The politics of negativity have worked for them in the past, so I suppose there is the temptation to stick with a playbook that has worked.  Thus before that demon can be exorcised from the Republican Party, they are going to have to lose an election - perhaps more than one, and they are going to have to lose badly.  This will lead to a lot of soul searching, and eventually they will figure out how to simultaneously play a constructive role and represent conservatives.

This is the guy who signed the subpoena for Terry Schiavo to his committee hearing two weeks before she died. 

This is the guy just last week told the Washington Post that Bush needs to be careful because he's being watched now - of course who was supposed to be watching before?  Tom Davis, Former Chair of the same committee who'd rather have hearings on baseball rather than the Bush Administration.

This is the same guy who got into the places he did in the House by working with Gingrich and then Delay by carrying their water, raising their money, and spending it as Chair of the RCCC. 

This is the same guy who I've heard advocate a flat tax, repeal of the Estate Tax, and talks for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce by warning us at Virginia FREE banquets about pro-union legislation and then asks the teachers, firefighters and police to endorse him and his wife and send money.

This is the guy who stood behind the Bush on this War until one little vote just before the election.  He probably hasn't stood up to him since.

The idea that Tom Davis is a moderate is a carefully crafted press strategy that he's created while the Washington Post happily laps it up and never asks him any tough questions about his actions.

So what does Tom do when it's time to actually stand up to his Party and Act?  He has a press conferenec to help his wife, TALKS, and runs away from the fight.  Talk is cheap.  The Post might like it.  I see right through it.

At the Blackwater-Iraq hearings yesterday, Tom Davis told Condi Rice what a great job she was doing in Iraq.  The Post covered Shays (R-CT) but was silent on participation from local pols Sarbanes (D-MD, against the war) and Davis ($-VA, against the war in election years only)."

I'm watching the video of Davis and getting madder by the moment. That deserves it's own diary, Coming soon....

is he going to defend his wife's vicious attack mailer against Chap Petersen?  And this guy claims to be a "moderate" - yeah, and I'm a George Allen Republican!

is interesting by its absence, for example:

1) the widespread corruption and the so-called K-street project which had big lobbyists writing legislation under Tom Delay's rule in the House, and such cesspools of bribery as Duke Cunningham and cesspools of moral depravity as Foley and various hypocrits among the self-righteous Republicans; and

2) the constitutional crisis of the executive (President Bush) aggregating to itself unlimited power with the unitary executive theory and the use of signing statements, not to mention ex-post facto congressional approval of warrantless wiretapping, torture as national policy, and exemption from liability for lawless behavior granted to telecom corporations which aided Bush in his warrantless spying, Guantanamo, loss of the ancient right of habeas corpus--- all of which have trivialized Congress and the Courts.

The reason these things went unmentioned was that Davis enabled, even actively connived, in achieving them.  All he is lamenting in his speech is that the Republicans are not winning elections so easily and they need to adjust their message--- not their behavior.  He's not sorry he (and they) did it, only that they got caught or that it's not working as it used to. Poor dear.

I think Davis feels that he has followed the party line with all his right wing votes and covering up for the Bush administration. Most likely he feels he has paid his dues but is not getting paid back.

The other part of this is that Davis has tried to appear to be moderate while voting along with the wingnuts. I think this strategy has backfired on him. He should realize there is no honor among thieves. The goal of the right wingers is to steal our democracy and replace it with a theo-fasist form of government. They have used Davis and now they are throwing him under the bus.

But the Republican Party is so schooled in a distruction train of thought it is my guess it will be 20-30 years before they will recover from their present program of lies, distortions and fear mongering, it is too set in the brains of this generation.

At one time I was happy to have their conservative ways. It helped keep the extreme Liberals in check. But the present stratagey is bad for our country.

All of the above comments about Davis are true--dead wrong on every issue, etc.-- and the idea he is a "moderate" was certainly belied by his partison testimonial that the subtext of the hearings yesterday was "the Democratic strategy seems to be to drill enough small holes to sink the entire Iraqi enterprise."

