazine's quarter million readers how to come up with and pitch article ideas.
To learn more about me and OpEdNews.com, check out this article.
Rob co-hosts a terrestrial and internet talk radio show broadcasting to the Philadelphia and south NJ area on AM 1360, Thursday- 8-9 PM Online here here:
and there are Rob's quotes, here.
To Watch me on youtube, having a lively conversation with John Conyers, Chair of the House Judiciary committee, click here Now, wouldn't you like to see me on the political news shows, representing progressives. If so, tell your favorite shows to bring me on and refer them to this youtube video
A few declarations.
-While I'm registered as a Democrat, I consider myself to be a dynamic critic of the Democratic party, just as, well, not quite as much, but almost as much as I am a critic of republicans.
-My articles express my personal opinion, not the opinion of this website.
Point 1.
Asking the GOP to resolve this mess and rid us of this awful and incompetent administration is ignoring the fact that it is the responsiblity of the opposition party to lead such an action. We have just witnessed two years of the worst sort of rubber stamping and complicity from a GOP majority Legislature and now we should expect these same complicitious and duplicitous politicos ( or those that survived the election) to reverse themselves and ask a leader of their own party to resign? Even should they request the departure of Cheney, a more likely scenario is that Bush will do this in order to position the replacement VP as a leading candidate in the coming Presidential election. If this should happen my money is on Giuliani.
Point 2.
We already see the departed GOP Congress has set up the incoming Democratic majority by failing to act upon some serious and important spending bills thus enabling them to point to the expenditures ( and they will be massive) as typically Democratic actions, wasting billions.
This indicates to me that the Rove machine is already in high gear and set to demolish the typically silent, morose and far too passive Democrats so that, by the advent of the '08 campaigns they (the GOP) are poised to return to power. Some folks, among them some rather inciteful types, have posited that the GOP intentionally gave up their majority in order to avoid being in charge when the bills come due. This I do not know to be true but who really knows?
Anyhow, what I do know to be true is that the fate of the Democrats is entirely in their own hands, and, if you supporters of this party are convinced they are correct in their platform and their intent, you should worry less about what the GOP will do and focus intently upon convincing the Democrats to do what you all know to be the correct course.
by
ardee D. (6 articles, 4 quicklinks, 1 diaries, 2386 comments)
on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 9:25:23 AM
First note I am not an American so my opinion is only that, but it is one of the United States as seen from "outside the field" ("You cannot see the Field from within the Field") so sometimes that can be a more 'clear' viewpoint....
Personally I think that the GOP and the Democrats should work together in getting them out, as that is how you 'cure' your mistakes in such a situation, especially mistakes (or 'errors') such as the "rubber stamping" that he was originally given as admitting to error tends to re-instill faith in the one(s) who made the now, 'admitted to' ...error.
We, as people, tend to follow better those we see as 'Honest' especially honest about making certain kinds of Trust/Trusting Mistakes/Errors, as in having trusted the wrong person or persons' advice ....as was/is the case with Bush and the Iraq war.
Think about it....
by
Mr. Robin Parsons (1 articles, 1 quicklinks, 4 diaries, 64 comments)
on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 10:46:25 AM
Hey, Rob, I love your far-out "what if - ?" scenarios, Naturally, I'd enjoy the tiger getting his tail really twisted, but don't you feel Nancy would make a fine female
first fiddle, a commendable, callipygian coryphaeus?
Nels W
by
nelswight (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 15 comments)
on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 10:48:15 AM
I do hope that Ron's blog reaches the GOP's establishment [Whomever fills the place left by the death of those who decided that Nixon/Agnew had to go, got Agnew to resign when his past caught up to him & he faced charges of corruption, got Jerry Ford to replace Agnew as VP & got Nixon to resign.]. Now is the time for all Republicans to come to the aid of their party & nation.
I would ask that the designated nonentity to replace VP Chaney be defanged & declawed so he/she/it wouldn't give any pardons to any of the culprits to avoid a repeat of Jerry Ford's pardon of Nixon. There is a tale that Jerry Ford thinks he's hell bound because he pardoned Nixon before Nixon could be tried.
by
larry278 (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 47 comments)
on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 1:19:02 PM
...actually take the very out of character step and call for the ouster of their "men"? You know, that's a hard question to answer. If this question had been asked in '04, obviously the answer would be a resounding "NO!", bordering on "FUCK NO!".
However, with the election of '07, we saw many Republicans moving away from DUBYA like residents of Krypton would move away from Kryptonite (if they could move after being weakened by it in the first place.) There have even been one or two turncoats that have sprung up as a result of the revulsion to DUBYA and his actions. As you said, it is in the better political interest of honest and non-corrupted Republicans (if such things exist) to provide the sternest rebuke of DUBYA and Dick(LESS) they can.
However, I just can't see that many Republicans actually working to remove the Dud-namic Duo from their White House posts. It has been shown throughout history that few indeed are politicians who will stand against their party or its "principles". Now if the Republican Party were made up of more men like Lincoln Chaffee, that would change things considerably. However, with ass-kissing duds like McCain and his ilk still clogging the ateries of the Republican heart, I think it's more likely that it will take We The People spearheaded by "Courageous Democrats" (if such people exist...debatable, very debatable) to get said job done.
In a righteous, ideal world, there would be no question that Republicans would not only be completely horrified by the damage dealt to their party by the actions of DUBYA and Dick(LESS), they'd be chomping at the bit to flush these two turds out as quickly as possible. However, need I point out that the world in which we live is anything but righteous or ideal?
