A victory for the dems could actually be a victory for the GOP

[Rumrunner6900]

I usually don't get into politics but here goes....

The GOP will HAVE to change if they want to even sniff the White House any time soon. The majority of folks I know are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I would pretty much consider myself that.

That is why the Dems have gained so much traction as of late. And that is why Obama will prob. win the presidency. (Although I do not think it will be a landslide....I really think people will talk a good game until they get into the voting booth with no one around)

So this could be a victory for the GOP in the long run. If they clean house and get rid of the "old guard" as it were, and bring in people who appeal more to the center, (which I really believe is a majority of folks...most of us just want to get along and live our lives) they should regain some power sooner than later.

EDIT: I knew I was a thread killer, but I killed a political thread??? Kick ass!

[Rumrunner6900]

Where are all the hacks? I know who you are.

Wow....all I need to know....def. voting 3rd party this election

[dcoles11]

I'm gonna call it. Obama wins. It's over. Forget what happens tonight in the debate, the election is already decided.

However, my fellow Republicans, with these next four years being the most liberal in U.S. history, (not counting the W years) this country, which collectively leans slightly to the right, will remember why they loath democrats as much as Sarge does everyday. This victory could start a GOP revolution of sorts where the dems could very well not have the majority for many years to come.

Just my opinion.

Haha your idea is right but you got it backwards.

4 years ago I made the same arguement. I said, you know what, even if this idiot neo conservative Bush wins, things are going to so bad that it will destory the Repbulican Party.

2 years later, you loss power in congress and now you are going to lose the presidential election.

People are sick of your party, time to reform.

[WVUforREDSKINS]

Haha your idea is right but you got it backwards.

4 years ago I made the same arguement. I said, you know what, even if this idiot neo conservative Bush wins, things are going to so bad that it will destory the Repbulican Party.

2 years later, you loss power in congress and now you are going to lose the presidential election.

People are sick of your party, time to reform.

Most people know that I am voting Obama and have been a supporter of his for a long time.

[Veretax]

I'm gonna call it. Obama wins. It's over. Forget what happens tonight in the debate, the election is already decided.

However, my fellow Republicans, with these next four years being the most liberal in U.S. history, (not counting the W years) this country, which collectively leans slightly to the right, will remember why they loath democrats as much as Sarge does everyday. This victory could start a GOP revolution of sorts where the dems could very well not have the majority for many years to come.

Just my opinion.

I am not ready to concede defeat to the democrats yet. There's stil time to vote out Jay Rockefellar by casting a vote for Jay Wolfe who btw wants to drill now! How about a vote against Nick Joe Rahall cast for Marty Gearheart who thinks producing cleaner energy starting with coal is a good idea.

I'm not willing to let this be decided by media pundits or crappy polls. I'm not convinced the democrats will have the kind of turn out some of these biased polls have had.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Obama will have his faults to play off of and those will be fresh in people's mind. I seriously doubt that W's faults are remembered as long as you think they will be.

Again, I simply disagree.

The GOP will not sniff the White House until 2020, at best. And possibly still lose that election

Congress will be in control of Democrats for the next 50 years

With changing demographics and a media in the tank for one side (I call Clinton's presidencey the "good news presidencey" and Bush's the "bad news one") it will take something utterly and completely foolish for any of this to change

The R's will no longer have welfare to run against. Or big government to run against, or much of anything to be quite frank to run against because they did the same damn things in office that they ran against in the late 70s and early 80s which shifted this country center-right

I think Dems could get away easily with pulling us out of NAFTA, raising taxes, increasing the welfare state, decreasing the scope of our military, and bringing national healthcare without losing a point in the polls over the next decade

If the economy shows any sign of life, the spin will be incredibly easy to create.

The deficit suddenly won't matter again.

Running on "small gov't" will be a loser. The culture wars for the most part are over, as the Republicans have won on guns (unless President Obama signs a new AWB) and the Democrats on abortion and gay marriage (evidenced by states legalizing it)

So thusly, barring a double dip depression in 2011, or a major terrorist attack in 2011-2012, we are looking at one party rule for potentially the rest of our lifetime (if you are in your 20s), at best divided gov't.

And that is a scary thing

[SkinsHokieFan]

I usually don't get into politics but here goes....

The GOP will HAVE to change if they want to even sniff the White House any time soon. The majority of folks I know are fiscally conservative and socially liberal. I would pretty much consider myself that.

That is why the Dems have gained so much traction as of late. And that is why Obama will prob. win the presidency. (Although I do not think it will be a landslide....I really think people will talk a good game until they get into the voting booth with no one around)

So this could be a victory for the GOP in the long run. If they clean house and get rid of the "old guard" as it were, and bring in people who appeal more to the center, (which I really believe is a majority of folks...most of us just want to get along and live our lives) they should regain some power sooner than later.

