Note to House Republicans: Last one out, turn off the lights
By Steve Benen Wednesday Jan 30, 2008 7:20amWe reported yesterday that Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.) is the latest House Republican incumbent to announce his retirement, but it's also worth keeping in mind that the GOP's exodus leaves the party in a very tough spot this year.
A swelling exodus of senior Republican incumbents from the House, worsened by a persistent disadvantage in campaign money, threatens to cripple Republican efforts to topple the Democratic majority in November.
Representative Tom Davis, a moderate from Northern Virginia, on Wednesday became the fifth House Republican in the last week to announce that he would not seek re-election.
That puts the roster of retirees at 28, one of the highest numbers recorded for the party in the House.
With only five Democratic seats opening so far, party strategists and independent analysts say the disparity in open seats — typically the most competitive House fights, as voters oust relatively few incumbents — makes it highly unlikely that Republicans could seize the seats necessary to regain the House. The current House has 199 Republicans and 232 Democrats, with four vacancies to be filled by special elections.
“The open-seat situation is so lopsided as to deny Republicans any chance of taking back the House in 2008,” said David Wasserman, who analyzes House races for The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan publication.
It couldn’t have happened to a more appropriate group of people.
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It couldn’t have happened to a more appropriate group of people.
People were saying the same thing in 1994. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. It's only a matter of time before Democrats again answer the call.
This coupled with national polls showing that voters trust democratic candidates more than Republicans....
GWBush...the destroyer of parties...
All these GOPers can now retire in peace, with the secure and happy knowledge that the government is going to be firmly in the hands of corporatist prostitutues and stealth Republicans who have successfully infiltrated and taken over the Democratic Party. Mission accomplished.
Almost makes me want to believe in hope again. Now its the Democrats' turn to be whorporate pawns.
it's a cycle the country goes through.....the repub's screw it up...and...the Dems try to fix it.But this time around...they not only have screwed it up...they're bailing out of Govt faster than the 101st airborne..on D-Day
GWBush…the destroyer
of parties…Fixed.
The Democrats are poised to strengthen their majorities in both the House and Senate. Unfortunately, even with a strong majority in Congress and a Democrat in the WH, we cannot expect them to -
1. Repeal the Patriot Act
2. Restore Habeas Corpus
3. Reverse Bushs tax cuts, and bring back the Estate Tax
4. Pass a retro-active impeachment of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice
5. Opt-out of NAFTA
And the list goes on....
It's a little troubling that the moderate repukes are getting out, instead of the right-wing zealots who've alienated voters. But whatever.
maxbaer (a replica only) @ 6:
Dvs is that you?....and thanks for the correction.
They served their purpose, they looted the treasury and now they will take their ample pension and will join the Lobby Industry and mine for what gold can still be harvested from our Government. There are dependents and there are parasites, and then there are Repug-Dependent-Parasites. We need to eliminate the R-D-P for they truly endanger the health of our government and our Nation.
Radically Moderate @ 10:
Yep......I have to agree with you RM....lobbiests...where the real money is.It's like cheese to a rat..
Problem is that Republicans filibuster the Senate and Dems cave in every time and do whatever they want. The house doesn't seem to matter at all especially with impeachment off the table.
They need to bulldoze K Street.
Then the corproate whores can either be part of the solution, or part of the new pavement.
none of these remaining candidates will curtail lobbiests....same old sh!t
"Boom Boom! Out go the lights." -Little Walter
As that notable movie noted; "their baaaack"!, and back they will be, as lobbyists. The real problem with a coming Democratic majority in the House ( and probably the Senate as well) is who will notice?
As one poster astutely noted above:
Dhalgren Says: "The Democrats are poised to strengthen their majorities in both the House and Senate. Unfortunately, even with a strong majority in Congress and a Democrat in the WH, we cannot expect them to -
1. Repeal the Patriot Act
2. Restore Habeas Corpus
3. Reverse Bushs tax cuts, and bring back the Estate Tax
4. Pass a retro-active impeachment of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice
5. Opt-out of NAFTA
And the list goes on…."
