That's how bad it's gotten up on the Hill for the Republicans. They miss the totalitarian, corrupt regime of Tom DeLay:
This source also said Boehner “lacks some of the killer instinct” of former Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). “DeLay had a lot of problems, but he got the job done. Boehner needs a little more DeLay in him. He’s got to knock some heads,” said this source.
Boehner has taken a decidedly anti-DeLay approach since taking over the party in early 2006, preferring consensus over conflict. But the GOP’s recent slump had some members and aides reminiscing fondly about the days when “The Hammer” ruled the Republicans.
Ah, the good old days. I suppose they miss Jack Abramoff, too.
It's getting ugly on Capitol Hill. Republican fratricide is becoming an epidemic. Couldn't happen to a better group of people:
House Republicans turned on themselves yesterday after a third straight loss of a GOP-held House seat in special elections this year left both parties contemplating widespread Democratic gains in November.
In huddles, closed-door meetings and hastily arranged conference calls, some Republicans demanded the head of their political chief, while others decried their leadership as out of touch with the political catastrophe they face.
GOP leaders sought yesterday to "re-brand" the party with a new slogan and renewed pledges of fiscal rectitude and limited government. But the slogan -- "The Change You Deserve" -- came under mocking fire, because it parallels Democratic presidential front-runner Barack Obama's "Change We Can Believe In" motto and it mirrors the advertising slogan for the antidepressant Effexor.
And, you know some GOP consultant got paid a lot of money to come up with that mock-worthy slogan. They don't even believe in change.
Also, lest we forget, not too long ago, the D.C. pundits believed Karl Rove when he said that America was becoming a GOP nation. This is Rove from November of 2002:
''Things are moving in a new direction,'' Mr. Rove said in his first extended public remarks since the elections last week. ''It's not just that Republicans picked up three seats in the Senate or six or seven or eight seats in the House. It's something else more fundamental, but we'll only know what it is in another two years or four years.''
After four years, Democrats took control of the House and Senate. After six, we'll have the White House back. And, for laughs, read this recap of a Sunday show interviews with Rove after the 2004 election.
Look at where Bush and Rove have gotten the GOP now.
The House Republicans aren't showing any love for George W. Bush. But, they own him and he owns them. They're one and the same:
Rep. Tom Davis stomped on the concrete floor of the Capitol basement when asked by reporters about Republican fortunes at the moment.
"This is the floor," he said, by way of explanation. "We're below the floor."
Inside the meeting, Davis had just presented his colleagues with what he said was a 20-page memo outlining his prescription for a way out of this mess. He did not offer details to the press, yet did not spare the party and the president scathing criticism in his public comments.
"The president swallows the microphone every time he opens his mouth," Davis said.
This is the Bush/Rove legacy. Now, every time some pundit quotes Rove, factor in the destruction he's helped wreak upon the GOP.
Oh, the House Republicans are so screwed. The Hill has yet another look at GOP prospects -- and the potential for GOP leadership changes. It's delicious:
The sky is falling on House Republicans and there is no sign of it letting up.
The GOP loss in Mississippi’s special election Tuesday is the strongest sign yet that the Republican Party is in shambles. And while some Republicans see a light at the end of the tunnel, that light more likely represents the Democratic train that is primed to mow down more Republicans in November.
The third straight House special election loss in three conservative districts this year is a clear indication that the GOP brand is turning off voters and the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) is in disarray.
In the wake of the devastating loss, the first question facing House Republican leaders is whether they will keep Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) as NRCC chairman. Speculation has been rampant that Cole would be asked to step down should Republicans lose in Mississippi, and on Tuesday that chatter intensified.
House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) will be under tremendous pressure to do something dramatic after the trio of losses. Boehner has publicly clashed with Cole over staffing and lackluster fundraising numbers but despite their differences, their political futures are tied together.
Significant gains by House Democrats this fall would likely lead to Boehner and Cole losing their leadership posts. Travis Childers (D), who narrowly defeated Greg Davis (R) on Tuesday, will push the Democrats’ total in the House to 236 members. With six months to go until the elections, political analysts and observers are suggesting Democrats could reach 250 in the next Congress.
Some Republican conference members have criticized Boehner for not effectively managing Cole.
GOP strategists and lobbyists have also questioned Boehner’s leadership. One Republican source noted that, after Boehner called for staffing changes at the NRCC, Cole refused and triumphed in the showdown.
Okay, there are six months left til election day and a lot can happen. But, this is all looking good.
Now, if we could just get Clinton to admit she's lost so we can really start the battle against McCain.
Tonight, Democrat Travis Childers defeated Republican Glen Davis in Mississippi's First Congressional District. I wrote earlier today about all the money the Republican party was spending to save what should be a solid GOP seat. They failed BIG TIME. The final margin was an impressive 8-point victory: 54% - 46%.
The magnitude of this loss cannot be overstated. The Republican party is in serious trouble in 2008. This is their third loss in a row of open house seats in GOP districts. Russert even acknowledged how big this is for Democrats saying, "That is a seismic election, believe me." Huckabee just admitted that this is bad for the Republicans. We are on our way to a historic election.
As the NY Times reported today, the GOP tried to make Obama the issue in Mississippi.
