By now, every one knows that the first casualty of the Democratic takeover of the Congress is Donald Rumsfield. I say good riddance. His stay as Secretary of Defense was about 5.9 years too long.
Bush has named his replacement: former CIA director Robert Gates. The only question is whether Bush will try to push thru this confirmation before the 109th Congress finishes its work.
Since he will need to work with the new Congress, I think it is only fair for the administration to allow his confirmation hearings to be held by the new Congress. Of course, this president has not been too keen on doing what’s fair.
Did anyone else think it was funny that Bush was calling for bipartisan efforts now? I guess when your party takes a “thumping,” it finally becomes clear that the American public is tired of your way of doing business.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian — a loss, but hardly a “thumping.” Democrats, in fact, did worse than the average for sixth-year midterms. (They needed to pick up seven Senate seats to beat the average, and over 35 House seats.) Worse yet, many of the new Democrats are, like Webb, conservative in many things, such as women in the military. The conservative Lieberman crushed the liberal Lemont.
The biggest failing of the Republicans, at least according to the exit interviews I heard, was not Iraq, but spending, the national debt, and immigration. People were upset with the Republicans not because they were too conservative, but because they were not conservative enough.
As for bipartisanship, a wise man I know once said (must be said with a British drawl), “There are two parties in America: the Evil Party and the Stupid Party. When a bill passes the House 223 to 3, you may rest assured that it is both evil and stupid.”
Ah yes, Bush is in essence admitting defeat.
The confirmation might be pushed through if Bush is determined, it could possibly end up the way it did with the Meiers’ confirmation. It’ll be interesting to watch.
Do you think the conservatives will oppose Gates?
No one will oppose Gates. He’s on the Iraq commission, he’s not known as a partisan guy. He’ll pass easily, now, or in January.
This decision was made weeks ago, obviously. Gates had already been asked and accepted. I have NO idea why Bush didn’t announce this a month ago. It could have made a big difference. Sometimes Bush’s loyality is just silly. He didn’t want the election to be about Rumsfeld.
I agree that a bunch of Blue Dogs have been elected but I don’t know that Webb can be classified that way. I really don’t know how he’ll vote on anything, other than tax increases. He will vote for them, so that he can achieve that ‘income equity’ that he talks about. But tax increases won’t happen, too many people in the Senate and House know that voting for tax increases would be very unpopular in the country.
Jack – “thumping” (or more precisely “thumpin'”) was Bush’s term, not Vivian’s. Weren’t you watching the press conference.
“(A)ccording to the exit interviews I heard… (p)eople were upset with the Republicans not because they were too conservative, but because they were not conservative enough.”
Um, so they voted for the Democrats??
Thanks, Pat. That is exactly where I got it from and why I put it in quotes. I don’t know what exit interviews Jack is talking about. The only ones I’ve seen refer to Iraq.
There is no doubt that the Republican party in its current incarnation has gotten away from its conservative roots: smaller government, less interference in our lives, controlled spending. No doubt there were some Rs that voted D because of it.
Pat — No, I did not have a chance to see Bush’s press conference.
If you hadn’t noticed, the Democrats were running as fiscal conservatives.
And that does not a conservative make. Especially the twisted definition of conservative that gets claimed by elected Republicans these days.
No, Democrats ran as fiscally *responsible*. What a concept. You mean one ought not to have to borrow money from everyone else in the world so you can pay for tax cuts? Shocking, really.
Or, hopefully, not to have to borrow money from everyone else in the world to give to people so they will vote for you.
Jack, to be an effective troll, it’s important to have more than two tricks. I mean, I’ll have to grant that your first and favorite one – to espouse obscenely extreme views that no reasonable person would actually admit, never mind defend in public – is a pretty good trick. But it only goes so far, and gets old quickly. This second trick, of always turning the subject away from your own falsehoods and failures of reasoning, well, that’s just amateur hour. You can do better.
MB, I will take you to be an authority on being a troll. I’m sorry, but I must have missed it. To which obscenely extreme views would you be referring?
However, I entirely agree with you that we (the U.S.) should not be borrowing money from anyone for any reason.
Jack said – “However, I entirely agree with you that we (the U.S.) should not be borrowing money from anyone for any reason. ”
And what exactly is the basis of that statement? When you call yourself a conservative – by extension I assume you mean you know what is the optimal fiscal policy (which include tax policy) and m onetary policy to achieve a stable and sound economy – do you do that on the basis of absolutely any economic knowledge?
I would highly recommend either a course or at the least a book on economics which covers fiscal and monetry policy and international trade in some detail. You may rethink you stance or at least gain a deeper appreciation of the finer points of economics.
The true conservtive economic viewpoint is definitely more sound than the liberal viewpoint, which IMHO borders on lapsing into communism – a proven failure. And yes, there are disagreements but overall a lower tax structure leads to better fiscal discipline and acts as a stimulus for growth too. But not ALL taxes are bad. They should be measured, controlled and low.
I wish people got a better grounding in the subject before beating their chests saying they were fiscal conservatives, sullying the name of a really powerful and beneficial ideology.
Is it really so bad that some Rs may have voted D and maybe even some Independents voted D, too? Do you suppose it was because it made sense to do away with the things that were wrong and try something new?
For instance, why is everyone so hell-bent that democrats are so very liberal? Is it beyond belief that common sense would tell even a democrat that some republicans have gotten too liberal even for them? God knows, throwing good money after bad they way Bush has been doing is not working.
I don’t believe that the election failed the republican party as much as it just couldn’t take any more of George Bush. So, let’s get on with the new and hope everybody plays nice. It seems the older I get the less I understand the “hatred” between republicans and democrats. As a die-hard Independent, I can vote them the way I see them. Makes my life a lot easier.
Graylady, if you’d like to talk about being hellbent calling democrats “liberals,” try looking at what Republicans have been called in this election.
I love how the Dems all call for bipartisanship and playing nice nice after calling us racist, sexist bigots who want sick people to die, seniors to lose social security, oil slicks on our beaches, and …should i go on?
Yeah…let’s all play nice now.
As far as Rumsfeld, didn’t you like how the Democrat takeover of Congress got wiped off the headlines in mere hours by Bush. Pelosi and Reid looked like benchwarmers just called up from the minors.
Liberal = a hijacked term used mostly to describe anyone who doesn’t agree with the paleolithic views of the speaker.
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Wiped off the headlines?
And this, ladies and gentlemen, is another example of why it’s important to actually read more news outside your own bubble.
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And no, Insider, I’m not calling to play nice with bigots. But speaking of election-night turnabouts, I look forward to the surprising concern VA republicans found for the respect and equal treatment of women to be continued . . .I mean, it wasn’t just an election ploy, was it?
And you just keep calling and treating Pelosi and (especially) Reid minor league players. Shows what an “insider” you are.