Hello! Weclome to the my blog.

Hello! Welcome to the my blog.

To Ladyjedi.. Give me a break.

I hope Michael takes the job. He would do a great job. Amazing, folks never said this when Ed Rendell took the job. It allowed him to propel himself to Gov of Pennsylvania. I liked Michael's ads and was a supporter. Still am! I would rather he take the RNC job, the HUD job.

it appears that recieving the benefit of a fairly standard six-year legislative shift has the capacity to amplify progressives' raving, paranoic hatred.

it appears that recieving the benefit of a fairly standard six-year legislative shift has the c apacity of amplify progressives' raving, paranoic hatred.

Thank you for your perspective, Star11. I've been reading about these stories about what was done at the last minute in Maryland...it's all depressingly similar to other unethical attempts to influence African American voters in previous races. Steele may not have known what was going on, of course...I doubt Bush knew what kind of an operation his people ran against McCain in the South Carolina primaries back in 2000, at least not directly. Handlers seem to have learned that it's best to insulate their candidates from that kind of ugly. Still, it was his campaign and Steele deserves responsibility for whatever was done in an attempt to get him elected.

Did Steele talk about his Republican bona fides? As a Senate candidate it would be hard to hide his party affiliation, but in a Blue State I can certainly see the advantage of never uttering the R-word during the campaign...especially this year. It would be ironic if the RNC chair hadn't been a gung-ho Republican during his candidacy.

If his track record as a Lt. Governor is as poor as you say, Steele'd be a disaster as RNC chairman. Any organization so big and complex demands a very competent manager.

Joshua:

As a Maryland resident, I can tell you that the Steele campaign was good (as far as ads and so forth) - but he pulled some bad things at the end - bussed in homeless people from Philly and had them handing out fliers indicating that Steele had received endorsement from several high-profile blacks - which he did, but not the people on the fliers. He also put out some pretty bad signs at the end - sort of reverse racism.

As Lt. Governor, he accomplished absolutely ZERO - one memo on the death penalty (which he opposes) that is private. There isn't anything else that he did. He has failed at everything in his previous life as well - an appointment as RNC chairman might be fine, but if he is given an appointment in the administration, as is rumored as well, it would be the equivalent of Michael Brown running FEMA.

Pardon me if I'm wrong (I don't live in Maryland) but isn't Steele one of the Republicans who ran without really talking about being Republicans? Can someone who saw this race comment on that?

Also, how were his organizational competencies as Lt. Governor? That's going to be the deciding factor in whether or not he could cut the mustard as RNC Chairman. It's not a post that calls for charisma (witness Mehlman) it's a position that calls for not sleeping EVER and worrying yourself to an ulcer-induced early grave.

CNN is reporting that Mehlman will step down at the end of hte year. . .

We need someone with a proven record of positive results as our next RNC chairman, not a man who has no voting record on the issues and has never won an election on his own accord. I think Gov. Huckabee of Arkansas would make a great RNC chairman, however. He would be able to hold it until 2008, when an Ark. senate seat opened up.

Plus he loves puppies! That will bring out Republican voters in droves.

I think it's great, more power to Mr. Steal, I mean Steele. Based on his performance in 2006, he can mobilize hundreds of homeless people to pose for photo ops and whatnot, just like he did for his own campaign. And he's not even gay like Ken Mehlman.

Steele is despicable, and this stunt should end his political career once and for all:

Homeless Man to GOP Pol: "No One Has the Right to Use Me That Way"

By Justin Rood - November 9, 2006, 12:59 PM

A Philadelphia Inquirer columnist tracked down one of the unfortunate locals who had been tricked by the Michael Steele for Senate campaign to hand out deceptive pamphlets outside Maryland voting places. The result: a refreshingly candid indictment of the failed GOP candidate Steele, who now hopes to head up the Republican National Committee.

"I might not have a home," an outraged Yusuf El-Bedawi told the Inquirer's Ronnie Polaneczky, "but that doesn't mean I don't care about right and wrong. No one has the right to use me that way."

The Steele campaign recruited six busloads of poor and homeless Philadelphians to hand out flyers to Maryland voters portraying Steele and his ticketmate, governor Bob Ehrlich, as Democrats. Steele is currently Maryland's lieutenant governor; Ehrlich is governor.