Hoping to hang on to a Congressional seat in a tight special election here on Tuesday, Republicans in this mostly white and very conservative district are trying to make the vote more a referendum on Senator Barack Obama than on the candidates themselves.
In advertisements and speeches, Republicans have repeatedly associated Travis Childers, the white Democrat threatening to take the seat away from the Republican Party, with Mr. Obama. Republicans say Mr. Obama’s liberal values are out of place in the district. But for many Democratic veterans here, the tactic is a throwback to the old and unwelcome politics of race, a standby in Mississippi campaigning.
Former Gov. William Winter, a Democrat, expressed shock at the current campaign.
“I am appalled that this blatant appeal to racial prejudice is still being employed,” said Mr. Winter, who lost the 1967 governor’s race after his segregationist opponent circulated handbills showing blacks listening to one of his speeches. Mr. Winter went on to win the governor’s office 12 years later.
That tactic failed.
The GOP has got nothing...nothing going for it this year.
UPDATED: Here's the statement on this win tonight from Senator Obama. The defeat of the GOP and its ugly campaign was also a victory for the Democratic nominee for President:
"I want to congratulate Congressman-elect Travis Childers on winning this special election. By electing Travis in this traditionally overwhelmingly Republican district, the people of Mississippi voted to end the politics of division and distraction, and bring about real change. This is the third special election in recent months that Democrats have won in traditionally Republican areas -- an unmistakable sign that Americans want to make a clean break from the failed Bush policies of the past - and are not looking for four more years of those failed policies from John McCain. I look forward to working with Travis in the months ahead to fix our economy, and make a difference in the lives of America's hardworking families," said Barack Obama.
Gimmicks, that's all the Republicans have. They made no progress when they controlled Congress, now they're playing games to thwart progress. They truly are the obstructionist party:
"Sometimes we offer motions to recommit to improve legislation -- sometimes it's to force Democrats in marginal districts to make tough choices," Boehner said. "Every time the Republicans win, it boosts morale. We're able to show unity, which is good for the overall team. Members feel good about winning on the House floor. And when you're in the minority, it doesn't happen that often."
The GOP doesn't care about good policy. It's all politics to them.
The House Republicans are a pathetic bunch. No wonder they can't come up with a strategy to fight the Iraq war. They can't even figure out why they're fighting against the anti-escalation resolution. But, to defend George Bush, those GOPers are vigorously opposing the resolution. Based on Dana Milbank's profile of the GOP's leader, Adam Putnam (R-FL), it's clear they really have no idea why:
There was good reason for this anxiety. As head of the House Republican Conference, the 32-year-old redhead is leading his caucus into a public-opinion meat grinder: supporting President Bush's increase of U.S. troops in Iraq, against the wishes of more than 60 percent of Americans. Worse, he is leading them with a pair of somewhat contradictory arguments: (a) that the Democrats' resolution opposing Bush's Iraq buildup is a meaningless gesture, and (b) that the Democrats' resolution will cause the end of civilization as we know it.
"This is a rather toothless 97 words," Putnam began in his floor speech, calling the proposal "a narrow nonbinding resolution that misses the bigger picture." Minutes later, he changed his view. "The majority would have us consider a resolution that puts us one day closer to handing militant Islamists a safe haven the size of California."
So which one is it: toothless or catastrophic?
Actually, the GOP's response to the Iraq war for the past four years has been toothless and catastrophic.
For Republicans from the White House to Capitol Hill, the Iraq War has been, first and foremost, a political issue. It's a losing political issue because it's been a horrible policy mistake. But, the GOP can't stop playing politics. We see that in the Senate as the GOP blocks the Iraq debate. In the House, the GOP can't stop the debate, so they are treating the debate like a political campaign according to The Washington Post:
Democrats will file a nonbinding resolution against the Bush plan while Republicans will try to broaden the dispute and seed doubt in the Democratic approach. Although Senate Republicans were able to block debate on a resolution condemning Bush's war policies last week, it will be much easier for Democrats in the House to bring a measure to the floor.
The GOP, whose members have conceded they are likely to lose, is treating the debate like a mini-political campaign, deploying a rapid-response team to counter Democrats' statements, aggressively trying to get its leaders on television and radio, and creating a "resource center" off the House floor where members can fill their arms with maps, research material, videos or other visual aids to use during their floor time.
"We may lose the vote, but we'll win the debate," said Kevin Smith, a spokesman for House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio).
Kevin Smith and his boss should be more concerned that we're losing the war and that we're losing more and more U.S. soldiers every day.
Some of the GOP rats are trying to jump off the sinking ship:
"What we have now is a dispute in tactics," said Rep. Phil English (R-Pa.), who once supported the administration but is opposed to the troop increase. "This is a situation where we've been dealt a bad hand, where we've made a lot of mistakes, where we should have addressed the problems in Baghdad a long time ago, and now a surge on the scale the president has proposed is unlikely to move us forward."
One House Republican close to the GOP leadership spoke on the condition of anonymity in order to be blunt. "This next week is going to be a very tough one for us to get through," he said. "The Democrats know that. We can sit back and hope they overplay their hand, but I don't think they will."
Every week in Iraq is tough for our soldiers and the people of Iraq. The Hill Republicans can't run from this war. They enabled it. The sick thing is that for the GOP, Iraq is still mostly a political issue.
