Rendell: Sestak Would "Get Killed" And "Marginalized" If He Runs Against Specter

Words cannot adequately express how disgusted I am with rendell.



Ever since he refused to give up his Philadelphia Eagles post-game TV gig during campaign season (where he talks with people who know football about the game), I've found the man to be a throw-back politician, emblematic of all that is wrong in politics. He's the quintessential smoke-filled-room "player", drunk with lust for power and the spotlight.



The funny thing is that he's decided to pick a winner-take-all fight with Adm. Sestak. Rendell may be right that Sestak could be a short-timer if he were to lose big in the primary to Specter. BUT when Sestak beats Specter, rendell and his little pack of wolves he thinks run the "machine" will be utterly, totally gelded. I'm sure the Admiral knows this. And I'm 100% certain that it is explicitly why Sestak is in it - to gut rendell's "machine" that would rather shove a fox in sheep's clothing down our throats than make room for a REAL DEM to rise to challenge for a Senate seat.



So the lines are drawn eddie. If I had $100 to bet, I'd put it and the house, the car, the truck, and the barn on Sestak. He's made of stronger stuff than your average Philly Dem committeeperson who'd be intimidated by rendell's childish rants.
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The Rush and Cheney Show Accelerates Military Desertion of the GOP

Wow wendy, that's the most outlandish reaction to my sentence that I could have expected. Mind reading and traitor accusations are nowhere in my sentence - your imagination has to be fertile indeed to reach those conclusions.



But at the risk that others may utterly misinterpret my comment, I will restate so as to clarify....



Gen. P is very politically astute. His writings on quelling insurgencies are studied at military academies and are very logical and dispassionate. As such, they are anathema to the cheney administration's approach. So he played the game in order to get the chance to implement his strategies, to some reasonable degree of success. General P is as aware as anyone of the impact from 'news' at home on activities in Iraq and Afghanistan.



Therefore, he would understand the significance of our nation considering electing a military man who 'worked' in the Middle East on a ticket that would champion 'crushing terrorists,' hunt "islamo-fascists," etc. General P would have to confront that rabid element of our society that is the RNC and demand that they refrain from that sort of campaign message. He will find it easier working with militant Arabs than white maile xenophobes. He may get his way with the RNC, but if not, there can be no rational person believing that it would have no effect on terrorist recruiting.
About Colin Powell
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Rebranding Will Not Be Enough For These Republicans

I agree with the premise and most conclusions, but the problem's diagnosis is wrong.



The problem isn't short-term identification with the bushies. Their party is built atop a rigid structure that actually has deep roots in most states and started a good 30 - 40 years ago.



The party demands conformance from all its operators like military and gangland groups - from the polling place flier-wavers all the way up to the candidates for Congress. You take orders, adopt the orders as "gospel," and passionately do what you're told. You have to earn your stripes by either effectively attacking "enemies" or positively supporting someone else in the club. Loyalty is demanded and rewarded. Skills and ideas are irrelevant unless they help other gang members succeed.



To make a long story short, you attract a predictably stereotypable person when filling these roles. People must believe in their uselessness except to serve the gang, hate without justification, be incapable of introspection, and have blind faith that the 'leaders' are brilliant beyond reproach.... to name a few.



This apparatus is still 95% intact. Since new 'leaders' can't win on merit of ideas or logic (they are essentially anointed by virtue of their track record in rank), they will continue to represent completely dysfunctional views and policies for at least another decade or two - until the current gaggle of middle managers make way for a different approach to how to run a party.



At this point, I don't think it will ever happen.
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How Obama's Supreme Court Nominee Can And Can't Be Filibustered

The threat of a filibuster will definitely have a huge effect on his choice - no doubt about it.



I expect he will have learned from some of the other appointments where people weren't vetted terribly well - so he will cover a few more bases on that front.



In the end, his choice will be someone with a more watered-down set of progressive bona fides, but not TOO watered down. But it will most assuredly be someone who will not be objectionable. That will be the key to driving down the repug party even further. Here's how:



- repuglicans will block the nominee because they've decided their path to success is saving the US from socialism, fascism, communism, tyranny, etc. They will NEVER agree with ANYTHING proposed by Obama.

- repugs will need to build their salvation case on petty events and wildly exaggerate.

- the ensuing childish spectacle presented by the repugs will prompt an adult response from Obama and chip away another 3 or 4% approval for the repugs.



This is Obama's approach these days.



Then again, we still have geinther..... so let's just hope for continuous improvement!
About Supreme Court
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