Bush pisses off Senator-elect Jim Webb.

Well well well. Bush steps in it again. I remember reading about how after the 2004 elections Barack Obama went to the White House for a welcome reception. Obama said that Bush was very down-to-earth. He figured that it was the kind of guy you could like, if you don't discuss politics.


In contrast, Jim Webb was at a similar reception just recently. According to the spectator the exchange went as follows:

At a private reception held at the White House with newly elected lawmakers shortly after the election, Bush asked Webb how his son, a Marine lance corporal serving in Iraq, was doing.

Webb responded that he really wanted to see his son brought back home, said a person who heard about the exchange from Webb.

“I didn’t ask you that, I asked how he’s doing,” Bush retorted, according to the source.

Webb confessed that he was so angered by this that he was tempted to slug the commander-in-chief, reported the source, but of course didn’t. It’s safe to say, however, that Bush and Webb won’t be taking any overseas trips together anytime soon.

This is from a thread on Daily Kos: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/28/195836/96



I must say, I find it interesting that Bush, who at this point should be very concerned about his legacy, who had to face a reality that people in America were not happy with him or his party because of their policies, has shown that he might have to change his ways and yet more recently has decided to "stay the course". http://news.netscape.com/story/2006/11/28/bush-says-he-will-not-pull-american-troops-out-before-our-mission-is-complete


It takes more than a Democratic Congress to make Bush stop posturing over a war that was ill-advised and sadly, lost long ago. So much for being bipartisan and conciliatory.

Colorado: Our Purple State.

Many on Daily Kos have been talking about the upcoming senate races for 2008. I for one am looking forward to them as revenge to take on those who gave us an unfair and divisive drubbing in 2002, when I was regrettably asleep at the wheel. The point is, Allard has low approvals and whether or not he runs again, his seat will be a top target for sure. In the midst of talking about his seat among 3 other pickups, they classified all states as blue states. From their computers to God's ears, but we need to look at why Dems have won the last two election cycles in Colorado. We have fielded good candidates that fit the state or their district as a whole quite well. The promised to give their people a voice in Government. In 2006, all of them were re-elected because they delivered on that promise. Also, more of them got elected by following the same formula.

On the flipside, Republicans in Colorado (and eventually nationally) got arrogant. They pushed wedge issues and did not speak for the state. They took the people here for granted and we presented them with an alternative giving them what they wanted. A voice. The reasons I don't want to hear people call Colorado a blue state is because we are not. At least not now. And even if and when we are, we cannot take the state for granted the way the Republicans did. I know I am preaching to the choir, but that is how I feel about things as they are.

Reading Obama's book.

Well, I started actually reading Barack Obama's book. He had some interesting things to say about less partisan division in the past and how shared experiences with World War II brought them closer together. How the upheavel of the 60's made it possible for him to get to where he is in his life and into the US Senate. He writes as articulately as he speaks. I didn't get very far into it, but it is shaping up to be an interesting read. Reading further, he discusses a lot the ideological divide that has become more sharp in recent years. He has said what I have felt for a long time. Politics is about compromise. The Right and even the left have come into a point of being absolutist in their views. A lot of language involving "either/or" or "for or against" is becoming more prevalent. I, myself have been guilty of that mainly as a reaction to what I have seen on the Republican side. It is easy to get into this, but if we are to make Government work, we need to move beyond it.

Lincoln Chafee on the election

Tuesday Night was sweet victory. I watched some of the biggest assholes in Government in Colorado and across the country go down in flames. The thing is, I felt bad for Chafee. He was a sad casualty of this battle. His defeat was necessary because even though he didn't agree with Bush a lot of the time, his party affiliation became an enabler for Bush. I think Sheldon Whitehouse is a good man as well, but it is sad that it has come down to this, but the fact is being a Republican, especially in 2006, is not good and you probably deserve to get knocked off. Chafee even expressed some interesting sentiments on the election.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Two days after losing a bid for a second term in an election seen as a referendum on President Bush and the Republican Party, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he'd remain a Republican.

"I haven't made any decisions. I just haven't even thought about where my place is," Chafee said at a news conference Thursday when asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or switch to be an independent or Democrat.

When asked if his comments meant he thought he might not belong in the Republican Party, he replied: "That's fair."

Chafee, 53, is the most liberal Republican in the Senate and was the sole Senate Republican to vote against the war in Iraq. That was not enough to save his seat against the winner, Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse, who shared many of Chafee's views but was a member of the dominant party in a state where Democrats far outnumber Republicans.

When asked whether he felt that his loss may have helped the country by switching control of power in Congress, he replied: "To be honest, yes."

http://www.boston.com/...

I also heard that he is going to try to block Bolton's renomination during the remainder of the 109th Congress. The fact is, he's not an asshole. Hopefully he finds a way to make a meaningful positive contribution to the world after leaving the senate.

The Newly Revitalized Democratic Party.

To those who thought that the Dems were finished two years ago, you were wrong. The majority of Governorships for the first time in 12 years, the House majority for the first time in 12 years and a majority in the Senate for the first time since the 2001-02 Congress, which is the only thing Dems had a majority in since 1994. Working on Ed Perlmutter's campaign every waking hour that I wasn't at work, it was so gratifying to see him win. I feel that the Republican revolution of 1994 ended last Tuesday night. The Republicans have not picked up one house seat (Georgia's 12th Congressional district pending), one senate seat, or one Governorship from us. As for Colorado, they failed to take back the state house, let alone take one house seat from us, but we took a few more from them. State Senate, same story. They tried to knock off Betty Boyd, but failed to do so. They even lost a couple more seats in the process. They lost the State Treasurer's office. CD7. We now have the majority in Colorado's congressional delegation. I am gunning for Allard's seat and CD4 in 2 years. The only thing disturbing is that in some of the reddest areas, the staunch conservatives have survived and the socially conservative issues survived. Though, my mood is improving though. Things in life are STARTING to make sense again. They are better with the world. I feel as though sanity is returning to life and to the world. Oh and Rumsfeld's prompt resignation was the icing on the cake.