Blessed be!
Pappy
by
Pappy (61 articles, 0 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 828 comments)
on Friday, December 15, 2006 at 2:25:47 PM
The GOP solved the Bush-Cheney mess back in the 50s when they amended the constitution to limit the President to two terms.
The GOP has already begun positioning itself for 08.
They are taliking about Bush's historical perspective extending beyond historians now living.
They are intent on regaining the ground lost in 06 and retaining the Presidency with a good old values campaign in 08.
Democrats might also want to get the Iraqi expenditures into the regular appropriations channel and force the Administration to publicly justify, in detail, its plans and spending for the war.
This will publicize the futility and incompetency of the Administration and serve as historical counter point to the GOP campaign of hagiography surrounding this President.
It is time for the Democrats to accept that Bush is irrelevant and to put forth a progressive agenda for 08.
Bush is not a lame duck he is a cooked goose and it is time to stop obsessing over him and devise strategies for Progressives to gain control of the government.
Robert Chapman
Lansing, NY
by
Robert Chapman (28 articles, 0 quicklinks, 2 diaries, 557 comments)
on Saturday, December 16, 2006 at 12:41:41 PM
The Democratic Executive Committee of Pinellas county, FL, will not call for the for American withdrawal from Iraq.
Can you begin to believe the Republicans in congress would call for withdrawal?
by
GitarChris (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 103 comments)
on Saturday, December 16, 2006 at 4:11:20 PM
Impeachment Of Both George W Bush & Dick Cheney A Must!
So after reading a number of these comments as to the best
way to end the disaster that is the George W Bush & Dick
Cheney Administration,therefore I still conclude that the
Immediate Impeachment of both President George W Bush and
Vice President Dick Cheney is the most urgent and most
pressing issue that faces both our US Congress and the
American People today!
However,this will definitely require the forced resignation of Democrat Mental Midget Gutless Wonder
Nancy Pelosi and her Mini-me Shadow Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harebrain Harry Reid,since those two gutless wonders have already sold the American people out
by taking Impeachment off the table, and which Pelosi &
Reid donot have the legal or Constitutional authority to
do so! And quite frankly it scares me to even think about
this looney toons Nancy Pelosi being Third in Line of
Presidential Succession just as much as does leaving both
Bush & Cheney in office for two more years!
Furthermore,personally I donot feel that just Impeachment
of Bush & Cheney is punishment enough for their crimes
against humanity,so I strongly suggest both Bush & Cheney
should be arrested and turned over to the Interantional
War Crimes Court to be tried as War Criminals,and sentenced
to the gallows just like the Nazis War Criminals after
WW2,in order for the United States to ever restore it's
place as a world leader!
by
Ralph (0 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 74 comments)
on Sunday, December 17, 2006 at 3:19:15 PM
Rob, how could you? How can you still characterize Olympia Snowe as a moderate?
Snowe voted for the Iraq War, for the Patriot Act, twice against habeas corpus rights for Guantanamo Bay detainees. She issued a statement that, had she been in DC instead of at her aunt's funeral on Sept. 30, she would have voted for the Military Commissions Act -- you know, the one that lets Bush determine what constitutes torture, grants him the authority to declare "enemy combatants," etc. She voted for Judge Alito. She voted for the Bankruptcy Bill, after she voted against an amendment to that bill that would have granted some leeway for families of military deployed overseas.
In fact, according to Congressional Quarterly, Olympia Snowe voted with the Bush agenda 82% of the time in his first term. That's not moderate.
The Brunswick (Maine) Times Record in an Oct. 27, 2006 editorial, had this to say about Olympia Snowe: "she has voted to strengthen the president's power, thereby weakening the role of Congress. Specifically, through her support of the Iraq resolution that gave President Bush virtually a blank check to wage war, and the Military Commissions Act that suspends the right of habeas corpus for anyone deemed an 'enemy combatant.' Also, she is co-sponsoring the Terrorist Surveillance Act (S2455). Not yet passed, this bill would make the Bush administration's secret, warrantless, domestic wiretapping program legal after the fact. It seems to us a pre-emptive strike to put the matter to rest before there's been a successful investigation into the National Security Agency program....[Snowe] has enabled his [Bush's] agenda in ways that are detrimental to a free people. When defending the U.S. Constitution, moderation can become capitulation."
So please, PLEASE, stop referring to war-hawk Olympia Snowe as a moderate. She's a bonafide right-winger, and she's cast the votes to prove it.
I'm Jean Hay Bright, the Democrat who ran against Snowe this year, and I lost that race because I couldn't over-ride this misconception of who Olympia Snowe really is and what she really stands for.
I thought you, Rob, of all people, got it. I guess not.
Jean Hay Bright
Dixmont, Maine
www.jeanhaybright.us
by
Jean Hay Bright (5 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 3 comments)
on Tuesday, December 19, 2006 at 11:27:43 AM
And I appreciate your correcting me. I guess I have thought of her as a moderate as compared to the far right extremists who are worse than her. She's pretty bad, but not horribly bad. Or maybe you disagree with that too. I'm willing to listen. Actually, it would be great if you could write up an article discussing how the failure to characterize the "relatively" less extreme right wingers still in the Republican party are still very right wing. It's a good time, as congress has moved left, to make the point that you are making.
by
Rob Kall (691 articles, 3697 quicklinks, 290 diaries, 1357 comments)
on Wednesday, December 20, 2006 at 9:00:55 AM