The real question, for progressives and liberals of all stripes, is; will the democratic majority be more responsive to the wishes of those who put them there? The answer ,I fear, based upon the '06 campaign that gave them a slim majority, is not a chnace!
mhj555 @ 13:
Could we get JR Edwards to drive the bulldozer? Outta be worth some media coverage--
i fail to see how more dems in the house will bring about any significant change to the direction of this country.
Jeez, why go on? According to most that have posted up to this point, if the Democrats are in power, we're screwed; if the Republicans remain in power, we're screwed (recent events bears the latter out).
Why even get out of bed when such pessimism is all that you can see? Especially since government in one form or another permeates our entire lives. I don't by any stretch assume that all will be perfect when Democrats assume power (unlike some, I think spending, as long as it isn't on warfare or weapons is a good thing) but the odds are pretty good that Democrats will bring a much needed empathy for the average person in the street.
Which isn't to say that there will not be problems, but then again they are only human. Many of the problems that many seem to blame on government (wasteful spending, duplication of services, bloat, etc) can be just as easily be laid at the feet of symptoms of unchecked capitalism as much as anything else.
smo @ 17:
We need public financing of campaigns. Until that happens, it's going to to be another version of the same old story. We know what republics are all about; we shouldn't be surprised. But with this horrendous system of legalized bribery, the Democrats act like repub lite. According to Thom Hartmann, if every worker in this country (~=120 million people) paid 10 dollars a year, we could publicly finance every campaign and seriously reduce influence peddling.
mhj555 @ 13:
Catepillar has some special machines designed for Israel to bulldoze Palestenian homes . . .we could use those?
http://www.catdestroyshomes.org/article.php?id=305
jwf @ 20:
We need to go D.C. and throw the bums out. There are some good new links at my informational web page.
I agree wholeheartedly with the cynicism expressed by other posters. I also think that these open seats may be some of the reason that some big Congressional Dems are endorsing Obama. Most voters are not informed. They go to the polls with their choice for president and will often often vote a pretty straight ticket. A presidential candidate who can bring out more, and new, voters helps Congressional chances.
I am not saying that HRC won't help gain those seats or that i support BHO. I am only saying that a candidate with coattails that are long and wide would be advantageous, because to overturn the evil that has been done will require not only a Democratic president, but also majorities in both houses. (This of course, assumes that the Democratic Party has any intentions of making those changes...and i wish i were more convinced of that.)
Yay! now the democats can start screwing us over.
And here, here on getting rid of the lobbyists, which can only be done by campaign finance reform. And that should be a matter of public referendum. Expecting the political parties and the politicians to reform that system is like putting the fox on guard of the henhouse and expecting eggs for breakfast the next morning...
Avid Reader @ 22:
I agree, many should be thrown out. But until the system is changed, they'll be replaced by other bums. The saying in my grandfather's time was "politics makes thieves out of honest men". It's just as true today. You will never get the money out of politics, you just have to find a less corruptible source.
I suggest that we must all bare in mind that every moderate repubilcan who leaves creates the possibility of an extreme right wing replacement.
Ah, the wonders of the free market! It's market forces making themselves known here. The Republican brand has fallen out of favor; a new product is in order. There is voracious demand for it all over the country. One party lines up to supply it, while the other...has a hard time with its' profit margin. It can't even get any 'buy-in' from its' previously enthusiastic patrons, the corporations...that are hoping to gain footholds with the opposition in the same way it has with the previous bunch.
I'm just waiting to hear one of the Repubs make some crack about 'predatory capitalism' regarding such fiascoes as the sub-prime mortgage mess..shallow and unself-conscious as they are, I expect it any day, now...
Unsean @ 19:
Agreed! Total pessimism gets us nowhere. In fact, that's what the Repukes are counting on! Don't empower these fucks. Fight them - every step of the way.
I was just over at a repug site...and their discussing McCain.Over 900 comments.And 95 %...are anti McCain....from conservatives.....not Dems......they can't stand him.And their not too happy with Romney either.
mhj555 @ 13:
I'd like to see them as part of the pavemnt. Start by planting a bush.
I'm still trying to picture a solution.
This country is destroyed.
the funny thing is....they're saying the same thing.....that they will NOT vote for McCain..(similar too what some people say about Hillary........they also think she will beat him easily.)
After CNN panel-pundit Carl Bernstein declared the SC primary, which Obama won, as "the worst night in Hillary Clinton's life", Jeralyn at TalkLeft asked readers to vote for the worst pundit.
