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Tough Times Ahead for Republicans

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:41:21 AM EST
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The experts say the Republicans are now facing a tough battle in the Northeast.

The Iraq war and Bush's low approval ratings have created trouble for Republicans in all regions. But nowhere is the GOP brand more scuffed than in the Northeast, where this year's circumstances are combining with long-term trends to endanger numerous incumbents.

.... A Washington-Post ABC News poll this month found Bush's approval rating at 28 percent in the Northeast -- 12 points below his national average. The Republican Congress fared no better.

Democrats need a plan, and they need to get off the defensive about being soft on the war on terror. In one month, it will be five years since the U.S. has been attacked. If the Republicans want to say it's because of newly strengthened laws, then fine, they don't need any more of them.

We all know now that the bumbling warriors in Great Britain weren't ready to proceed with whatever plan they had. Yet Michael Chertoff still wants to milk it for whatever it's worth and is saying he will substitute non-skilled and non-union traffic screeners with more experienced ones from the TSA.

The new screeners will rely on psychological profiling. Every drug defense lawyer in America can tell you what a sham that is. Among the criteria used for drug suspects driving around (See, Operation Pipeline Interdiction guidelines): if you were stopped for a traffic offense and had fast food wrappers or no luggage in your car, you were ripe for a request to search.

Pyschological profiling is inisidious because it is based on false premises and amounts to voodoo science.

Chertoff may sound good to some, but it's all such a sham. He's even calling for more terror powers.

Homeland security chief Michael Chertoff called yesterday for a review of domestic antiterror ism laws, saying the United States might benefit from the more aggressive surveillance and arrest powers used by British authorities last week to thwart an alleged plot to bomb airliners.

< The Fragile Truce Begins | Jill Carroll Tells Her Story of Abduction in Iraq >

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    Tough Times Ahead for Republicans | 9 comments (9 topical)
    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:06:57 AM EST
    Cheney won't go down without a dirty, nasty fight. All Democratic efforts, all the spent money and pleading for change, will go down a rat hole when Bush marches Osama out of the mountains (or carries his body) to the hosannahs of the MSM. Pakistan is increasingly in a jam about the militants based in their nation, fomenting trouble and plotting mayhem for the West. They'll cough up Bin Laden somehow, just in the nick of time to save the neocon's skin.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#2)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:15:22 AM EST
    Above comment not meant as a suggestion going pedal to the metal in the upcoming election is futile. It isn't. Just be prepared for the worst. Murphy. Law.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#3)
    by Punchy on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 07:56:19 AM EST
    What crap. Complete and utter crap. The Brits ONLY discovered this plot b/c a fellow Muslim tipped off the police. This plot was NOT foiled b/c calls were monitored and databased and alogorithms applied...it was NOT discovered b/c of warantless wiretaps and redition and secret prisons and checking bank records. It was foiled b/c some good citizen told the police about it. From there, they used their laws (read: they didn't go AROUND their laws) and then made arrests. But you'd never know that if you heard Chertoff speak.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:18:48 AM EST
    My, my, my. Well Jeralyn - things sure have come about since I first blogged here a few years ago. Remember "Cheney/Rice '08"? Remember the bombastic claims of Bush's supporters re: his no nukes/mushroom cloud/evil Saddam/spreading democracy/ fighting Islamofacism Iraq non-policy? Well, this is the first place I am going to proclaim. "I was right and Bush was wrong!!!". Jeralyn your site and many others have been calling a spade a spade from day one. It is interesting to hear the talking heads on both sides try not to say that Iraq is way more F*cked up now than under Saddam's rule. Just ask the ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND dead Iraqis. The democrats are doing their mia culpas on their Iraq vote and we should expect no less from each and every one of them. It's been a while coming and yet about time Americans took a hard look at this administration's descent into imfamy. I hope GW lives to be very very old so he can confront his stupidity/gullibility/hubris in myriad ways as the U.S. spends the rest of my life fixing what this administration screwed up in our country.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 10:19:23 AM EST
    My, my, my. Well Jeralyn - things sure have come about since I first blogged here a few years ago. Remember "Cheney/Rice '08"? Remember the bombastic claims of Bush's supporters re: his no nukes/mushroom cloud/evil Saddam/spreading democracy/ fighting Islamofacism Iraq non-policy? Well, this is the first place I am going to proclaim. "I was right and Bush was wrong!!!". Jeralyn your site and many others have been calling a spade a spade from day one. It is interesting to hear the talking heads on both sides try not to say that Iraq is way more F*cked up now than under Saddam's rule. Just ask the ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND dead Iraqis. The democrats are doing their mia culpas on their Iraq vote and we should expect no less from each and every one of them. It's been a while coming and yet about time Americans took a hard look at this administration's descent into imfamy. I hope GW lives to be very very old so he can confront his stupidity/gullibility/hubris in myriad ways as the U.S. spends the rest of my life fixing what this administration screwed up in our country.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#6)
    by kdog on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:28:52 PM EST
    It seems everyday in the local papers here in NY (NY Post excluded of course) there is a letter to the editor from a lifelong republican lamenting the damage the Bush admin. brought about.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#7)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 01:31:06 PM EST
    Punchy... The Brits ONLY discovered this plot b/c a fellow Muslim tipped off the police Yes...one that had infiltrated the group (AKA - spied on them!) Oh the shame of it all aye Punchy? This plot was NOT foiled b/c calls were monitored and databased and alogorithms applied... Wrong again..but hey...if it fits your agenda...you go with it...truth be damned. (read: they didn't go AROUND their laws) That's because they don't have the same laws (bleeding heart libs like we do here) stopping them from doing what's necessary to succeed.

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Aug 14, 2006 at 05:09:05 PM EST
    And ...? That the Northeast has become more radicalized is not surprising, given the density of its democratic electorate. Tell me that the SOUTHeast is getting radicalized and I'm ALL ears. If the Reps can't win in the ole confederacy, then it's all over. Still, it would be nice to see a solid 10 or 11 states in the Northeast turning a continuous, solid blue this November. Pennsylvania is a mixed bag as well. And the Dems really should be putting together a potential response to some sort of outrageous October surprise. So what if Osama turned up? 'BOUT FRIGGIN' TIME, DONTCHA THINK!!!??? The U.S. has waged world wars in the time it has taken to find this maroon. Perhaps a handler should give the Monkey Boy a copy of Where's Waldo to give him a push in the right direction. Or engage in a theoretical discussion of the mechanics of hide and go seek. Osama is hiding, so ...

    Re: Tough Times Ahead for Republicans (none / 0) (#9)
    by Bill Arnett on Tue Aug 15, 2006 at 02:08:33 PM EST
    In Re: Iraq--"Democrats need a plan, and they need to get off the defensive about being soft on the war on terror." It's impossible to plan until you know just how bad the situation is, and with Bushco the damage being done is increasing almost exponentially. The smarter plan is to keep pointing that out by repeatedly telling the press, "We'd love to lay out a plan, but until we know how much damage Bush has done any plan would be premature." The full brunt of Bush's profligacy, tax cuts, and incredibly reckless borrowing won't be felt until he is out of office. This is the Republican plan: let a democrat win the presidency in '08 and, when they do what needs to be done by way of raising taxes and trying to again balance the budget, they will then run against the "tax and spend" democrats AGAIN in 2012. Unfortunately, it is likely to work.

    Tough Times Ahead for Republicans | 9 comments (9 topical)