Predictions on the Republicans in 2008

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I saw Frist speaking to a group of NH voters over the weekend.  He was appallingly bad on the stump.  I'm a fan of  Frist, having voted for him twice, but my reservations regarding his '08 run were confirmed by just how badly he was on the stump this weekend. Yikes!


As for Allen, I lived in VA during part of his term as Gov.  He was very popular there and would be a good candidate to consider. 

However, I'm leaning more towards Santorum all the time.

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Keystone,

The only thing that pisses me off about Santorum is how he turned his back on Toomey in favor of the RINO. 

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Bob,

What, exactly, is wrong with him being a orthodox conservative?  

That template can work both ways.

Does that make Dean a hack? Kennedy?  Edwards? Hillary?

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Hmmm...So, if a politicians who advances his philosophy's agenda is a hack,  who in Washington is not a hack?  McCain?  Hagel?  Chafee?  I would agree that they're not political hacks.  Whores perhaps, but not hacks.

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I can agree with that.  I don't want my politicians to be sheep either, but I do want to advance an agenda.  If it doesn't work, well... the other party will take over and advance their agenda.

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I believe Allen may make a run in 2008. I know he's hired some extra people to his staff associated with previous Presidential and other campaigns, which I suppose is the first hint at a run.

(Of course, if Mark Warner somehow decides to run for Senate and beats Allen in 2006, all this Presidential talk is moot).

I was checking to see if anyone else had picked up on Allen.

He's a former Govenor, a sitting Senator a non-controversial conservative who has lots of friends in the party.

It would be very interesting to see a match-up between Warner (the best available nominee for the Democrats) and Allen.

How is the least experienced politician the best available nominee??

Allen, having been both a two term Gov of VA and a sitting Senator, is at least as qualified as current VA Gov Warner.

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What skeletens are in Allen's closet that give you such qualms, unless it's just the (R) by his name? 

I used to live in VA during his first term.   He seemed to be very popular statewide, though as a Tennessean, I didn't involve myself in local VA politics.  I never really knew that much about his policies at the time.

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he only problem, or at least the major problem that I have with moderates, is that they seem to lack 'the vision thing' as Bush 41 used to say.   Clearly conservatives like Dubya, and Reagan before him,  have a vision for where they want to take the country.  Likewise, liberals such as Feingold also have a vision for which direction they would like to take the country.  However, moderates often seem like status quo candidates without a compelling vision at all.  This may not be truly accurate, but perception plays a tremendous role in politics.  That's why both conservatives and liberals vie for the nations affection, while moderates seem to jump on the bandwagen of the philosphy that is winning the day. 

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I agree that there are far more people in the middle than on either the left or right, it's just that middle rarely seems to lead us anywhere. 

I see politics as something akin to a sailboat.  The Dems tack to the left, the GOP tacks to the right, but the boat ultimately moves forward.

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McCain votes against energy independence.  What an ass!  Thank God for two liberal Democrats in HI and one in LA.

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Frist, by the way, would be a disaster.

No would be about it- the majority leader is a disaster- and one in the making for the pres nominee.

As weak as frist is as Majority Leader, and he IS weak, at least he's not Reid.  That's WEAK.  Even Dems should be grateful that Reid isn't Majority Leader.

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I agree with nickshep.  Biden is pretty scrappy.  Reid, on the other hand, whines and complains that any critcism of him by Republicans isn't 'fair.'    As a US Senator, I would hope that Reid knows that he is engaged in national politics, an arena that involves setting the course of national strategy.  Fortunately for us on the right, Reid comes across as weak and ineffectual.  I can't think of one policy success he has had so far this year. 

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Fortunately for us on the right, Reid comes across as weak and ineffectual.

You're wrong on that one. Reid has helped unify the Democratic party and given them some backbone, which is bad news for the Republicans.

I don't see it.  So far this year, Bush has had his way with ANWR, TORT reform, the midnight session to save Terri Schiavo, and a host of other measures.   I won't believe that Reid has been effective until he is able to deny another judicial appointment, at which time the GOP will exercise the Constitutional option a further relegate him to mere bystander status.