"People started screaming, at us, 'Do you think we're that stupid? What are you trying to pull?' " El-Bedawi told the writer. "I said, 'I didn't know it was a lie! I'm from Philly!' And they said, 'Then go back to Philly!' "

"I am so angry and upset, I don't know what to do," said El-Bedawi, who's particularly shattered that he and at least 200 other Philadelphians didn't get home from Maryland in time to vote here.
"These people think we're too stupid to understand the magnitude of what we did."

What they did, said El-Bedawi, was cheat an entire community of unsuspecting voters.

And just because they didn't know they were doing it doesn't mean it doesn't feel awful.

www.tpmmuckraker.com

Awesome choice and a hell of a consolation prize for the RNC if he gets the position.

Wow, I've never seen such idiocy. You guys won...deal with it like adults. Steele has more intelligence, grace, and dignity than any Democrat in office.

is noted plagiarist ben domenech writing The Fix now? because on another blog he's also pushing the Steele for RNC story.

watch out, chris. he might be stealing your ideas.

what a great hire ben turned out to be. good times.

and please don't embargo this comment just b/c it mentions box turtle ben. it's relevant b/c it shows the company chris is keeping with this steele for RNC nonsense.

Welcome back drindl! One wonders (yet again) where your alter ego KofZ is.

The problem for the Republic Party vis a vis its standing with most Afro-American voters is its, not withstanding the words of Mehlman, long standing commitment to the "Southern Strategy" as evidenced by the Tennesee senate race. This has prevented them from fashioning programs (true faith based aid programs would have gnerated real enthusiasm among the socially conservtive Afro-American churhes in this country)that would cut into the Democratic (Not Democrat Republican idiots)Party dominance. If Ken Mehlman could not undo the Strategy, I doubt Michael Steele can.

Sure is a twisted sense of humor in the cosmos...

After this weird election cycle, if I said "Steele and Santorum both love puppies!" some people might blush...

There is no way that Steele should have won. The republicans would do well to stop all the mean spriited talk on the cable news shows and then maybe people would trust them. You can look at FOX 5 (I won't mention the journalists) and know that Afro Americans are not respected. They talk about Jesse Jackson and other black leaders with little or no respect unless they are Republicans. Afro Americans do not appreciate it. I don't think some of the journalists realize just how many couples are inter-racial and more are making the choice to marry other races.

Those busloads of homeless canvassers sounds like a Capitol One "pillagers" commercial...

Sounds like a great political ad for future campaigns, a busload of vandals pulls up to a neighborhood and they swarm the area, scaring children into their homes and eating puppies.

They LOVE puppies!

Losing by a 10% in a blue state during a strong Democratic Year against a highly respected opponent who is a fixture in Baltimore/DC Area politics is not that bad. Steele nor any other Republican stood a chance of winning a US Senate Seat in Maryland. Steele did slightly better that Bush did in 2004- Bush lost MD by 56-43 margin. Compare that to Swann of PA who lost by a 20% margin and Blackwell who lost by a 25% margin in a state that Bush narrowly won. and not so long ago the Democratic party in Ohio was dead.

Losing by a 10% in a blue state during a strong Democratic Year against a highly respected opponent who is a fixture in Baltimore/DC Area politics is not that bad. Steele nor any other Republican stood a chance of winning a US Senate Seat in Maryland. Steele did slightly better that Bush did in 2004- Bush lost MD by 56-43 margin. Compare that to Swann of PA who lost by a 20% margin and Blackwell who lost by a 25% margin in a state that Bush narrowly won. and not so long ago the Democratic party in Ohio was dead.

'At least six chartered buses carried mostly poor, black men from as far as Philadelphia to hand out inaccurate voter guides in Baltimore and Prince George's County yesterday as part of an effort by backers of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and U.S. Senate candidate Michael S. Steele to woo black voters.

The glossy voter guide, paid for by the Ehrlich and Steele campaigns, pictured three of Maryland's most prominent black Democrats above the words "These are OUR Choices," even though two were not on yesterday's ballot and the other was running unopposed. Inside, under the heading "Democratic Sample Ballot," it listed mostly Democratic candidates as the preferred choices -- along with Ehrlich and Steele, who were not identified as Republicans.'

Interesting analysis:

'Independents, who make up 26 percent of the national electorate, were the swing constituency. They voted for Democrats by a 59 percent to 37 percent margin.

"We haven't seen that big a vote for one party among independents since exit polling began about 30 years ago," said Schneider.