I had already noted Bernstein's comment when I read this idiocy about the same night:
Whuh? Is this detail intended to convey HRC's mournful inner monologue of devastation ... by handbag? Or is the fact that it's black one of those oblique racist references that zooms over my head, even after CNN airs it a few hundred times as a rock'em sock'em gotcha? I immediately flashed on that movie starring Matthew McConaughey and Samuel L. Jackson, and McConaughey suddenly whirling around and saying, "Now imagine if the handbag was black!!!"
Pundit insanity has become so torrential and weird, it's lapped any candidate craziness by a mile. I'm including batshit crazy apocalyptic Repugs here, so clearly the Village Idiots and Loons are jockeying hard for who will win the title of Mayor of Simpleton.
Since the Dem and Repug primaries are winnowing their ultimate choices for the prez/veep tickets, the lefty blogs that aren't entirely invested in the Dem Coke/Pepsi taste-off should hold the Stoopid Pundit Primaries. Lou Dobbs gets a buy-in for his long, agonizing descent into madness.
I don't have a dog in this fight and am more interested in what the douchebags in congress are trying to slip past us than on the horse race BS and pundit mind melds, so this is a lazy way of not missing the more hilarious moments.
Mainly, I'm not done yet laughing at David "The Mister Blackwell of Punditstan" Gergen's clairvoyant promise that Hillary would be shifting "to her softer side." Gosh, DG, she didn't think you noticed! (He also pronounced McCain as "authentic".)
Unsean @ 19:
It isn't pessimism, my friend.
It's called an historical perspective.
Read a few history books, then some Vonnegut.
Just because this will bug me otherwise ...
I meant to post my comment above in the Open Thread but refreshed to this one instead. Don't want to be a thread killer, so apologies for the OT.
The voters will not rest until the Republican Party is purged from our government. Their destructive practices, under the guise of so-called 'compassionate conservative' they have in effect destoyed our political system. From the blowhard radio hosts to Faux News, people our becoming braindead pinheads. What I would give to be proud of independant voters.
peaceful easy feeling @ 1:
If that's the case, let it be 40 years from now. It's funny how the repugs proved to be totally corrupt in about 12 years. How's that Contract with America going?
nonbeliever @ 36:
Forgot to mention the Dems held the House for 40 years before they lost it in 1994.
mudshark @ 29:
I agree, but rightwing repugs will unite in the end. That has been their strong suite all along, when it comes to election time. The question will be,can dems unify in the end and stick to the repugs come nov.
Ethics reform? Please?
Oh goody now the dems will be able to get a majority and things will change,
Oh wait a sec,
nevermind.
Not to distract from the usual "Dems are as bad as Repubs" discussion, but back on topic:
One interesting thing that the article didn't point out was that 3 of the 5 Democrats who are leaving are doing so to run for Senate, two of which (with the "two liberal Udalls") are open seats. AFAIK, only two of the 28 Republicans are leaving to run for Senate, and both of those are in New Mexico.
Are they -
- Avoiding being in the minority ... or ...
- Racing to a cushy lobbyiest job ... or ...
- Leaving before the Reichstag fire.
The nominally Democratic House has been more effective than the GOP obstructed Senate; however, an increase in the size of the Democratic House majority might give it a badly needed DINO-proof majority (if such a thing is possible). I have suspect that some of the things that Pelosi is being blamed for are actually symptoms of a significant DINO infestation weakening the majority. With any luck a few DINOs will bite the dust in the primaries and a some progressives will assume the seats of the departing GOPers.
peaceful easy feeling @ 1:
You liberals make me sick! Here we have an opportunity to finally make some changes in this country and all you do is whine and moan about how the big bad capitalists will just co-opt the dems. Well, yes they will if you let them! This is still a democracy (mostly), get off your ass and do something. In the 80's I worked with people from South America who risked beatings, jail, death, and torture to bring social justice to their countries. Yet most Americans can't even take the time to stop watching their TV and vote or attend a demonstration. Progressives have a chance to change the Democratic party just like the religios right did to the Republicans. In some ways of course it will be harder since we won't have the corporate media to help but in other ways it is easier because unlike the Republicans we don't have to put out propaganda to make people work against their own interests, we actually ARE working for the interests of everyone except the top 5%. No more whining!
right wing hater @ 2:
Maybe GWB is a Democrat in Republican clothing, trying to destroy the party from the inside, trying to saddle the party with huge albatrosses like the War in Iraq and the economy and Katrina, trying to undermine his Daddy's and Grampa's legacy.
