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Republican Sen. Bob Bennett, who was defeated for his party's nomination at the Utah GOP convention in May, predicted yesterday to the Ripon Society, a moderate-leaning GOP group, that the Republican Party will win back the House in November. But he said that the party might not be able to hold on to power because it's lacking ideas.
“As I look out at the political landscape now, I find plenty of slogans on the Republican side, but not very many ideas,” Bennett said, per the Salt Lake Tribune. “Indeed, if you raise specific ideas and solutions, as I’ve tried to do on health care with [Oregon Democratic Sen.] Ron Wyden, you are attacked with the same vigor as we’ve seen in American politics all the way back to slavery and polygamy; you are attacked as being a wimp, insufficiently pure, and unreliable.”
More Bennett: “The concern I have is that ideology and a demand for absolute party purity endangers our ability to govern once we get into office.”
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Off topic but appears the Ky Truthteller & Miss Daisy have arrived home safely...
Feisty,hope all is OK with you & yours. Me & Miss Daisy arrived Safely back HOME after 7095.4 miles of pure Enjoyment , traveling "America the Beautiful". I'ma guessing it'll be a couple days before i can get back into the 1st Read thing as many things await us here at Home.29 days later , 2 sore a$$e$ arrived at 4:15 am(our time). Thanx for checking in with Us & i'll have stories from the SkyWalk in the Grand Canyon to Casino hopping thru Oklahoma, from Buffalo Bills cabin's in Cody, WY to sleeping in a Tent in Oregon(30 degreez), driving thru a Redwood(3 times) & finding a StarFish, walking the beach in California.
No doubt i'll need Help, as i've looked at 1stRead!
Thanx again, Rick & Miss Daisy
Thanks Red best news I"ve seen in a month. I purely do miss the Truthteller.
Anytime IR... ;0)
Bennett is just pissed because he lost. This is what politicians do. If he had won, it would be a different story. Time for him to retire anyway, he looks about 80 yrs old.
He might be pissed but he is telling the truth. The republicans do not have a clue as to how to solve the problems their administration created. They do not offer solutions, just slogans. If they do return to power they will have all the problems that are not solved for them by democrats, and no clue as what to do. They can't lead USA into a prosperous future for all, they spent the last 9 years proving that daily. My guess is that their solution will be to cut taxes for the extremely wealthy to create jobs. It has never produced a job in the US yet but they are probably willing to give it another try. They can pray, you can't discount the power of Political Prayer, maybe Republican Jesus will intercede with a miracle after republicans regain power. Bennet speaks the truth and that is why they ran him off, there is no room for truth in the GOP. Truth is for those radical, leftest, socialists, and you know when they speak the truth it just makes them sound like Hitler and the Nazi's. If everybody had a loaded pistol in their pocket that would straighten things out. Hey what if we dress up in period costumes and pretended we were the founding fathers that should help solve some problems. Anybody that works for a living and votes republican is suicidal.
He's right about the lack of Repub ideas -- all we get are slogans & retreads -- and right to be concerned about governing when you have no ideas. I can only hope (and donate to the campaigns of Dem challengers) that they don't win enough seats to take over the house or senate.
Voters are listening to the Republicans who keep saying what is wrong with the Democrats and the President but they are not asking the Republicans to spell out their plans.
If they did it would be like catching a deer in your headlights.
Dennis:
And that is why come 2012 and the Republican candidate must face Obama in a series of debates where the Republican will be pressed to state their ideas and plans, the game will be over for the GOP.
Finally, a republican who speaks the truth. The GOP ideas of today are the same ones Reagan spoke about 30 years ago, and none of those ideas have done one thing to make the country better; in fact, they were proven wrong in 2008.
I think Bennett is being very optimistic on the House seats. Once voters start paying attention (they're not right now), they're going to see these VERY far right, puritanical "conservatives" (in reality, Ron Paul libertarians with John Birch Society wackiness thrown in for good measure), and moderates and independents will recoil from that. Yes, they'll pick up seats (Dems picked up seats in two cycles, and won a few too many last time, based on the gerrrymandered Republican leaning districts from the last Census), but I doubt they'll win the House. 25 seats max.
That said, he's spot on about the ideas deficit. They're still running on Ronald Reagan ideas. He's dead and buried, and most of those ideas are still zombies that need to be put out of their misery.
Here's a classic example: Tax rates on the top-earning Americans was something like 70% when Reagan came into office. They're presently at 35%. Yet Republicans keep complaining that taxes are stifling job growth, etc., etc. At the same time, the riches 1% of Americans has NEVER BEEN RICHER. Ever. In history.
So here's my question: If taxes are already at their LOWEST point in something like 60-70 years, and the richest Americans are at their RICHEST in like 60-70 years, WHY AREN'T THEY CREATING ANY JOBS!?!?!?
Seriously, what's the hold up? If the "free market" can fix everything, why aren't these free-marketers bringing unemployment down with their vast wealth and obviously low tax rate structure?
GOP lacking in ideas. Boy, if that is not the understatment of the decade. On the other hand one has to give Palin credit for her suggestion that we contact the Dutch to help us with the gulf oil leak because they have experience plugging up leaks. You know, the little Dutch boy and his thumb.
I hate to say this (well, no, not really), but the fact that republicans have no new ideas is not really a new idea.
If moderate Republicans can get control of their party and they can begin to offer some sensible, workable ideas they are likely to get more votes. Unfortunately the extremists have control of the party and no new ideas and they will lose.