"[Swing voters] were supposed to be irrelevant, and in previous elections, for about the last 10 years, the swing voters have divided evenly, so who cares," Schneider said. "This year they really had their revenge."

Big winners behind the scenes in this, along with the Democrats?

MoveOn. org, they are so cool, they have really made a big difference;

Rahm Emanuel and Howard Dean (may they find each other at long last.)

C.R.E.W.

The Democratic Party (they will unite, even more than they have to get here)

The Republican Party...
The Republican Party?
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY?!?!?

In the waks of this politicalsea change that boosted them very unceremoniously from the top of the pile, 'How is that' you might ask?

Because this big loss has saved them from neocon hell. The Republican Party was headed towards perpetual war-for-profit as their only real agenda.

What they do with this salvation is up to them, but my advice would be to purge their ranks of the no-bid book cookers and get back to fiscal restraint and small government as their calling cards.

And return the burden of morality back to the hearts and minds of the people, instead of managing it for political purposes.

A young, black and charismatic leader like Steele (yes, guys, I said charisma, I'll give him that, and it is a rarity in Republican ranks) at the helm might go a long way towards helping the Republican Party get back to the public with its message and membership.

But that all depends on how beholden they remain to the multi-nationals and their new-world-order.

Perhaps you can tell me how an almost 12 point loss can, in any sane sense, be considered coming up "just short". Hey Chris, here in the real world we stopped looking at your outlier pre-election polls and started looking at, you know, THE RESULTS, starting on Wednesday.

Hey Chris-how about something relevant, like how Rumsfeld is the scapegoat [and deservedly so] for the R's loss?

'Iraq dominates the list of Rumsfeld errors because of the sheer enormity of his strategic mistakes. Indeed, his Iraq blunders should have cost him his job long before the 2006 midterm elections. From tinkering with troop deployments in 2002 and 2003, which ensured there were too few troops from the start, to micromanaging operations with his famed "8,000 mile screwdriver," to pushing for the disastrous twin policies of de-Baathification and disbandment for the Iraqi army, Rumsfeld's failures transformed the Iraq war from a difficult enterprise into an unwinnable one. Likewise, in Afghanistan, missteps by the Pentagon have left America's victory there unconsummated. Make no mistake: These were not tactical failures, made by subordinate military officers. Rather, these were strategic errors of epic proportions that no amount of good soldiering could undo. Blame for these strategic missteps lies properly with the secretary of defense and his senior generals, and, ultimately, with the White House.'

http://www.slate.com/id/2153319/nav/tap1/

Drindl;

You hit a coffin nail on the head here.

In this age of instant blogging, the R's hypocrisy factor from one race bleeds over to another.

And because of the access and scrutiny provided by bloggers, the public sees all of this, if only peripherally, but it still gets in to our collective psyche.

How can the RNC run racist "playboy" ads in Tennessee and not expect it to effect the same bigots in Maryland they're trying to influence in Tennessee.

Birds of a feather react together, and the "Cracker" ad may have muddied-up the Tennessee waters just like they hoped, but it surely did Steele no favors.

And I'm rethinking some of this whold season, I would guess the election was decided long before all the ads really came out (Sorry, Chris and Chris, but both your medias were just window dressing this time around.)

How many millions $ (I bet it was over a billion) did the medias rake-in on an election that was decidedly 60-40 or even more lopsided in the total picture?

Surely it was some sort of record!

Does anyone think these ads made all the difference? I don't think so, not this time around, the corruption issue was much too entrenched for the public to be swayed so easily.

I think it was a done deal when the Foley scandal broke, and before that it was already leaning hard against the r's.

Matbe its time for populist candidates like Heath Shuler and Nancy Boyda and Dave Loebsack to take this process over, and bring government back to The People.

Their victories over red country icons represent a wave of public demand for accountability that is being met with fresh alternatives.

I want someone who will always be for smaller government, and who hasn't lost in any political races that they run in to be the next RNC Chairman. If the Republicans keep picking someone who will only practice "big government conservatism" as well as keep "caving in" to all of the wants and wishes of the Democrats, then the Republican Party will only damage themselves even more for the long-term!

Advice to R's: You want black votes, don't run racist ads:

'Republicans had hoped the midterm election would brand 2006 as the year of the black Republican.

That did not happen.

With high-profile losses in Maryland's Senate race and in contests for governor in Ohio and Pennsylvania, prospects for Republican gains among black voters turned up short this year and gave scant hope for 2008.

