Democrats plan 2006 takeover

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cjboog

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The lastest polls show that Bush's approval rating is right around 33% with a 61% disapproval rating. The polls also show that Americans want democratic leadership by a vote of 51% to 36%. There are varying estimates, but the general consensus is that the republicans are in a tough spot and if the democrats have a stroke of luck, they just might be able to take Congress in the midterms. With the flurry of good news for the dems, they have recently unveiled their "Real Security" plan and Nancy Pelosi was on Meet the Press today discussing some of the plans that will take effect if the dems take Congress. Here are some of the points of their new plans...

"To honor the sacrifice of our toops, we will ensure 2006 is a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with the Iraqis assuming primary responsibility for securing and governing their country and with the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces." On MTP, Russert pointed out that the #2 democrat in the House called for a withdrawal of the troops, but Pelosi said that that was months ago, things have changed, and democrats finally have a united stategy for dealing with Iraq. The key phrase of the new plan is significant transition.

"To free America from dependence on foreign oil, we will increase production of alternate fuels from America's heartland including bio-fuels, geothermal, clean coal, fuel cells, solar and wind; promote hybrid and flex fuel vehicle technology and manufacturing; enhance energy efficiency and conservation incentives."

On lobbying reform, Pelosi said that the democratic cases of corruption are more isolated, personal issues, and she said that she called for an investigation into Jefferson (D) while no republicans have called for the investigation of other republicans. She was reluctant to promise eliminating lobbying contributions all together, but said the dems will eliminate personal gifts, etc., and increase the time in between Congressional service and lobbying (I think...). She also said that the republican part in the scandals is more of a "system" and is more widespread in the party.

She also promised that the democrats would immediately raise the minimum wage. When Russert asked her about impeaching Bush, she said that the investigations that will take place will not revolve around or be geared to impeachment, and the dems are not about impeaching Bush. She said that the republican Congress has ignored its responsibility of checking the executive by asking those questions through investigations.

When Russert asked Pelosi how the dems planned to pay for their new programs being fiscally sound ("pay as you go"), she said that shifting more towards Iraqi control of the war would save money becuase "this is now a trillion dollar war, all things considered". She also said that we spend 50 billion a year just protecting the ships that carry Arab oil to the US, but was very reluctant to say they would roll back the Bush tax cuts or increase taxes. Pelosi said dems would make it less expensive to get into college by cutting the interest rates on student loans in half.

What is your reaction to these new plans from the dems? I think it is great that they finally have a cohesive plan for action, instead of just complaining at Bush and the republicans. Up to this point, the main criticism of the dems and their prospects for 2006 is that they didn't have any kind of plan whatsoever, but now it appears they are united on Iraq and have what is, at least, a brief outline of ideas of what they will be about if they take over in the midterms. They have packaged plans under the names "Real Security" and "Open and Honest Government" which should resonate well with voters. What do you guys think??
 
They will take back the House.

The Senate, no.
 
Despite the sad state of Republican affairs lately, I really don't have much hope for the Democratic party taking advantage of it. Rather than coming up with a strong vision of who they are, they've let the Republicans define who they are for the past 6 years, and it's taken it's toll. They've got a lot of work to do in finding some sort of unifying message before they can start to turn things around.

Lately it seems they've just been hiding in the wings, waiting for the Republicans to completely self-destruct. The Democrats could really be making themselves a lot more visible.

:sigh:
 
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Don't get me wrong, I think the Democrats are completely useless.

But parties rule in cycles and I think Republican fatigue is really setting in. That's why I feel the November midterms will mirror the Canadian elections which happened earlier this year. We had a party in power for nearly 15 years and while they presided over a time of prosperity and relative peace, they were also mired in corruption scandals, and people just wanted a break. What happened is a minority government for the opposition, so basically a defeat of the incumbents but not an overwhelming one.

Which is why I think the House will go Dem and the Senate will remain largely unchanged.
 
nbcrusader said:
Democrats will first need a positive message. No one wins with cynicism

The thing is, I remember when the Republicans won again in 1994. They didn't win on optimism as much as they won on dissatisfaction with the Democratic-controlled Congress.

All you need is a hint of optimism, coupled with mass disillusionment with the establishment. We may have that right now, but we have also had a lot of gerrymandering since the last time around. So I do wonder what will happen.

Melon
 
Diemen said:

Lately it seems they've just been hiding in the wings, waiting for the Republicans to completely self-destruct. The Democrats could really be making themselves a lot more visible.

:sigh:

Well I think they are starting to make themselves more visible because they see how much the poll numbers are in their favor and see the chance to pounce. That is why Nancy Pelosi went on Meet the Press today touting their new plans which I expained in my first post.
 
cjboog said:
The lastest polls show that Bush's approval rating is right around 33% with a 61% disapproval rating. The polls also show that Americans want democratic leadership by a vote of 51% to 36%. There are varying estimates, but the general consensus is that the republicans are in a tough spot and if the democrats have a stroke of luck, they just might be able to take Congress in the midterms. With the flurry of good news for the dems, they have recently unveiled their "Real Security" plan and Nancy Pelosi was on Meet the Press today discussing some of the plans that will take effect if the dems take Congress. Here are some of the points of their new plans...