If that's the case, he's doing a bang-up job.
Does anyone get the sense that these republican politicians are cashing out their dividends for the 8 years of doing Bush's/Rove's bidding?
In case the analogy has not been made
Republicans : "retiring" :: Rats : sinking ship
Davis isn't that bad. He's done a lot for the DC representation movement. I think he pretty accurately reflects Northern Virginia, which has put Senator Webb and Gov. Kaine on the national stage. This is great news for Mark Warner though. Davis was the one Republican who could have challenged him for the seat of the departer Sen. John Warner. Good stuff. It's crazy how in my short lifetime the state of Virginia has gone from red to blue.
take back the house?
TAKE BACK THE HOUSE?
the GOP will be lucky to still have a key to the door...
DEMs are showing up at the polls 2 to 1... Republicans are deserting their stinking ship...their sinking shit...their ship of fools....
TAKE BACK THE HOUSE?
with a little luck the dems will take the number necessary to make the reps sad and lonely
Finally.......
They're M-E-L-T-I-N-G....
Ahhhhhhhhhh..........!
:-o
I'll feel the country's safe again only when they're all gone.
Dhalgren @ 7 "even with a strong majority in Congress and a Democrat in the WH, we cannot expect them to -
1. Repeal the Patriot Act"
The Patriot Act renewal in 2006 was a ripoff, and (liberal) Senate Dems are quite pissed off about it. The restrictions put in Senate amendment were stripped out in conference committee. That anger will still be there when we have a President who can sign those restrictions into law.
"2. Restore Habeas Corpus"
There is already a bill in the Senate to do so. It will pass either this year or next, and be signed into law.
"3. Reverse Bushs tax cuts, and bring back the Estate Tax"
Highly likely in the next Administration. The current fight is to block making his tax cuts permanent.
"4. Pass a retro-active impeachment of Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Rice"
There is no such thing. Impeachment ONLY removes from power -- it carries no other penalty.
"5. Opt-out of NAFTA"
NAFTA and CAFTA were both opposed by Progressive Dems in the House. In the case of CAFTA, we came within one vote of blocking it -- the R kept the vote open for three hours after midnight, as they strongarmed their Reps. Both laws will be revised in years ahead -- it really depends on how big a caucus we have how much these mistakes of the past can be addressed.
What would Zeus do? @ 44:
There are 48 Blue Dogs. If we gain the possible 40-45 seats, we could negate their defection.
Currently, 235 Dems minus 50 BD = 185 votes, versus 200 R plus 50 BD = 250 votes. Negate that 50 flop by taking away say 40 R, and the House will be much more effective (provided we retain a Progressive Speaker).
Bush the Liar @ 12:
Sure, the House doesn't matter. Minimum wage increase, Pell Grants increase, two passages of SCHIP, adding GLB to Employment Nondiscrimination Act (ENDA), forcing the EPA to continue listing endangered species, blocking the drilling of ANWR, raising CAFE fuel efficiency standards, funding Katrina reconstruction, passing FISA RESTORE (with no offer of immunity at any point), and running two of the most important committees in the Congress (Judiciary and Government Oversight) which pretty much kept the lights on during very dark times, and so on. No, the House doesn't matter.
As for the Senate, don't expect much change. The Dem caucus is split 25-25, and that split will not go away any time soon. That is the explanation for the caving -- which is not understood if you think it's the "Democrats" caving. It is not -- it is 25 DINO Senators voting for their real constituency in the corporations. Until those 25 are replaced (and/or R Senators are replaced by good D), that situation will continue to plague us.
There are FAR MORE Democrats in the House than in the Senate. Having the view that the House doesn't matter and then blaming all those House Dems for the situation in the Senate is PERFECT for continuing to confuse spin for a fair appraisal.
MikeD @ 45:
Nice pep-talk. Now let's storm the political beaches! Just lead the way.
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