Republican Michael Steele, Maryland's lieutenant governor, lost to Democrat Rep. Ben Cardin by almost 10 percent.

Ken Blackwell, a conservative darling who would have been Ohio's first black governor, lost by nearly 24 percent.

And Lynn Swann failed by 21 percent to secure the Pennsylvania governor's office.

The three black Republicans were touted as a new face for the party, which has been perceived as predominantly white for years. But Republicans have vowed -- and continue to vow -- to change that.

"History will show, these candidates represent a new breed of Republican leaders," said Tara Wall of the Republican National Committee. "This is just the beginning."

Wall insisted that the Republicans' sweeping defeats throughout the nation Tuesday would not hinder the party's future efforts to recruit black candidates.

The RNC had scheduled more than 100 outreach events to mobilize black voters, with more anticipated during the 2008 election.

Ron Walters, a former campaign official with Rev. Jesse Jackson and now a professor of government and politics at the University of Maryland, said Republicans have to identify candidates based on issues, not skin color.

"They have to have positions that are in line with the black community," he said. "If they can't attract the black vote, it won't pay off."

Exit polls showed 88 percent of blacks supported Democrats, about the same level of support as in the last few elections.

More than half were dissatisfied and just over a third were angry with President Bush's administration, figures higher than the general populace.

"The RNC kept talking about them like they (Swann and Steele) were their candidates," said David Bositis, a pollster with the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies which, according to its Web site, polls equal numbers of blacks and other Americans on vital issues. "Both of them got the nomination because the Republicans didn't have anyone else."

Meanwhile, black Republican candidates were running in only eight House races, the lowest number since 1990. Democrats fielded 41 black candidates.

"I don't think there was ever anything there," Bositis said. "It was (Republican National Committee Chairman) Ken Mehlman saying, breathlessly, we're doing all these things. .... If you're desperate, you can take whatever you think might work. They were desperate this year."

Republicans did little to help their image among blacks with the ad against Democratic Rep. Harold Ford Jr., who sought to replace Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist in Tennessee and become the first black senator from the South since Reconstruction.

The Republican National Committee ran one of the cycle's most replayed ads, featuring a bubbly blonde telling Ford to call her.

Critics said the commercial made an implicit appeal to deep-seated racial fears about black men and white women.'

And btw, Chris. Um, it really is embarrassing that the Dems have now swept BOTH houses of Congress and the headline at The Fix is about a loser who is being used by his party b/c of his skin color possibly maybe in a long shot to be the head of the totally demoralized RNC.

It really is embarrassingly poor reporting considering the events of the last couple days and the total transformation of the US Government. Get real, Chris, or go home.

>>>Republicans have to offer African-Americans something

And maybe cut back on the jungle drums in radio spots against black opponents (like the RNC did against Ford). Or maybe like not running candidates that have a Confederate flag and a noose in their office (like Macaca Allen).

Conservative TX Dem, I hear what you are saying, and it should really be about the policies first and foremost... But the Republicans make race an issue of not economics or social responsibility, but of skin color. Steele is a perfect example, as he is a Conservative and would vote for GOP issues down the line regardless of what he would say in public abt being independent. His policies would have been same ol' GOP (pro-rich, pro-corporation), just with a black face. And to me, that is as bad or worse than being openly racist.

Chris,

I would have to agree with most of the aforementioned.

I, myself, am African-American, and I really don't see the logic in Steele going for the chairmanship. In my view, Steele ran a decent, somewhat attractive race (considering just how "blue" Maryland is), but the people of Maryland were ultimately--to use a Bushism--the decider.

Steele lost the race, and winning would have given him--along with Mehlman--some credibility. I really don't see how Steele explains to the GOP that: 1) I lost the race for the U.S. Senate by 10% points, but 2) I'm willing to work hard, fight and make my party more of a "big tent." This just doesn't make sense. If anything, I could see someone like former Congressman J.C. Watts or the Reverend Jospeh Watkins; two African-American men who's conservative views are as well-known as they are themselves.

To echo sentiments from up above: the GOP just can't put a Black candidate running for office as a Republican, and expect Blacks to just vote for this person. As we all know, the Republican Party, over time, has not established a great working history with African-Americans, and that most Blacks feel the GOP does not know, represent or understand them; that the party, when it comes down to it, can not relate. This candidate has to have Blacks interests, values, beliefs and concerns at heart, or he or she will be viewed as an institutional, traditional Republican. It's not enough to say, "Look, this candidate's Black and we--the Party of Lincoln--are reaching out." This is shallow, void and insulting at best.

