GOP Struggles To Define Its Platform for 2006 Elections

[ProSense]

Republicans have no plan. They'll probably try to steal one.

GOP Struggles To Define Its Platform for 2006 Elections

By Dan Balz and Jonathan Weisman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 20, 2006; Page A01

Republican efforts to craft a policy and political agenda to carry the party into the midterm elections have stumbled repeatedly as GOP leaders face widespread disaffection and disagreement within the ranks.


Snip...

Every effort so far to produce such a platform has stumbled.

In January, Bush laid out a modest menu of ideas on health care and energy independence, but Congress has made little movement on them. Senior White House officials consulted with lawmakers earlier this year about jointly crafting an agenda that would allow Bush and Republicans in Congress -- both suffering from depressed public approval ratings -- to get off the defensive. A Republican familiar with the process said these discussions did not result in a consensus.

Snip...

When asked last week whether Republicans had any broad visions to pursue this year, Boehner said, "Before the week is out, you will have a pretty good idea of what they are." But on Thursday night, after House members approved a $92 billion measure to fund the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and ongoing hurricane relief, lawmakers left town for a week-long break with no agenda ready.

Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.), the vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, said Boehner has been preparing an agenda based on four "silos": national security, retirement security, economic security and energy. But Republicans will have a difficult time turning those broad themes into legislative accomplishments.

More...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/03/19/AR2006031900893.html?nav=rss_nation/nationalsecurity

Outline of Kerry's Ten-Point Plan:

1. Obey law, protect civil rights.
2. Tell the truth.
3. Fire the incompetents.
4. Chase the moneylenders and changers from temple of democracy.
5. Bring our troops home!
6. Find OBL and protect ports.
7. Stop stabilizing big oil and blaming people. Commit to alternatives.
8. Make access to healthcare affordable as America's right.
9. Reduce deficit (conservative!) Respect work over wealth.
10. Fight for American jobs.

[Oversea Visitor]

1. Main strategy

Tie bush stone around party neck.
Find pit with no ladder
Drop big uber bush stone in
Whole party fall in

Waaah good strategy :rofl:

[redphish]

8. lol

[Oversea Visitor]

10. Serious

They fuck
They will protect the chimperor
Hence OOOOOPS what hole is this.

[Olney Blue]

2. They have no ideas-

that work.

[TayTay]

3. I don't think the Rethugs are going to be heard on any of this

They are running, whether they want to or not, on Iraq. It's their war, they own it, they voted for it and they are the ones who are responsible for what happens over there from top to bottom. They own the fact that they lied to Congress and told the American people that the Iraqi sale of oil could finance the reconstruction of the country, post invasion. (Remember that one?) They own the fact that they have not done anything to secure our ports. (I have heard from people who look at Katrina and the horrible aftermath and wonder what the Bush government would do in the event of a dirty bomb going off in an American city. Based on the aftermath of Katrina, people don't believe this Admin would do much at all. They are incompetent.)

They own this war and they own the response to Katrina. Sen. Kerry was prescient when he said back in September that Katrina was the blow that really exposed the incompetence of this Admin. This became entwined with the efforts in Iraq. Every new thing that happens, from the Veep shooting a man in the face to the idiotic Bush Admin response to the Port Security issue emenates from that. Katrina did indeed rip the lid off this Admin and it has not and will not recover from that. The Congress enables Bush like a drug dealer enables an addict to keep shooting up. They also own all these failures. They have not done one thing that really and truly separates them from the Bush failures.

The Rethugs wholeheartedly and enthusiastically made this bed. The American people are going to see to it that they lie in it.

[mikehiggins]

11. Let us not forget

All those dems who went right along with the program. Just replacing GOPukes with more Vichy Dems isn't going to do anything to stop the war, slow the march towards globalisation, break the drug firms hold on the Medicare Drug program or just about anything else that has been foisted on this country by Georgie and the Beltway Bozos. This didn't happen in a vaccuum, except for the vaccuum where we hoped to see Democratic leadership.

The word is complicit, in case you were wondering.

[ProSense]

12. Dems who went right along with the program? Who are you talking about? n/t

[varkam]

4. Maybe they can get Rove to

convince us all that the apocalypse is coming, or make us all scared of gay people getting married again. It worked last time!

[Justice]

5. Remarkable Headline

True, but remarkable that it actually printed.

[realFedUp]

6. the fear and hate platform? nt

[AtomicKitten]

7. they will try to make this a referendum

on anything OTHER than Bush.

Time to roll out gay marriage/adoption and abortion. It's the shiny object that fools their base every time.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

9. Tell them to stay the course. If the Dems were smart they would start

saying "FLIP FLOP FLIP FLOP!"