EDIT: I knew I was a thread killer, but I killed a political thread??? Kick ass!

Here is what the GOP will need to do, and that is act like the GOP again.

You can't call yourselves the party of small gov't when you pass and have signed into law absurd budget increases along with Medicare Part D, huge farm subsidies, steel tarrifs and NLCB

It simply will not happen

If people want Democratic policies, they'll just vote for the damn Democrats.

The GOP needs to 100 percent return to small gov't fiscal conservativsm, not try and triangulate and muddle the message as has been done in the past 8 years

If you lose elections because of that, so be it, but at least lose elections on what you are, instead of the phonies you became

I personally will not support a permanent minority party as they are about to become. If they do not return to being a legitimate opposition to big gov't, they'll go the way of the whigs, and the American electorate will shift left and we'll end up like Europe in 20 years

[SkinsHokieFan]

That's good for at least two and a half decades of "never forget" rhetoric from the Democrats -- and maybe far more.

That is good for at least another 40 years, with the internet, TV footage and all sorts of neat graphs, not to mention a media in the tank for one side (excluding Fox News and AM radio, which will go away with the fairness doctrine anyways)

From 1932 to 1968 liberal Democrats held very large majorities (save for a brief period following WW2) and won every election except for the war hero in Ike during the 1950s

That is the era we are about to embark on, but thanks to even more incumbent protections, you will see Dems easily hold on to Congress

And this year when "change" occurs you won't hear "voters threw a temper tantrum" as you did in 1994 or have Time Magazine have a cover depicting the new leader as "Uncle Scrooge"

It'll be smiles all around. The mood of the country will suddenly be lifted, and good news spun to even sound "gooder" with bad news being called "distractions"

And the sheep and masses will fall in line for it

[mjah]

It'll be smiles all around. The mood of the country will suddenly be lifted, and good news spun to even sound "gooder" with bad news being called "distractions"

And the sheep and masses will fall in line for it

...Sooooo, it will be very much like 1980.

But since Carter wasn't the long-term disaster Bush will turn out to be, the Democrat good times will last longer.

[SkinsTerps26]

[SkinsHokieFan]

...Sooooo, it will be very much like 1980.

But since Carter wasn't the long-term disaster Bush will turn out to be, the Democrat good times will last longer.

No, I am saying it'll be like 1933.

Despite close to 10 percent unemployment, and 21 percent inflation, and the embarrassment of Iran contra, Carter has been rehabilitated so much that he is irrelevant.

There were too many people who remembered the depression for the next 40 years, until a major force in Reagan appeared

There will be too many people that remember/hate Bush for the next 40 years, and barring some incredible Reagan like force, or some incredible blunder by the Democrats (and I am probably giving them too much credit right now but I gotta assume they learned their lessons) the "Bush" brand can be ridden to victory for a very long time

[mjah]

The problem I have with the 1933 comparison is that nobody was feeling good a few years after Roosevelt was elected. Of course, he did win reelection. (And rereelecction, and rerereelection.)

I have no trouble comparing Hoover's inadequacies with Bush's, though. Both were clueless when it came to the question of how to recover from dire circumstances. Of course, at least Hoover kept his greatest idiocies limited to the domestic front.

[SkinsHokieFan]

The problem I have with the 1933 comparison is that nobody was feeling good a few years after Roosevelt was elected. Of course, he did win reelection. (And rereelecction, and rerereelection.)

I have no trouble comparing Hoover's inadequacies with Bush's, though. Both were clueless when it came to the question of how to recover from dire circumstances. Of course, at least Hoover kept his greatest idiocies limited to the domestic front.

Thats the thing, there just needs to be a light at the end of the tunnel, or as happened with FDR a double dip right after re-election

It just needs to "stay medium" and with Obama's political skill, he'll easily spin it in his favor

[mjah]

Thats the thing, there just needs to be a light at the end of the tunnel, or as happened with FDR a double dip right after re-election

It just needs to "stay medium" and with Obama's political skill, he'll easily spin it in his favor

Fair enough. I'll consider that a temporary improvement over what we have now.

Unfortunately, given enough time, power corrupts everybody regardless of political affiliation. People will despise a Democratic Congress a decade from now. It'll be the same thing that happened to the Republicans after their gangbusters run into Congress in the mid-90s. Over time, they got fat and greedy, and by 2006 they were long past their due date.

[SkinsHokieFan]

Fair enough. I'll consider that a temporary improvement over what we have now.

Unfortunately, given enough time, power corrupts everybody regardless of political affiliation. People will despise a Democratic Congress a decade from now. It'll be the same thing that happened to the Republicans after their gangbusters run into Congress in the mid-90s. Over time, they got fat and greedy, and by 2006 they were long past their due date.

