jerseyhoya wrote:He actually publicly said he's not a lesbian. But he's single.

TenuredVulture wrote:Say you're a social conservative...

And pro-lifers who see the GOP as the only plausible vehicle for their goals have an obligation to look the party's failures squarely in the face and work to fix them, instead of just doubling down on the case for single-issue pro-life voting.

No, social conservatives aren't the problem for the GOP. But they haven't been the solution, either: Too often, on matters ranging from the Iraq War to domestic policy, they've served as enablers of Republican folly, rather than as constructive critics. And calling Catholics who voted for Obama "mindless" and "stupid" is a poor substitute for building the sort of Republican Party that can attract the votes of those millions of Americans, Catholic and otherwise, who voted for the Democrats because they thought, not without reason, that George W. Bush was a disastrous president whose party should not be rewarded with a third term in the White House.

VoxOrion wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Say you're a social conservative...

I guess it comes down to whether the social conservative is going to do something or just run away.

Ross Douthat says it better than I could (he's responding to a conversation about Catholics but it applies):

And pro-lifers who see the GOP as the only plausible vehicle for their goals have an obligation to look the party's failures squarely in the face and work to fix them, instead of just doubling down on the case for single-issue pro-life voting.

No, social conservatives aren't the problem for the GOP. But they haven't been the solution, either: Too often, on matters ranging from the Iraq War to domestic policy, they've served as enablers of Republican folly, rather than as constructive critics. And calling Catholics who voted for Obama "mindless" and "stupid" is a poor substitute for building the sort of Republican Party that can attract the votes of those millions of Americans, Catholic and otherwise, who voted for the Democrats because they thought, not without reason, that George W. Bush was a disastrous president whose party should not be rewarded with a third term in the White House.

VoxOrion wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Say you're a social conservative...

I guess it comes down to whether the social conservative is going to do something or just run away.

Ross Douthat says it better than I could (he's responding to a conversation about Catholics but it applies):

And pro-lifers who see the GOP as the only plausible vehicle for their goals have an obligation to look the party's failures squarely in the face and work to fix them, instead of just doubling down on the case for single-issue pro-life voting.

No, social conservatives aren't the problem for the GOP. But they haven't been the solution, either: Too often, on matters ranging from the Iraq War to domestic policy, they've served as enablers of Republican folly, rather than as constructive critics. And calling Catholics who voted for Obama "mindless" and "stupid" is a poor substitute for building the sort of Republican Party that can attract the votes of those millions of Americans, Catholic and otherwise, who voted for the Democrats because they thought, not without reason, that George W. Bush was a disastrous president whose party should not be rewarded with a third term in the White House.

Delaware governor Ruth Ann Minner (D) has selected Joe Biden’s longtime senior adviser Ted Kaufman as Biden’s successor on an interim basis, paving the way for Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden to succeed his father in two years.

“He’ll walk in there with all the experience he needs to do the job for Delaware,” Minner said at a press conference this afternoon, emphasizing that he will only be serving for two years until a special election is held in 2010.

Minner said Biden will resign his seat before he is sworn in as vice president and that Kaufman will take over as Delaware's junior senator in early-to-mid January.

Kaufman is a co-chair on Biden's transition team and is one of the Delaware senator's closest advisers. He spent about two decades serving as his chief of staff.

He is currently president of Public Strategies, a political and management consulting firm based in Wilmington, Delaware.

Kaufman said he is not interested in serving in the Senate long-term, and will not be running for re-election in 2010.

dajafi wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Say you're a social conservative...

I guess it comes down to whether the social conservative is going to do something or just run away.

Ross Douthat says it better than I could (he's responding to a conversation about Catholics but it applies):

And pro-lifers who see the GOP as the only plausible vehicle for their goals have an obligation to look the party's failures squarely in the face and work to fix them, instead of just doubling down on the case for single-issue pro-life voting.

No, social conservatives aren't the problem for the GOP. But they haven't been the solution, either: Too often, on matters ranging from the Iraq War to domestic policy, they've served as enablers of Republican folly, rather than as constructive critics. And calling Catholics who voted for Obama "mindless" and "stupid" is a poor substitute for building the sort of Republican Party that can attract the votes of those millions of Americans, Catholic and otherwise, who voted for the Democrats because they thought, not without reason, that George W. Bush was a disastrous president whose party should not be rewarded with a third term in the White House.

I think it keeps coming back to the same problem (which Douthat and his allies, bless 'em, keep trying to point out too): the Republicans most bent out of shape about the election results and most convinced of their own total righteousness also tend to be the ones who have the least to say about the problems most voters are interested in right now. The only Republicans left at this time are True Believers of one type or another: social conservatives, deregulation fundamentalists and foreign policy neoconservatives.

