As we slowly approach election day there is a heated debate going on within the conservative camp regarding “what is to be done”. Do we stay home? Do we cross the aisle and vote for a fairly conservative guy like Harold Ford Jr.? Do we hold our nose and vote Republican anyway?
” I have made it a rule of my life never to regret and never to look back. Regret is an appalling waste of energy… you can’t build on it; it’s only good for wallowing in.” - Katherine Mansfield
I agree. That’s why I think it is time for folks to face facts and start putting their last few weeks of energy into what we know we can salvage and even gain. So who’s hot and who’s not?
Conrad Burns - NOT. The liberals were just drooling over the Jack Abramoff affair. This was going to be the big scandal that rocked the GOP right out of Washington. Well, that was wishful thinking really. It was just too early and people have short memories, but it won’t disappear into the annals of past political sleaze without one casualty and that will be Senator Burns. Democrat Jon Tester has given Burns quite a walloping this year using Abramoff to inflict a heavy toll. Burns has been down well out of the margin of error for a few weeks now in every poll that has come out. That, with a state that has been trending more blue as of late, is just bad news for Burns. The GOP should write him off and put their money where it can be more effective.
Mike DeWine - Goodbye. There is simply nothing good to say about the Ohio Republican Party with the exception of Ken Blackwell. They are corrupt. They abandoned the principles of Goldwater and Reagan a long time ago. Republican voters don’t vote in Republicans so that they can raise taxes, chase out jobs, pork barrel spend, and roll around in a trough of power, corruption, and greed. The best way to save the Ohio GOP is to clean house by any means at this point. Sometimes taking a step back is the way forward. DeWine is trailing to a rabid Socialist. In a fairly conservative state like Ohio, that’s not a good reflection of the party’s character among the voters.
Rick Santorum - Pack your bags. Oh, how it pains me to have to write off my own Senator, especially after his bumper sticker was ripped off my car in Philadelphia last week along with the redecorating of my driver’s side door by that tolerant liberal’s key. I finally had to make myself face the facts last week. Rick just can’t do it. He has always been a polarizing figure and has never won either of his previous Senate races by large margins, but people respected Rick for standing his ground and speaking his mind. That respect whithered away two years ago when he firmly backed Arlen Specter over his conservative primary challenger, then Congressman Patrick Toomey. A lot of people were upset and swore they would never support Rick again. I really thought most people would get over it come two years later, but conservatives really don’t trust Rick any longer. Adding fuel to the fire is a perceived conservative Democrat challenger whose father was a very popular pro-life Democrat governor. Though he has narrowed the gap, not a single poll has come out all year with Rick ahead of Bob Casey, Jr. This is a recipe for an Election Night disaster.
So where do we divert all of this money? George Allen’s race is a little too close for comfort and while I think he will have a decent showing, the GOP shouldn’t take any chances. Jim Talent has served us well, but he is neck and neck with a leftist nutjob who does not in any way represent the mainstream values of the people of Missouri. Jim needs the bulk of the money. Then, of course, the Republicans have their two pick up opportunities in New Jersey and Maryland. While I am not all that fond of Tom Kean, him stealing a New Jersey Senate seat keeps us in the majority. As for Michael Steele, the Republicans would have to adopt the jackass symbol of the Democrats if they don’t spare every resource they have for that race. Michael Steele is the future of the Republican Party, the GOP of the 21st Century.
Yeah, I know. I left out Lincoln Chafee. He might win; he might lose. Who really cares? I get sick every time I think of the millions of dollars Liddy Dole sunk into that Rhode Island primary that could now be going to these other guys. Maybe if she had taken a couple of Bob’s Viagaras she would have risen to the occassion.
The Republican Party moved quickly today to deny a New York Times report that the GOP is pulling out of embattled Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine’s re-election bid to focus on Senate races in which it faces better odds of winning, like those in Missouri, Tennessee, and possibly Virginia.
“The evidence of our commitment [to DeWine] is that we’re putting our money where our mouth is,” Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman said on a call with reporters this morning. “No state will receive more resources from the RNC than Ohio.”
There was talk early on in the campaign season of possible primary challenges to Mike DeWine. It is unfortunate that they never materialized because Mike DeWine cannot win this race. A 20 plus year incumbent does not trail his challenger in every poll this close to Election Day and still pull off a victory. DeWine is getting toasted by a series of Republican scandals in the Buckeye State as well as the backlash of conservatives towards a state party riddled with the RINO disease. DeWine, himself, has never been a warm friend of conservatives so there is no saving grace for him in those regards. I personally won’t be losing sleep over his loss, however, it does pain me that he will replaced by a member of the Democratic Socialists of America.
Two respected polls last week showed DeWine trailing his opponent by 6 to 14 percentage points, while a third, by the University of Akron, found the contest to be in a dead heat, with roughly 14 percent of voters undecided.
Wow! Today’s Survey USA poll has Michael Steele tied with Ben Cardin for the Maryland Senate race!
Toss-Up For Open MD US Senate Seat: In an election for U.S. Senator in Maryland today, 10/18/06, Republican Michael Steele and Democrat Ben Cardin tie, according to a SurveyUSA poll conducted exclusively for WMAR-TV Baltimore and WUSA-TV Washington DC.
Michael Steele has been a rising star in the Republican Party and winning this Senate race could bring even bigger things in the future for him.