Conversely: the GOP does have something to offer African-Americans. I personally feel that a diverse, marketplace of ideas is a great and positive thing, and that the two major parties should represent how extraordinarily varied our country is, culturally speaking. However, the antidote for this mainly-Republican predicament will take more--in my view, as a young African-American--than just conveniently quoting the Bible, referencing Dr. King, refusing the invitations to attend the annual NAACP convention, cutting social programs that a great number of Blacks support and are dependent (according to the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies--a black, Washington think tank) and talking about contentious, cultural issues. Republicans have to offer African-Americans something, at all times and not just when they deem it politically expedient. Then and only then, will the GOP be that--what the party loves to dub itself--party of Lincoln.

Chris, maybe you should do a review of your own predictions, too. 47/2/51, a GOP Senate? 214/221, a house with only a small Dem majority? Hey, many readers turned out to be better pundits! :P

Seems to be a problem with firefox or my browser settings (which are focussed on security). In IE comments show up ok. Sry for double posting.

Hmm, my comment doesn't show up. Is this a problem with firefox or my entry in a moderation queue now?

Chris, would you pls do a posting on the accuracy of the readers' predictions in the interactive 'Pick your Senate' feature? I just checked my entry (sanity will prevail!) and I think it was quite respectable, forecasting a 51/1/48 Senate and a 236/199 House. Not too far from the actual results. Many others seem to have had the right ideas, too, while some right-wingers obviously were living in a bubble (a GOP House, come on...). Has there been a clear winner, someone who had all the right choices, or at least the right numbers? Would be nice to know if there were readers who were better informed than the pundits!
:)

Chris, would you pls do a posting on the accuracy of the readers' predictions in the interactive 'Pick your Senate' feature? I just checked my entry (sanity will prevail!) and I think it was quite respectable, forecasting a 51/1/48 Senate and a 236/199 House. Not too far from the actual results. Many others seem to have had the right ideas, too, while some right-wingers obviously were living in a bubble (a GOP House, come on...). Has there been a clear winner, someone who had all the right choices, or at least the right numbers? Would be nice to know if there were readers who were better informed than the pundits!
:)

The Fix Headline for 9Nov06
by Chris Cillizza

General Warren Boutwell Consedes Defeat in MD Senate Race 2006:
Opperation Whitewash ends in a political rout.

THANK YOU UNDERCOVER BROTHER!!!!
U mess wit da 'fro, U got ta GO!

If the RNC knows like I do, they won't touch him. Steele is political toxic waste. Besides, with all the newly unemployed lackeys and empty suits he can't possibly be first in line for that job.

Quite a few mensa candidates on this thread.

Steele ran for Senate against Milkuski and Sarbanes and did not win, what made this idiot think that the black voters in Maryland were going to vote.

Oh Chris, your Michael Steele bias is showing again and even the facts can not stop your lies. As for Ken Mehlman, he leaves as a total failure. He lose an election of historic proportions, not picking up a single seat from the Democrats, and losing the House, Senate, Gov's tally and many state houses. Plus his much promoted outreach (promoted by the same hacks who think Steele was charismatic and lost by a narrow margin) netted nothing and was tainted by GOP voter suppression and race-baiting tactics. Mehlman's "I see nothing wrong with that ad" moment about the Tennessee race will go down with Willie Horton as one of the most digusting political stunts ever. Outreach indeed.

I have only two words on this subject: Alan Keyes.

"I would love for Steele to become Chairman of the GOP. Democrats (i.e. True Americans) would control the Federal and State Governments for decades. The man is pathetic." - Michael

Hey Michael, if you're implying that people other than Democrats are not "True Americans" then I am curious to know your morale authority in passing judgment on approximately 200 million people (to include Republicans, Libertarians, Green party backers, and independents). If it's just the bravado talking, then this is a great example of why your party is no better than anything else we've seen in Washington. Just so you know, I am a moderate Republican - that just so happens to be happy that the election has changed the face of Washington for a while - but I am a Republican nonetheless. I've performed service to my country for over eight years now. While everyone has a right to free speech (yes, I really believe that), it is not the right thing to do to judge so many people. The irony is that I bet you consider Republicans hypocrites that pass judgment on others. Regardless, if your intent was to say that people who are not Democrats are not "True Americans" then I respectfully request that you take a long walk off a short pier. Quite frankly, I know that you have no grounds to judge me. I hope this is just a misunderstanding since context can be lost in text - otherwise this is an example of how the next two years will be no different from what we have already seen. If BOTH parties would get over their egos and get some work done, maybe we could have a good government. I'm a much bigger fan of good government than any political party.

