GOP’s G-O-D Problem
Kathleen Parker is getting quite a response to her WaPo piece "Giving Up on God." As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit. Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D. I'm bathing in holy water as I type. To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 20, 2008 14:09
Heads in the Sand Book Reviews
Matthew Yglesias published Heads in the Sand: How the Republicans Screw Up Foreign Policy and Foreign Policy Screws Up the Democrats way back in April but some of the reviews are just now hitting the 'net. Jim Henley's is in Reason and entitled, "Between Iraq and a Soft Place - Democrats counter with a kinder, gentler interventionism." My own, which hit ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 18, 2008 11:22
2012 Campaign Starts in 3, 2 . .
Today's meeting of the Republican Governors' Association has, not surprisingly, been greeted with speculation that the party's 2012 presidential nominee is likely in the room. Facing the prospect of being out of power at both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue for the first time since 1992, Republicans are looking to their governors to fill the leadership vacuum. Speculation has centered on the ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 13, 2008 13:36
McCain: Some People Say There’s a Woman to Blame …
John McCain was on the "Tonight Show" with Jay Leno last night, continuing his graceful exit from a bitter presidential race. [caption id="attachment_27357" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Nov. 11, 2008: John McCain talks about life after the presidential campaign with Jay Leno on the "][/caption] In his first interview since conceding the presidential election, John McCain said Tuesday that Sarah Palin did not damage ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 12, 2008 09:28
Palin Derangement Syndrome
Two lawyer-bloggers who I've followed for years are upset with me for buying into the "Sarah Palin was in over her head" meme. Xrlq accused me of drinking "the anti-Palin Kool-Aid" for buying into claims that Palin didn't know which countries were in NAFTA while Bill Dyer is "genuinely concerned for [my] mental health." As to the more "outlandish" ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 9, 2008 09:30
Punishing Lieberman
Harry Reid, not unreasonably, is strongly considering stripping Joe Lieberman of his chairmanship after he campaigned vigorously for the Republican nominee for president. Reid, in a sternly worded statement after the 45-minute meeting, said no official decisions have been made. But an aide to the Nevada Democrat said Reid was leaning toward removing Lieberman as chairman of the Senate Homeland Security ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 7, 2008 08:48
2008 Voter Turnout Same as 2004
It turns out that, despite a huge rise in voter registrations, actual turnout Tuesday was essentially the same as in 2004. 61 Percent of Eligibles Voted A new report from American University’s Center for the Study of the American Electorate concludes that voter turnout in Tuesday’s election was the same in percentage terms as it was four years ago — or at ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 7, 2008 07:55
Palin Last Nail in Republican Coffin?
Quite a few reports came out yesterday buttressing rumors that there were tensions between John McCain and Sarah Palin which caused a feud within the campaign team. It's only fitting, I suppose, since the selection of Palin has highlighted and exacerbated a growing fissure within the Republican Party itself. Fox New's Carl Cameron dished last night about rumors that Palin was ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 6, 2008 08:06
2008 Election County-By-County
After George W. Bush won the 2000 election, despite having received substantially fewer votes nationwide than Al Gore, many of us took great comfort in this famous map, showing the election results county-by-county: [caption id="attachment_27108" align="aligncenter" width="500" caption="2000 Election County-By-County Map"][/caption] In 2004, Bush won re-election by a majority -- but John Kerry nearly took it anyway because of a close call ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 5, 2008 15:54
Americans Are Liberal!
Matt Yglesias offers these Pew poll results as a rejoinder to those of us who think a win for Obama isn't a mandate for his policies. Says Matt, "The voters felt they had a choice between a liberal and a conservative, and felt they preferred the liberal and his policy agenda." Well . . . no. For one thing, most of the choices ...Posted in Outside The Beltway | OTB on November 4, 2008 16:07
