Once Rham blackmails them, they will roll over and eat out of his hand.

I completely understand the electoral demographics the Repubs have to overcome. The slavish, blind idiocy of people like scooter illustrate that clearly for me.

And it’s interesting you credit Clinton with the zero-budget deficit plan as being the catalyst for the 40,000,000 jobs. I seem to remember the capital gains tax cut and the welfare form reform bill – passed with Clinton kicking and screaming – also playing a part in that.

Way to play the race card Scooter, way to place the race card. How come you don’t see us bashing Bobby Jindal or Michael Steele? Maybe because we care nothing about the color of their skin and are judging them by their policies!?

By the way, as evident in the recent Gates turmoil, people are getting sick of people playing the race card, regardless of who’s playing it.

R/D, conservative/liberal, it’s all regional. Any other interpretation is a product of willfull stupidity. Majority/minority, as it relates to parties, is cyclical. Anybody with even a remote understanding of political history knows that. Even you can probably comprehend that.

“Bill Clinton.”

Now that’s funny. Yeah, he ran as a centrist, but he was a far more liberal president than he was a candidate. But most of all, he was a good b-s artist, who could sell snow to eskimos. Since him, and before, however, the top of the ticket has been dominated by the far left. Obama, Clinton (the one with cankles), Kerry, Gore, Dukakis, Mondale, Carter, etc. I liked Kennedy (not the one who uses water and autos to end relationships), but not much else the Ds have offered at the top.

“Obama doesn’t have a plan.”

I really doubt that you are so naive that you think Obama has no input on the monstrosity that the Ds in Congress are trying to foist on the American public. Saying he has an “idea,” rather than a “plan” is particularly disingenuous and an intentional parsing of words. It also gives Obama the easy out he’s looking for. When the public turns on the plan Congress and he are shaping, he can just say, “Whoa, that wasn’t my “plan.” I just suggested the “idea” of reform.” Also, you may want to go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/fy2010_key_healthcare/. Whether you want to call it an “idea” or a “plan,” he’s got something in mind. And if you really want to insist he’s not involved in this process with the Ds in charge, then you are either being intentionally blind, or unintentionally foolish.

“So a bunch of overreacting idiots in the Democratic Party voted for the legislation….”

As opposed to the idiots who didn’t overreact? I wouldn’t say all Democrats are idiots, but you are entitled to your opinions.

“Did they also put Michael Chertoff and Brownie in positions of power?”

Even you are not so naive as to think two men can create bureaucratic nightmares on their own. As anyone who has even a modicum of understanding of how DC bureaucracy works, most of the waste comes from the lower-level folks, most of whom have been entrenched in the system for years. They ceased being Rs or Ds long ago, and are now just bureaucrats whose main reasons for existence are self-preservation and the wreckless spending of tax dollars.

“…call Ghostbusters or Bobby Jindal to do an exorcism.”

Actually, I was more thinking along the lines of identity theft/fraud, but it’s good to see you have enough of a sense of humor to ignore the obvious to take a jab at a conservative R. Your liberal/D bona fides are safe.

“…if that handful of names…”

What, every single non-white and/or male R must be listed in order for you to get the idea that Ds haven’t cornered the market on diversity? Again, that is particularly disingenuous. You probably have no idea of this fact, as it doesn’t conform to your idea of the “big-tent” facade you promote when it comes to your party, but there are countless non-white/non-male Ds holding office throughout the country who would call themselves Rs if it didn’t mean political suicide. You have to get elected in order to make an impact, and some districts are so blindly D that they simply will never elect an R. They will, however, regularly elect a conservative D whose views are far more in line with the national R platform than that of the national D. Call them Blue Dogs, DINOS, or simply free-thinking legislators. They despise what their national party leaders are doing on a regular basis on any number of issues, but simply don’t have the power to do as much about it as they would like. So they pick their battles, as in the case of the national health care debate. If you don’t get that, it’s probably for the better. But my guess is you do, and you are just whistling past the graveyard.

Yet, he’s so far left I see him as a socialist. Perhaps states like Vermont don’t mind socialism but South Carolina has too much pride to be told what doctor to see and when. Perhaps as he sees how his polls are slipping (not to mention only 4/10 Americans agree with his healthcare plan) he will moderate; almost like when Schwarzenegger had to moderate in California. Until then, he’s helping the Democrats hang themselves, and Republicans need all the help they can get.

It’s a regional minority party. Any other other interpretation is a product of willful blindness.

“saw a centrist D as a serious challenger for President?”

Bill Clinton. Of course you folks claimed that the country would go to hell in a hand-basket after he passed the zero budget deficit plan with no Republican votes. It was nearly identical rhetoric to what we are hearing now. 40,000,000 jobs later…

“But at least you concede that Obama-care needs to be made “better.”

Obama doesn’t have a plan. He never presented a plan to the Congress, only an idea. Let me say it again: The administration did not offer a plan, detailed or otherwise, to the Congress. The plan is being crafted in Congress, and yes, more deliberation is a good thing. We don’t want to shove through another piece of bad legislation like the stimulus bill.

“So if it’s that bad, blame the Ds.”

So a bunch of overreacting idiots in the Democratic Party voted for the legislation creating the department of homeland security and that makes it their responsibility for its wastefulness? Flawless logic. Did they also put Michael Chertoff and Brownie in positions of power? Again, flawless logic.

“both my grandmothers are dead, so if either shows up at the airport, damn straight I want them searched!”

If your granmothers show up, you should skip DHS, and call Ghostbusters or Bobby Jindal to do an exorcism.

And Joe, if that handful of names is what you’re bringing to the table, then you really don’t understand the electoral demographics that your party is going to have to overcome.