Tuesday, January 19, 2010

Defining the GOP?

"The Republican party in Washington today is no different than the Republican party that ran the Congress before," Rep. Chris Van Hollen, head of the Democratic House campaign committee, told the liberal Talking Points Memo.



Labeling their GOP candidates as being part of the Sarah Palin or Tea Party wing of the GOP will be the key element.




There is a danger to this strategy. First, it is primarily negative which turns people off. Things have to be really bad for a negative campaign to work—and then usually only against those already in power. To be in power and run a negative campaign would be a tip-off that either one has no ideas or that the ideas are unpopular and they need a subterfuge.



Also, the Dems would be assuming people think the Bush/Republican years were abysmal. Take away the start and the finish and Bush presided over a strong economy. I can see the GOP running ads saying that before November 2008 the economy was fine, then tanked after Dems took Congress. Sound bites and images with Chris Dodd and Barney Frank and their mortgage shenanigans could help the elephants beat the jackasses. The electorate could also enter the polls thinking, “Well, we didn’t have 10% unemployment with these people and we didn’t have extremists shooting up our bases or trying to bomb planes over cities.”



And trying to tie the GOP with Sarah Palin as a negative? Has any Democratic strategist seen Ms. Palin’s book sales? If she were truly unpopular, I doubt she would have sold that many books or have long lines at her signing tour events.



Sorry, I don’t see this as a winning strategy for Dems. But if they have unpopular ideas and refuse to change their policies, well…..

Thursday, January 07, 2010

Changes from when we were children

As children: I see London, I see France, I can see your underpants

As adults: Fly to London, fly to France, you may have to show your underpants

Where did they escape from?

U.S. Marshals Office seeking 3 escapees
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/80938822.html

By John Diedrich of the Journal Sentinel

Jan. 7, 2010 3:14 p.m. | The U.S. Marshals Service is looking for three federal prisoners who escaped from an Illinois detention center this week: Rodney Lamont Brown, Thomas Artin Glaab and Miguel Robles-Moya.

Brown was being held on federal charges as a felon in possession of a weapon; Glaab was being held on charges of possession of methamphetamine; and Robles-Moya was being held on immigration charges.

The fugitives are all considered armed and dangerous. They are described as:

• Rodney Brown, 35, is a black male with black hair and brown eyes who is 5 feet 7 inches and 165 pounds. His last known address was in Alton, Ill. Brown has been arrested before in Milwaukee and may be in the area, according to officials.

• Thomas Glaab, 28, is a white male with brown hair and brown eyes who is 6 feet 3 inches and 180 pounds. His last known address was in Anna, Ill.




Here’s what concerns me. The article does not state which facility the escapees escaped from. I do know that there is a Thompson Correctional facility in Illinois—which happens to be where the Guantanamo Bay detainees are scheduled to be transferred to. So, will we need to worry about this with potential terrorists in that facility?