July 11, 2006
WE ARE THIS MUCH CLOSER TO VICTORY IN NOVEMBER AND '08:
The GOP's Looming Battle (E. J. Dionne, 11 July, 2006)
WASHINGTON -- As it looks beyond the elections of 2006, a Republican Party known for ideological solidarity is on the cusp of a far more searching philosophical battle than are the Democrats, historically accustomed to bruising fights over the finer points of political theory...
The coming Republican brawl reflects the fact that President Bush will leave office with no obvious heir, and Bushism as a political philosophy has yet to establish itself in the way that Reaganism did...
Moreover, the four top candidates in most polls for the GOP's 2008 presidential nomination -- Sen. John McCain, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich -- all promise very different styles of leadership...
Even in this year's elections, Republicans are fleeing aspects of the Bush record. Many conservatives are criticizing the deficits that they voted for when they supported Bush's earlier budgets. There is the deep internal rift over immigration. And many in Congress (notably Sen. Chuck Hagel of Nebraska) have been critical of the administration's handling of the war in Iraq.
Now that Dionne has predicted division in the Republicans ranks, we can be sure the future will be calm. All we need now is for him to declare victory for the Democrats and it's a done deal. Posted by Pepys at July 11, 2006 2:00 PM
"the Democrats, historically accustomed to bruising fights over the finer points of political theory..."
Tee-hee. That's probably the funniest line of political commentary I've read this year.
Posted by: b at July 11, 2006 2:29 PME.J. is going to be either absolutely heartbroken if the Republicans don't tear themselves apart in the 2008 primary, or incredibly bitter and writing that the GOP's wings don't stand up for what they say they believe in.
He's given up on McCain as someone malable to becoming a Republican who does what the big media folks tell him, but he's still hoping that John, Rudy or someone like Mitt or even Condi will cause the Protestant fundamentalist conservatives to bust a main spring over their contrary positions, or someone like Allen or Frist will give northern Republicans the vapors. Of course, by '08, the Democrats will probably have shoot-to-kill orders out on Joe Lieberman if he gets within a mile of the DNC convention hall, but E.J. will deal with that little problem when it gets here.
Posted by: John at July 12, 2006 12:27 AM
Here in Nebraska, Senator Ben Nelson (D-NE) is challenged by Republican businessman Pete Ricketts. Ben Nelson is running commercials showing President Bush praising Democrat Nelson as a Democrat he could work with. The commercial ends with, "paid for by the Democratic Party". Hilarious.