Hey - you guys - stop posting here or we'll take away your field rations. I don't care what you think we did for you in the Civil War - this here contest is a REAL war - except not in Iraq - because us Republicans can't actually get our fat white bellies out to the fight.

Now, wait a minute. A'int no accountin' fo' that wolf in sheep's clothin'!

Oooh! Me's sees a nigga! Gonna vote Republican fo' sho' now!

Can't win with Mehlman the gay, can't elect Steele the African-American. This is despite lots of pandering and cheating (ask Kwasi) about Steele's bid.

At some point, all the people the Republicans hate and vote against the interests of will start to love them, right?

Whatta strategy - I'm starting to see how the apathy of the Democrats (aside from the vigorous and under-congratulated netroots) finally prevailed against the overwhelming stupidity of the Republicans.

Right. Because angry white sounterners can't wait to take orders from a black.

Did we just not learn that Virginia's voters nearly elected a confirmed racist to the senate? Steele is smokin' it if he thinks he's going to the chair.

Possibly worse, the RNC has gone bat-blind after yesterday and thought a black guy could rally the party or improve it's image.

Chris, you really don't get African Americans. They are probably the most sophisticated voters in the US. You want to win African American votes, try enacting policies that support a majority of African Americans, try not demonizing African American leaders who are about to become committee leaders in the US Congress, try not running ads against African American candidates that appeal to some people's worst instincts. It's not enough to say, hey, look, we are running a black candidate, vote for us. Republicans who hope to win African American votes need to start by respecting African Americans. Really, Chris, get over the Steele thing already. None of us, nor apparently the voters of Maryland, are nearly as impressed as you.

The RNC still doesnt get it. They can't just put a Black face out there and pretend that Blacks and other minorities will suddenly believe that the RNC cares about issues that are important to minorities. Minorities watch the news and surf the internet like anyone else and know that the RNC still panders to racists (like they did in TN against Harold Ford), engage in voter suppression tactics and care nothing about poor people. When the RNC demonstrates that it is serious about outreach to non-Whites and non-millionaires, it will receive support from minorities and poor people. Until then, they will get the same result that Steele got from his own kind: rejection

The RNC still doesnt get it. They can't just put a Black face out there and pretend that Blacks and other minorities will suddenly believe that the RNC cares about issues that are important to minorities. Minorities watch the news and surf the internet like anyone else and know that the RNC still panders to racists (like they did in TN against Harold Ford), engage in voter suppression tactics and care nothing about poor people. When the RNC demonstrates that it is serious about outreach to non-Whites and non-millionaires, it will receive support from minorities. Until then, they will get the same result that Steele got from his own kind: rejection

I have to agree - it is quite unbelievable to call Steele's loss 'just short' - I have seen this a couple of place and it is really boggling. So if Steele was 'just short,' was would describe Allen's loss to Webb?

If Steele came up "just short" yesterday, will history say the same of Jimmy Carter and Michael Dukakais in the '80s?

If I ever came up "just short" on my budget at work, I would be unemployed.

"Just short"? "Have you no shame, sir? Have you no shame?"

The AP is reporting that they are ready to award the VA race to Webb.

Help yourself to the sour grapes, Rufus- I'm feeling generous tonight. The numbers, however, will still be there- and they don't portend well for you if that's the best you come up with. Y'all had your chance- saying the other guy has no ideas only gets you so far when your own ideas are so soundly rejected by the American people.

rook, the Democrats sleep will be short lived as they are bereft of any ideas and will toast in 2 years flat.

I would love for Steele to become Chairman of the GOP. Democrats (i.e. True Americans) would control the Federal and State Governments for decades. The man is pathetic.

The difference between Steele and Mehlman and Dean is that Dean had harnessed the power of the Internet and his supporters knew how to get the word out via Internet - he raised more money through the internet than anyone else ever had - that is why he is Chairman. Steele doesn't bring anything like that to the RNC. Look at how much money the Dems raised this cycle - it was amazing.

