“It seems that Senator Jeffords of Vermont is QUITTING the Republican Party!
Ooo, Ahh!!!
There goes the Republican majority in the Senate.
Dub Dub may have a tough time putting Neo-Nazis on the Supreme Court.”
“He was a republican in name only. Given the media empowerment act McCain / Finegold are pushing and the slant of the mainstream media (see http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=95000520) It could get real tough to be a republican. Maybe McCain will follow him.”
“The Jeffords defection is just for his own personal gain. If he was such a liberal Republican, and he is, why didn't he run for his office as a democrat? The guy is just out for himself, he'll fit in perfectly with the Democrats.”
The balance has tipped back the other way as Ted Kennedy has announced that he was inspired by Jefford?s example. He has decided to follow his own conscience and switch to the Republican Party.”
“Did the voters in Vermont vote for the man or for the party?
Anyway, this will force dubya back to the center where most people want him.
With congress split and narrow majorities in each chamber the only way to get any bill to pass is to load it up with porkbarrel spending. This could get interesting.
According to several financial analysts the stock market has done the best when congress was split. Time to send more money to my broker.”
“gordon,
My parents are Democrats and they voted for him even though he was a republican. He has been a politician for a long time and the VT people respect his track record, not necessarily what party he belongs to. Vermont is one of the few states that Independents have as good a shot on the ballot as the Dems and Rebs.”
“With the Republicans leaning farther and farther to the right, people like Jeffords and my former senator, Nancy Landon Kassebaum find no room for any real debate on the issues. The republicans used to be much more inclusive. Now, more and more, they sound like ditto-heads. I think Jeffords has done the country a favor.”
“I have NO desire too ANY party control The Oval Office/House?Senate. I dont trust either side one bit. However if you are elected under the banner of a party then you oughtta complete the term before you switch.
The silver lining is gridlock which means nothing much will be done (new laws etc..). Which IMHO is good government!”
“I'm glad you can be so precise and articulate in your words as usual T.
Personally, I don't think it matters too much which party you're in once you're inside the beltway. I woulda voted for McCain over Gore, and y'all know how liberal I am.
That said, the general climate of teh senate has obviously changed. . . for the better.”
“Clinton swung way to the left after being elected in '92 as a moderate. Got his butt kicked for it in the '94 congressional elections.
Seems like Dummy is doing the exact same thing (although swinging right from center instead of left from center), and Jeffords is the bellwether of things to come in the 2002 mid-term election.
History does seem to repeat itself. In this case I hope it does. Even if it doesn't, the anger shown here about Jeffords is hillarious!”
“Yep, only a moron would compare the two. Clinton was a helluva lot smarter, and got laid more often.
They're both scumbag politicians though.
I think our good friend Mutt was comparing the history of the two, not their personalities. Comparing that is completely understandable and legitimate.
I hope this doesn't turn into another flame war between you two.”
“No it won't. I hope to never engage in such a personal flame war with anyone again. Something about you in particular, bacpac, rubs me the wrong way, but I don't want to bring the argument to anything other than the subject at hand. I was wrong to attack you personally, but then again I really couldn't care less about what you think about me or our exchanges. I will, however, continue to out-debate you whenever I disagree with you.”
“To state that George W. Bush has moved from the center to the right is simply a lie. Bush was never in the center. He did not campaign on centrist issues. Bush has clearly moved towards the middle as have the Democrats. Bush's tax cut was hotly contested during the campaign. Now the Democrats act like it was their idea.
Debate without the truth isn't really debate, but Mutt never has been honest.”
“I don't know bacpac from anybody, but he does kinda rub you the wrong way. I think he enjoys being a Republican just a little too much, the kind of guy that can suck the fun out of everything.”
In the 1960's Barry G. was excluded from the republican inner-circle because he was too right-wing for the party. He never changed his viewpoints, but in the 1990's he was excluded because he was too moderate for the party.
Jeffords isn't going to change his viewpoints or voting patterns. He was OK as long as he called himself republican. Change the label and nothing else to Independent and he is called every name in the book.
The GOP is the party of hypocrisy.
The Dems are the party of idiocy.”
“If I had heard that 'my' party had a one to two year plan to punish me, I woulda walked in a second. The cowboy thinks he can push everyone around if they get in his way. Some people will push back.