"To honor the sacrifice of our toops, we will ensure 2006 is a year of significant transition to full Iraqi sovereignty, with the Iraqis assuming primary responsibility for securing and governing their country and with the responsible redeployment of U.S. forces." On MTP, Russert pointed out that the #2 democrat in the House called for a withdrawal of the troops, but Pelosi said that that was months ago, things have changed, and democrats finally have a united stategy for dealing with Iraq. The key phrase of the new plan is significant transition.

"To free America from dependence on foreign oil, we will increase production of alternate fuels from America's heartland including bio-fuels, geothermal, clean coal, fuel cells, solar and wind; promote hybrid and flex fuel vehicle technology and manufacturing; enhance energy efficiency and conservation incentives."

On lobbying reform, Pelosi said that the democratic cases of corruption are more isolated, personal issues, and she said that she called for an investigation into Jefferson (D) while no republicans have called for the investigation of other republicans. She was reluctant to promise eliminating lobbying contributions all together, but said the dems will eliminate personal gifts, etc., and increase the time in between Congressional service and lobbying (I think...). She also said that the republican part in the scandals is more of a "system" and is more widespread in the party.

She also promised that the democrats would immediately raise the minimum wage. When Russert asked her about impeaching Bush, she said that the investigations that will take place will not revolve around or be geared to impeachment, and the dems are not about impeaching Bush. She said that the republican Congress has ignored its responsibility of checking the executive by asking those questions through investigations.

When Russert asked Pelosi how the dems planned to pay for their new programs being fiscally sound ("pay as you go"), she said that shifting more towards Iraqi control of the war would save money becuase "this is now a trillion dollar war, all things considered". She also said that we spend 50 billion a year just protecting the ships that carry Arab oil to the US, but was very reluctant to say they would roll back the Bush tax cuts or increase taxes. Pelosi said dems would make it less expensive to get into college by cutting the interest rates on student loans in half.

What is your reaction to these new plans from the dems? I think it is great that they finally have a cohesive plan for action, instead of just complaining at Bush and the republicans. Up to this point, the main criticism of the dems and their prospects for 2006 is that they didn't have any kind of plan whatsoever, but now it appears they are united on Iraq and have what is, at least, a brief outline of ideas of what they will be about if they take over in the midterms. They have packaged plans under the names "Real Security" and "Open and Honest Government" which should resonate well with voters. What do you guys think??

Pelosi has some interesting phrases and ideas, but not much in the way of details to back them up. Does the Democratic plan involve the redeployment of troops from Iraq, regardless of the level of readiness of the new Iraqi military? Does the "redeployment" take into account unforseen events which could impact the security of US forces still on the ground as well as the new Iraqi government in military? She needs to explain more about how the Democratic plan is different from the Bush plan, as well as how it would handle unforseen problems.

In the Senate, there are only 33 seats up for re-election, and while the Democrats may pick up a few, they are unlikely to control of the Senate.

In the House of Representitives, every seat is voted on every 2 years, so its possible for there to be dramatic changes. Still, many analyst say there are only a small number of seats really in play, primarily, Republican held seats in "Blue States". While the polls suggest the Democrats could take these, the real deciding factor in mid-term elections is often turn-out. The fact is, most of the voting public ignores or forgets mid-term elections that don't involve the President. This means the voters will primarily be the dedicated followers of each party. As a result, the number of people from both sides that will actually vote may in fact be roughly equal which would likely mean little change at all in terms of the balance of power in the House.
 
ArrogantU2Fan said:
If they plan to run Hilary....I am moving back to England or Ireland....I would not live in a country that would vote in that bimbo...


I'm curious, what exactly is "bimbo" like about her? I'm no hilary fan, but throwing around insults that don't even make sense makes you look like you don't have much substance to your opinion.



I could never understand where the rabid hatred for hilary comes from, esp before she even held a political office. Seems like people hate her even more than Clinton. I almost think it would be worth having her run just to watch the right foam at the mouth.
 
ILuvLarryMullen said:



I'm curious, what exactly is "bimbo" like about her? I'm no hilary fan, but throwing around insults that don't even make sense makes you look like you don't have much substance to your opinion.



I could never understand where the rabid hatred for hilary comes from, esp before she even held a political office. Seems like people hate her even more than Clinton. I almost think it would be worth having her run just to watch the right foam at the mouth.

Don't you just love how anytime a woman has power, people call her a "bimbo" or "bitch"?
 
blueyedpoet said:


Don't you just love how anytime a woman has power, people call her a "bimbo" or "bitch"?

..and wasn't it funny how the pro-Apartheid and anti-working class Maggie Thatcher was rarely (if ever) subject to such name-calling...
 
ArrogantU2Fan said:
If they plan to run Hilary....I am moving back to England or Ireland....I would not live in a country that would vote in that bimbo...

This is why the dems won't win, all their voters eithe rleft fo rCanada after Bush won or will be leaving if Hilalry gets the nod........


Personally I like Dean, his last attempt killed by over-exuberance of all things
 
Contrary to popular belief, it is actually very hard for the average American to leave. By design, only the rich, highly educated, and those with desired occupations can leave, short of having a qualifying familial status.

So folks, we're all just going to have to get along, I guess.

Melon
 
Why leave for the sake of making a statement or wish to flee the politics? Even if you leave, you'll still be influenced everyday by whatever's going on in the states, so you may as well stay and have a say and at least attempt to make a difference.


That's my view anyway :shrug:
 
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