Steele and Mehlman are both losers, so why should they be in charge of the RNC? Of course, Dean was a loser when the Dems picked him, and look at where he took them.

Political Buzz http://polibuzz.blogspot.com/
has a reader poll on what will happen to the GOP. I'm not sure that they're "extinct"...

gomer:

Thanks for the clarification.

gomer:

'FoxNews nearly wetted themselves when the WashingtonPost pulled their call last night of the MD Senate race. Turns out Steele vastly underperformed the areas he needed to win but the WashPost still pulled their call and nearly made FoxNews giddy.'

The way I read this, did the Post initially call the race for Steele? Please clarify. Guilty - didn't have the computer on until late. Sorry for the dumb question. . .

Posted by: star11 | November 8, 2006 07:46 PM

no actually, everyone was getting the same exit polling and vote results. WashingtonPost like everyone else projected Cardin to win almost right away. However as Cardin didn't take the lead right away, the Washingtonpost pulled their projection into the undecided column and the commentators on FoxNews lached onto this like Steele may pull it out yet.

Rufus- I really wouldn't be so proud of this race:

Cardin 847,238 54%

Steele 683,187 44%

If *that* is the Democratic Party's worst nightmare, then the Dems have even more reason to sleep soundly and sweetly tonight.

were those racist ads in tennessee part of the RNC outreach to minorities, chris?

Yes dupree, the Washington Post gleefully cast aside any pretense of being objective journalists and backed Ben Cardin to the max. Of coure the Sun was in lockstep (goosestep?) with them the whole way.

And in majority Democratic Maryland, Steele gave whiter-than-white Ben a run for his money.

Steele is the Democrats worst nightmare and he'll be hitting them again and again.

A bid???

What is he talking about, making a "bid"??? For the party that controls the White House the selection of the party chairman is made by the President.

AussiePundit:

And what you been smokin'? Steele can't win office without spending a substantial amount of time doing something that will actually build a successful resume - have you taken a look at what he has 'accomplished' and his 'credentials'? After the shenanigans he pulled, he won't be able to run here again.

How can it possibly take this long to count 1% of the vote in VA? It has been almost all day - haven't been keeping exact track but Webb seems to maintain about 7200 vote over Allen. Does anyone have a better idea of what is going on?

gomer:

'FoxNews nearly wetted themselves when the WashingtonPost pulled their call last night of the MD Senate race. Turns out Steele vastly underperformed the areas he needed to win but the WashPost still pulled their call and nearly made FoxNews giddy.'

The way I read this, did the Post initially call the race for Steele? Please clarify. Guilty - didn't have the computer on until late. Sorry for the dumb question. . .

Steele lost even with the help of homeless people bussed in by the Republicans from Pennsylvania to mislead people into thinking that Steele was a Democrat.

If he does become RNCC chairman, can we look forward to more patently illegal activity like this from the GOP? (well, I'm sure we can either way, it is their bread and butter after all)

Steele and Ford. Great candidates in difficult states who both got close to upset wins. I hope both go on to further prominence, and would see them either as potential gubernatorial candidates or Cabinet leaders after 2008.

Judge, you nailed it as usual. It's like hmm, what front are we going to put on THIS time.

We are finally, FINALLY will have some REAL governance for the first time in 6 years.

OT from Hotline On Call:

Republicans Will Pressure Allen... Soon

Top Republicans in Washington will give Sen. George Allen a few days to take stock of his legal and political options before beginning to pressure him to concede to James Webb. Senior Republican officials and White House aides believe that Webb won the race. Several outside advisers to Allen want him to make the decision quickly; others in his campaign want to make sure that there's no chance a cache of new votes will turn up. One question: when will (will?) the AP call the race? [MARC AMBINDER]

Posted at 05:23 PM

http://hotlineblog.nationaljournal.com/archives/2006/11/republicans_wil.html

Just concede so Webb can get to work.

I've got to agree with the others here, Chris. Your adulation of Michael Steele has surpassed distracting and has entered the realm of creepy. The man lost by 10% and still holds off on conceding...for what? The magical ballots that his RNC handlers have promised will materialize simply because he has brown skin? He ran a few good commercials, some buppie businessmen endorsed him, and some members of the press (ahem) got stars in their eyes about his actual chances. Then he lost by 10 points- the same margin by which Lamont lost to Lieberman (which, as it being spun differently, is termed a rout).

You've lost all credibility when you talk about the man.

