The DNC is coming to Austin to have their annual meeting. They chose Austin because they believe they can turn Texas blue in the next elections. I think they are a bit ambitious to think they are going to do well in the next elections with the way the Dem's are getting nothing done in Congress and the White House.
We have to keep reminding people right up till the elections, Especially the Republicans in office, that if they want to stay in office they'd better change their ways. Naw. Let's get a bunch of new guys who are real conservatives. Fire the lot of them.
The split during the presidential elections of 2000/2004 was roughly 60/40 R/D. The split last year was more like 55/45. I can see why they think there's room for movement. Like most of the southeast, Texas has a long history of electing conservative Democrats. Redistricting ended a number of "blue dog" congressmen's careers, but they were not unpopular people nor were they leftists ... they were more like the Republicans that get elected in the northeast - relatively centrist due to their local political environment.
I used to think that having a conservative democrat was fine. Recall in my area we had Nick Lampson, a pro-gun democrat, for awhile. He was fine, just about always voted pro-gun. Trouble is we can have the Lampson types but all that means is we have Queen Nancy Peelosi who really calls the shots. So in that respect, we could have a House full of Lampsons but they will still buckle under to Botox Nancy. So the bottom line, as long as democrats are in the majority, we are in deep doodoo.
I hear that the Democrats are quite second to the Republicans whentot comes to maintaining "party unity." Look at the increasingly uncertain future of the health care bill in spite of a clear-cut Democratic majority. If you have a representative that votes the way you want them to, why worry about party affiliation?
The only reason the split was so close in Texas this time was because the Republicans picked the wrong candidate. We lost a lot of votes because McCain was such a dud.
I think that Siscokid answered that question pretty solidly. The problem in the last 10 years is that the republican's have moved too far to the left. The other problem is that true conservative republicans won't ever "toe the party line" like the dems will unless the bill fully ties into conservative principles, whereas dem's for the most part have no principles above the party.
How so? He said that Lampson was largely a decent representative but then suggested that Lampson was on call to instantly commit political suicide at the behest of DNC leadership.
Yup that is about the long and the short of it. The Dem's are in the end party first regardless of their personal beliefs. They don't have any actual principles to stick to. Loading...