To Paul's point, results matter less for any of them than simply keeping the faith. In fact, results are almost suspicious--because producing good governance means believing that government can have some value for the public, which seems to be the big no-no. How many Republican office-holders can you name who are heavy hitters on issues and under 70? (Thus no Lugar or Specter.) Lindsay Graham arguably, Judd Gregg perhaps, maybe Jindal, maybe Mitch Daniels. The party has become populated with Palins and Patrick McHenrys, people who think public life is nothing more than charm and/or nipple-twisting.

On the sales side, they need more Douthats and fewer Kristols: people who can articulate arguments that at least don't insult the unconverted. (For a counter-example here, check the quote Douthat pivots from.) On the product side, they need more Jindals : officials who seem more interested in using the power voters have given them to solve problems rather than (or even in addition to!) pushing personal agendas or simply amassing more power through tricks and muscle. Fix all that, and the question of the social conservatives doesn't matter much anymore: they're supposed to be just part of the coalition, not the true-believing template for the whole thing.

jerseyhoya wrote:

Delaware governor Ruth Ann Minner (D) has selected Joe Biden’s longtime senior adviser Ted Kaufman as Biden’s successor on an interim basis, paving the way for Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden to succeed his father in two years.

“He’ll walk in there with all the experience he needs to do the job for Delaware,” Minner said at a press conference this afternoon, emphasizing that he will only be serving for two years until a special election is held in 2010.

Minner said Biden will resign his seat before he is sworn in as vice president and that Kaufman will take over as Delaware's junior senator in early-to-mid January.

Kaufman is a co-chair on Biden's transition team and is one of the Delaware senator's closest advisers. He spent about two decades serving as his chief of staff.

He is currently president of Public Strategies, a political and management consulting firm based in Wilmington, Delaware.

Kaufman said he is not interested in serving in the Senate long-term, and will not be running for re-election in 2010.

TenuredVulture wrote:

dajafi wrote:

VoxOrion wrote:

TenuredVulture wrote:Say you're a social conservative...

I guess it comes down to whether the social conservative is going to do something or just run away.

Ross Douthat says it better than I could (he's responding to a conversation about Catholics but it applies):

And pro-lifers who see the GOP as the only plausible vehicle for their goals have an obligation to look the party's failures squarely in the face and work to fix them, instead of just doubling down on the case for single-issue pro-life voting.

No, social conservatives aren't the problem for the GOP. But they haven't been the solution, either: Too often, on matters ranging from the Iraq War to domestic policy, they've served as enablers of Republican folly, rather than as constructive critics. And calling Catholics who voted for Obama "mindless" and "stupid" is a poor substitute for building the sort of Republican Party that can attract the votes of those millions of Americans, Catholic and otherwise, who voted for the Democrats because they thought, not without reason, that George W. Bush was a disastrous president whose party should not be rewarded with a third term in the White House.

I think it keeps coming back to the same problem (which Douthat and his allies, bless 'em, keep trying to point out too): the Republicans most bent out of shape about the election results and most convinced of their own total righteousness also tend to be the ones who have the least to say about the problems most voters are interested in right now. The only Republicans left at this time are True Believers of one type or another: social conservatives, deregulation fundamentalists and foreign policy neoconservatives.

To Paul's point, results matter less for any of them than simply keeping the faith. In fact, results are almost suspicious--because producing good governance means believing that government can have some value for the public, which seems to be the big no-no. How many Republican office-holders can you name who are heavy hitters on issues and under 70? (Thus no Lugar or Specter.) Lindsay Graham arguably, Judd Gregg perhaps, maybe Jindal, maybe Mitch Daniels. The party has become populated with Palins and Patrick McHenrys, people who think public life is nothing more than charm and/or nipple-twisting.

On the sales side, they need more Douthats and fewer Kristols: people who can articulate arguments that at least don't insult the unconverted. (For a counter-example here, check the quote Douthat pivots from.) On the product side, they need more Jindals : officials who seem more interested in using the power voters have given them to solve problems rather than (or even in addition to!) pushing personal agendas or simply amassing more power through tricks and muscle. Fix all that, and the question of the social conservatives doesn't matter much anymore: they're supposed to be just part of the coalition, not the true-believing template for the whole thing.

At his best, Huckabee was interested in using government to solve problems. Alas, he's too often at his worst, where he's peevish and self-centered.

momadance wrote:Silly Russians

Mountainphan wrote:

momadance wrote:Silly Russians

How's the "boom" going for Russia these days now that the price of oil has dropped by more than half in the last couple months?

momadance wrote:Silly Russians

Polar Bear Phan wrote:

momadance wrote:Silly Russians

Arizona will ceast to exist, apparently.

momadance wrote:Silly Russians