It doesn't mean they'll get thrown out

The Democratic senators that will be elected will be young guys like Mark Warner, who will probably be in the Senate for 20+ years if he chooses not to run for POTUS in 2016

The demographics changing, and the fact that again the Dems will easily be able to point to 2000-2006, Iraq, the imploding economy, the fact that Republicans want to "take away your medicare and SSI" err actually the argument in 2018 midterms will be "the Republicans want to take away your free health care"

All of these things will add up to almost unbeatable advantages over the next 40-50 years in Congress

I hope Mike Pence will be a good minority leader and will at least be able to highlight differences between what his party believes and what the majority party will push through. Eric Cantor may be able to help lay down the intellectual foundation for some sort of a conservative comeback in the 2026 midterms. If there are 40+ R Senators left, they may be able to prevent some ultra left liberal wacko from getting on the court

And that is about all they will be able to do

[mjah]

It doesn't mean they'll get thrown out

Maybe, maybe not. That's a long way away. :whoknows:

[SkinsHokieFan]

Maybe, maybe not. That's a long way away. :whoknows:

It took nearly 50 years to throw out some awful, ineffective, fat and greedy D Congress' from 1946 to 1994

Looking at history, conservatives and Republicans had probably the most unique and best opportunity in the post WW2 history of our nation to truly reform the way our gov't works, and 100 percent botched it

Those are literally once in a lifetime chances

[mjah]

Those are literally once in a lifetime chances

Well, my grandfather has now lived during two of them.

Okay, you convinced me that the Republicans are doomed for over a quarter-century. Are you TRYING to help me sleep better tonight?

[SkinsHokieFan]

Well, my grandfather has now lived during two of them.

Okay, you convinced me that the Republicans are doomed for over a quarter-century. Are you TRYING to help me sleep better tonight?

Until I got you convinced that its till I am grandpa

I

[scruffylookin]

First off, you betray your true allegences.

Party first and country second.

An Obama win will be a victory for this country, not the Democrats.

You're not even giving Obama a chance to succeed, you're already laying the ground work on how to defeat him in '12.

But beyond that, as others have said, you're not taking into account the new demographics of this country. Also, people are pinning the sorry state of our country on George Bush and the Republicans. All Obama has to do is improve the situation ever so slightly and then he can run on the fact that he inherited a mess that the Republicans left this country in and that he's cleaned up some of it but will need another term to finish the job. I suspect it will be a successful line of assault, especially if the Republican nominee is some rightwing nutjob like Palin.

What I'm going to caution Senator Obama on is that this "terrorist" thing won't go away once you're elected sir. This is what they do. Look at Bill Clinton. They tried to smear him in the election. They continued to try and smear him during his two terms and when all else failed, they tried to remove him from office.

The wingnuts will continue to smear and attack Obama and he needs to be ready for that and be able to respond quickly like he has during the campaign.

[SnyderShrugged]

if and when the GOP decides to become actual conservatives rather than the window dressing of the neo-con, then they can start to rebuild. The moment the party lost thier values, they lost a large chunk of the base. In short, my party that betrayed me over and over again deserves to lose.

I also fear the Obama

[Mad Mike]

I have an idea. Lets hope WHOEVER is in power does a good job and the USA is prosperous and safe. :doh:

Country first. What a concept.

[jbooma]

I'm gonna call it. Obama wins. It's over. Forget what happens tonight in the debate, the election is already decided.

However, my fellow Republicans, with these next four years being the most liberal in U.S. history, (not counting the W years) this country, which collectively leans slightly to the right, will remember why they loath democrats as much as Sarge does everyday. This victory could start a GOP revolution of sorts where the dems could very well not have the majority for many years to come.

Just my opinion.

A lot of people have that same thought. They feel the recession we are going to have is going to be long and hard, and that Obama will not be able do to anything he promises. Then in 4 yours the GOP will use "change" as their theme and win the white house. If Obama wins, Hillary is done as a future candidate.

[SkinsHokieFan]

A lot of people have that same thought. They feel the recession we are going to have is going to be long and hard, and that Obama will not be able do to anything he promises. Then in 4 yours the GOP will use "change" as their theme and win the white house. If Obama wins, Hillary is done as a future candidate.

Here is the thing 'Booma

It will NOT work in 4 years. Not in 8 years. Not in 20 years

Seriously, all Democrats will need to do is say "George W Bush"

History and the media will absolutley refuse to rehabiliate him as they have somehow managed to rehab Jimmy Carter

Game over

[Prosperity]

It took nearly 50 years to throw out some awful, ineffective, fat and greedy D Congress' from 1946 to 1994

Looking at history, conservatives and Republicans had probably the most unique and best opportunity in the post WW2 history of our nation to truly reform the way our gov't works, and 100 percent botched it

Those are literally once in a lifetime chances

you can only hope that congress will be made up by the new breed of young competent, and moderate Democrats like Kaine, Warner, and Obama

the new line of democrats seem to me to be more competent than previous democrats, and leagues above the recent GOP.