Duh. A conservative party is not supposed to have ideas; they want things to stay the same. If they had any ideas they'd be liberals. That's why grandpa Eisenhower played golf every day back in the good old fifties. Sha-boom.

You don't think he's reached out to Republicans? Last time I looked he took one of them with him on his world tour.

The Republicans still have plenty of ideas. Bad ones. All designed to enrich the few at the expense of the many.

The difference is not that people have finally connected the dots and tied Republicans' bad ideas to their worsening situation...

The American people have been scammed once too often.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbaszmcpesc

Like my dad says, when Ike was Pres, the U.S. dollar was still on the silver standard and inflation and the economy was under much, much more control than the wild swings of the past several decades. BUT, since Ike's disgraced vp, tricky dick, took us off the silver standard in 1971 and allowed the privately-owned international bankers and owners to take control of our money supply through the "fake" fed reserve, things have really gone to hell now haven't they?

Ike's probably grieving and spinning away seeing what the fed reserve and the military-industrial-complex have done to this country and this world.

The repub party needs to change it's name to reflect reality. How many people today who call themselves repubs would Ike recognize? Repubs who dream daily about and conceive larger governments, unbelievable spending and deficits, and, oh yes, a military-industrial-complex that answers to no one, no law or constitution.

Is the Az Mcrankster a repub by Ike's standards? Me no think so. By Ike's granddaughter's standards? Me don't know -- we'll have to ask her.

I'm not really holding the dems up any higher. In fact, there is so little difference, one might as well start calling them both by one party name -- Corporacians, for lack of a better handle.

"Say anything, do anything" is the corporacian logo. This isn't what Ike would have liked to have read to his grandchildren at bedtime.

Restoring confidence by having former First Lady Hillary Clinton called a racist.

Indeed.

Interestingly but not surprisingly, the blend of Republicanism has been a mere reflection of the philosophy of the utilitarians who seem to have been the best experts to use the ploy of threat or terrorism as their best strategy to arrest the attention of a common American who probably seems to have been tired of this projected doctrine of waging wars for no worth.

Steve, you are at least very consistent. Unfortunately, lets all get along does not usually work with the bully party, and as long as we think we can get along, the bullies will keep taking our kids lunch money.

Sometimes, you just have to be partisan and stand up and fight. And then the bullies will stop taking your lunch money.

Lunch money??? No, the Republicans are taking more than that away from more than just your kids. I do however understand your analogy. The bullies have gone over the line with We the People though.
I've been fortunate enough to experience a right good dose of Republicans. I believe I am being politically persecuted by a Republican right now, and I am just a regular ole person. The reason they don't " like " me, is that I got sick again with a lifetime illness.
You'd of thought that this illness hurt the entire Republican party and sure enough, in the end it probably will but in the meantime, I've had every single thing I worked for as a disabled American taken away, including the rights that everyone else here still holds.
I'll never trust anyone with Republican behind their name as a result.

I've also been fortunate enough to be able to identify many of the ways the Republicans will still hold influence long after We the People get rid of them....... it won't be over for a really really long time people. The Republicans have bought and sold our all of our systems.
Last point: American systems don't work without honesty and decency. Republicans lack those qualities these days

The central thing that the Republican party needs to do is change its thinking. Rather than embracing the emotional dimension that has always enveloped the left, Republicans need to get back to a more stoic view of the world...cost vs. benefit, opportunity vs. consequence. Had this been present in the aftermath of 9.11, we might have avoided the the mistake of Iraq and the idea that we could remake the world in our own image (at the tip of a sword).

Steve wrote:

"There is a crowd of frustrated, increasingly dissident Republicans that Obama can easily harvest..."

I'm not a gambler, but I wonder if Las Vegas has wagering on vp candidate choices.

If so, my thinking is Barry O might just surprise many by selecting. . .Chuck Hagel.

Crazy? Steve may not think so. How many votes would Barry O harvest with Hagel as vp??

Steve: "and what really interests me is what Eisenhower is calling for >>>>>>>>>, instead of arrogance, demeaning name calling, attacks on patriotism, and the like."

Does "and the like" include --

* unconstitutional domestic spying
* extensive use of signing statements
* uncontrollable, unconstitutional executive power
* okaying of torture
* bungling of Katrina aid
* sloppy and careless control of banking and mortage lenders
* ballooning of federal spending
* ballooning of federal deficits
* bald-faced lying us into war

Is this the "and the like" you were referring to??

I think President Eisenhower just fainted right off his commemorative silver dollar.

If there's really "a crowd of frustrated, increasingly dissident Republicans," then they can prove it by retaking their own party from the liars, lunatics, and idiots who are *running* it at the moment.

I've said this before in response to one of these "Yay, *sane* Republicans, let's work with them!" posts of Steve's (and sure, Steve has the misfortune of having pauline's TWN fan-girl Obama-Hagel comment right before I'm writing this, which compounds my irritation at this line of reasoning). We don't need these "sane Republicans" to work with *us*; we need to them to regain control of their *OWN* party (or at *least* reduce the amount of wacko-enabling that *they* engage in, which has been substantial in recent years), so *we* can get stuff done, without having the threat of crazy conservatives sabotage popular, common-sense solutions, just because it threatens to prevent them from maintaining political power.

Oh, and Hagel would be an *abysmal* choice for Obama's VP, and it's not only ludicrous, but playing into a conservative frame, if Obama's campaign does anything beyond saying, "We appreciate Senator Hagel's support and efforts to move the debate in a productive direction."

I must have dreamt about this one night, but here's more from a couple weeks ago.

"Hagel to Join Obama on Iraq Trip"

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/07/11/hagel-to-join-obama-on-iraq-trip/

What would Hagel's vp odds be? 25 to 1? 50 to 1?
More?

Barry may be thinking he could harvest all that male white vote that isn't liking [just] him all that much at this point.

imo, Hagel is the true repub maverick, especially compared to the Az McCranster empty suit.

Hmm, Barry wants to show folks he's really about "change"?

How many voters could he harvest if he and Hagel put the country before their parties and really went for solid economic, domestic and foreign policy "changes"? And include in that a bi-partisan DOJ that goes after the current liars/thieves/murderers for war crimes.

I'm just thinking outside the box at this moment.

You'd of thought that this illness hurt the entire Republican party and sure enough, in the end it probably will but in the meantime, I've had every single thing I worked for as a disabled American taken away, including the rights that everyone else here still holds.