'Cardin can in part thank the Washington Post for going out of the way to make sure a Steele victory didn't happen. Congrats WaPo'

What are you smokin, dupree? The Post was a total cheerleader for Steele. You lost, buddy because your' ideas' didn't connect wiht voters. Get over it.

Posted by: drindl | November 8, 2006 07:07 PM

yup. FoxNews nearly wetted themselves when the WashingtonPost pulled their call last night of the MD Senate race. Turns out Steele vastly underperformed the areas he needed to win but the WashPost still pulled their call and nearly made FoxNews giddy.

'Cardin can in part thank the Washington Post for going out of the way to make sure a Steele victory didn't happen. Congrats WaPo'

What are you smokin, dupree? The Post was a total cheerleader for Steele. You lost, buddy because your' ideas' didn't connect wiht voters. Get over it.

Cardin can in part thank the Washington Post for going out of the way to make sure a Steele victory didn't happen. Congrats WaPo

Cardin can in part thank the Washington Post for going out of the way to make sure a Steele victory didn't happen. Congrats WaPo

Fortunately, the voters of Maryland (especially African-American voters) were not as stupid as Steele thought they were. Steele is a complete phony, and the voters saw through his act. His name should be Michael Stealth, for shamelessly trying to hide his true identity. Steele puts a "diverse" face on the Republican Party and gives them cover while they continue to engage suppression and intimidation of minority and elderly voters. The Washington Post published an article last week detailing the ways in which the Maryland Republican Party's Volunteer Guide brazenly encouraged these tactics that are intended to cause chaos, confusion and long lines at polling places and surrounding precincts.

Chris: having watched Mehlman on CNN last night CC's agenda is very clear: to help build on the GOP's splendid legacy of hypocritical diversity. Their obviously gay RNC Chairman has promoted a rabidly anti-gay agenda for the past several years. Now it's time to make the 'tent' even bigger and replace him with an African-American to promote a rabidly racist agenda for the next several years. Makes perfect sense.

On a more serious (but only slightly) note, I was constantly amazed that Mehlman's head didn't explode as a result of the words that were coming out of his mouth.

From a Washington Post article this afternoon: "Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.), who is part of the Republican House leadership, warned that Bush would face a much more combative environment than during the past six years, when the GOP maintained a majority in the House.

"'They're going to be setting the agenda. He's going to be reacting to it,' Davis said in an interview on Washington Post Radio. 'He's going to be reacting to subpoenas flying, investigations. If we tended to underinvestigate, I think you'll see Democrats tend to overinvestigate.'"

Davis said the White House should shoulder much of the responsibility for the Republican losses, noting that his own normally wide margin of victory had been whittled to about 12 percentage points and saying the Democratic takeover in the House "could have been worse."

"Republicans margins were down all over the country," Davis said. " . . . Most of this was driven from the White House, not from the congressional leadership."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/08/AR2006110800489_pf.html

It's well known that Tom has designs on either a House Leadership position or even better, the John Warner Senate seat which could be open in 2008. Tom's certainly wasting no time running away from the Administration.

The "circular firing squad" talked about when the Foley scandal unfolded, could appear to have been using pop-guns compared to what might be on its way. This could be like 1964 after the Goldwater disaster. One of the first things they did was purge the Republican National Committee, starting with the Chairman.

Ken might not be able to go out as gracefully as he wanted to.

So this means the Republicans don't require their chairman to be gay?

Steele came up "just short"? Huh? Cardin beat him by 10 percentage points. That's just short of a rout.

What on earth could Steele possibly offer the RNC? He has not proven himself in any way whatsoever. . .not once, not ever. . .Howard Dean at least showed the Dems how to raise money and to take advantage of new technology in the pursuit of gaining seats in the House and Senate - clearly with a large degree of success.
Steele wrote one memo at Lt. Governor and we don't even know what it says - everything else he has done has been a failure. His lack of success in the Senate race has proven all of this.

For all the talk about the growing clout of hispanics in electoral politics the truth is that the democrats will become the majority party again in much of the (deep) south within a couple of decades if the GOP does not start making inroads into that community and this could be the big story in say 2024 rather than a Dem sweep of the southwest. Mehlman realizes this and acts on it.

I can't wait to see the ads where he runs against the other Republican. ;)

Crazy green screen with something in the background. Maybe he'll be riding an elephant and talking about "talking about the issues" without actually taking about the issues for the GOP.

He lets us down by bringing zero substance.