Thursday Open Thread

Filed in National by on January 7, 2010

It’s Thursday and it’s open thread time. Where did I put my needle?

The good Chris Matthews was out yesterday and he asked a Republican strategist a trick question – what have Republicans done for us in the last 20 years?

It didn’t seem like an unreasonable question. Harris’ goal was to make the case for Republicans to take power, at least on the Hill, in the midterm elections. Matthews, to his credit, argued that the GOP record matters, and sought one example of the Republican Party doing something worthwhile over the last couple of decades. Eventually, Harris said, “The Bush administration kept the country safe.”

Matthews replied, “I just wanted to get the Republican bragging points straight here. So the Republican Party has kept us safe, except for 9/11. Is that the argument? No, really, because you had the worst attack on the American homeland in history, but you’re bragging about your ability to defend the country…. That’s your defense, right?”

Heh. You’d think a Republican strategist would be better prepared for that question. Republicans right now have trouble saying what they want to do (they only oppose things) and what their vision for the future is. More status quo?

Tags:

About the Author ()

Opinionated chemist, troublemaker, blogger on national and Delaware politics.

Comments (20)

Trackback URL | Comments RSS Feed

  1. anon says:

    Did you catch the Repub’s eye-roll when the Dem pointed out that Repubs “squandered the surplus?”

    Why anybody would let Repubs near power again defies reason.

  2. Scott P says:

    There’s always Tax Cuts for the Rich. That’ll fix anything that ails you. Whether you’ve got a massive surplus or a debilitating deficit, Tax Cuts for the Rich is always the right move.*

    *Disclaimer: You must actually be rich to see benefits from TCfrR. If not, your mileage may vary. Mileage, or course, meaning “amount that you’re screwed”.

  3. anon says:

    Also from the linked dKos article, a ray of sunshine:

    “Joe Lieberman isn’t popular enough with the Democrats or the Republicans to receive their nomination for the Senate in 2012,” said Dean Debnam, President of Public Policy Polling. “And since the independents don’t like him much these days either it’s hard to see how he’ll be around for another term.”

    Karma is sweet but much too slow.

  4. anon says:

    Lieberman will retire, but I am betting he will time his retirement to give maximum help to Republicans rather than Democrats.

  5. Von Cracker says:

    Conservatives are delusional.

    Come to think of it, I really can’t come up with anything beneficial Repubs/Conservatives have done for this country….what, coordinated with Dems to pass a balanced budget thing-a-ma-jig?

    Shit, they squandered the spoils of that, so I guess that’s a NO.

    BTW – Lieberman is a cartoon-character dog whom no one likes. Hope he relishes the overwhelming hatred most have for him when he’s about to make the ol pine-box appointment.

    Hope too that his family realizes that when most speak of Joe, it is, and forever will be, prefaced with the phrase “That a$$hole”.

    With a legacy like that, I’d rather be an average private citizen!

  6. Von Cracker says:

    if i spend time commenting, with no links, etc, and it gets labeled as SPAM, why bother commenting in the first place?

    fix your shit.

    – see you fixed it….nice.

  7. pandora says:

    Sorry, VC. Sh*t fixed!

  8. anon says:

    VC – I bet your two dollar signs in a row are a spam marker.

  9. MJ says:

    Interior Secretary Ken Salazar will not run for Governor of Colorado and has endorsed Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper. “Hick” is widely popular in the state and initial polling showed both he and Salazar beating the presumptive Rethuglican nominee Scott “drill here baby” McInnis.

  10. Von Cracker says:

    likely, anon.

    Might as well typed bUY_CAnADIan_mEDs_NoW instead. 🙂

  11. cassandra_m says:

    Wow — Hickenlooper is a great candidate!

  12. Brooke says:

    Do you HAVE any Canadian meds, VC? Just askin’ 😉

  13. nemski says:

    Winter Weather Advisory for New Castle, DE

    THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN MOUNT HOLLY HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SEVERAL INCHES OF SNOW… WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM MIDNIGHT TONIGHT TO NOON EST FRIDAY.

    OVERNIGHT TEMPERATURES WILL FALL TO THE MID TEENS IN THE POCONOS TO THE LOW AND MIDDLE TWENTIES ELSEWHERE. MEANWHILE… AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE WILL SWEEP ACROSS THE REGION SPAWNING LOW PRESSURE AT THE SURFACE ALONG THE NEW JERSEY COAST. THERE WILL BE ENOUGH MOISTURE AHEAD OF THE LOW TO BRING A COUPLE INCHES OF SNOW TO THE REGION. THE SNOW WILL SPREAD INTO THE AREA FROM THE WEST SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT. THE WIND SHOULD NOT BE AN ISSUE WHICH MEANS A MORE UNIFORM SNOWFALL ACROSS THE AREA.

    THE SNOW WILL ACCUMULATE AT THE OUTSET BUT WILL BECOME A LITTLE HEAVIER LEADING UP TO THE MORNING COMMUTE CAUSING SLIPPERY ROADS AND A LONGER THAN NORMAL RIDE TO WORK OR SCHOOL. TEMPERATURES WILL BARELY RISE ABOVE FREEZING ON FRIDAY.

    ONCE THE LOW PRESSURE REACHES THE COAST… IT WILL INTENSIFY AND BRING A RETURN OF WINDY COLDER WEATHER LATE FRIDAY INTO SATURDAY.

    A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW… SLEET… OR FREEZING RAIN WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. BE PREPARED FOR SLIPPERY ROADS AND LIMITED VISIBILITIES… AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.

  14. just kiddin says:

    The briefing today on “what happened Christmas Day”. Did anyone pick up on Helen Thomas’s question to Janet Nap and Brennan? Both totally ignored and talked over the question that needs answering. Thomas asked, “Why are they doing this”? Why are they doing this, we are slaughtering muslims who are innocent. One report states, we are killing 3 afgani children every day with those drones?

    How many innocent women, children, elderly have we killed during Iraq, Afganistan? Word is the B52’s bombers have left Louisana, the last time it happened we invaded Iraq. Too many questions not nuff answers for me.

  15. Von Cracker says:

    Hopefully we all will very soon, Brooke.

    Don’t shout, Nem 😉

  16. cassandra_m says:

    Anybody here remember Andy Seré? He briefly whizzed through the Delaware Liberal blog trying to twist writers’ posts into anti-Carney material shortly after Castle announced.

    Anyway, dear old Andy has apparently graduated to gay-baiting a Dem congressional candidate in Tennessee. John Avarosis, though, checks Seré’s Facebook page and provides plenty of evidence that Andy may just be gay-bait himself. And for good measure — Jesus’ General reminds Seré where he might be on an absolute scale of manly.

  17. Lieberman’s problem is that he won’t take a side. He gets anti-health deform forces on his side then abandons them to vote with Democrats. The Dems are mad that there is no “public option” partially because of him (there were others but he took the lead), conservatives are mad that he let such a lousy bill go forward. What does that leave him?