Make no mistake.  If it talks with a forked tongue and looks like a snake, it's a snake.  To stand up for Rice's blatant and arrogant lies, evasions and pure bullcrap places him in the same camp as that purveyor of imminent nuclear clouds and enabler of 4000 American troops' deaths.

Like Shays of Conn., the people who supported this administration and ALL its policies, including the war based on absolute lies (NOT cherrypicking intelligence, lack of intelligence, miscalculations, or any of those specious mitigating appelations), these "true believers" along with those who went along for the "ride" while ratings were good will be seen by history as supporters of a Mussolini-like figurehead (Bush) spewing a quasi-fascist philosophy.

Listen to Rice's October 26th House Committee testimony (or lack thereof) or read about it in the Post today.  Can anyone in their right mind support this parallel-universe mode of propaganda?  To vote for Davis is to support this inhumane filth, and Republicans should be ashamed, as should Democrats who attempt to downplay the Davis follies because of a mitigating stance or two on some issue less important than those most meaningful to human life itself. 

During the hearing by House Oversight into the politicization of the GSA under Lurita Doan to schedule government events to help "our" (Republican) candidates in total violation of the Hatch Act, Tom Davis spent his time "questioning" Ms. Doan talking about how she was being hounded .... wait for it ... because she's a black Republican.

That's right, as ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, Davis decided his duty to the residents of VA-11 was to play the race card and overlook corruption because it hurt his party.

I hope he runs for re-election, so we can show the community what kind of chump and water-carrier this guy is, and then throw him out with Frank Wolf next November.

This is Republicans' time in the desert.  If you think Democrats are building a permanent majority, I'd ask you to look at Karl Rove's great success in that arena.  Enough time in the desert will remind them of what it takes to win, and they'll be back in the game. 

Democrats have not given up earmarks.  They have not yet returned us to the fiscal responsibility of the Clinton Administration.  They haven't yet found the backbone to stop the occupation of Iraq.  They said they were going to stand up for our rights, and to date it has been legalizing warrantless wiretaps, keeping all major provisions of the PATRIOT Act intact, and bowing to administration demands on FISA reform.  And on top of that, they voted to up the ante against Iran.  They keep wasting time passing or not passing (yet discussing) resolutions and senses of the Congress.  Great job, right?  Or should I say heck'uva job? 

We'll see what Democrats do when and if they take the General Assembly.  I'm not getting my hopes up though.

so-so job, not great but not terrible.  Mainly, I see them as blocked by President Shrub and the 60-vote filibuster-buster number in the Senate.  For instance, Congress passed SCHIP, but it was vetoed by Bush.  They came very close to overriding the veto, but not quite.  There's a bunch of good stuff that passed the House -- see here for a list.  Another good list is here.  Unfortunately, Shrub vetoed timetables to responsibly redeploy troops from Iraq and expansion of potentially life-saving stem cell research.  Of course, I'm frustrated, I'd like a lot of things to move faster or differently.  Still, I don't think this is an inconsequential list:

ACCOMPLISHED

  * First minimum wage increase in 10 years
  * 9/11 Commission recommendations to screen all air and overseas port cargo and improve communications between first responders
  * Tough rules to establish highest ethical standards in Congressional history
  * Pay-as-you-go budget discipline restored to end six years of deficit spending
  * Fiscal discipline that produces a balanced budget by 2012
  * Reduction of backlog on passports through hiring boost
  * Benchmarks and progress report required on Iraq War
  * Emergency assistance to protect childrenâ??s health coverage
  * Vigorous Congressional oversight restored after six years, saving billions of taxpayer dollars, exposing corruption and incompetence
  * A comprehensive Innovation and Competitiveness agenda to double basic research & development and reinvest in math and science education
  * Tighter rules against foreign investment that weaken national security, after the Dubai Ports scandal
  * Overdue disaster aid to farmers and ranchers
  * Overdue hurricane aid to rebuild Gulf Coast housing, hospitals, schools, and levees
  * U.S. Attorney appointments protected from political influence

ON PRESIDENT'S DESK FOR APPROVAL

  * Most sweeping lobby and ethics reform in a generation, hailed by reform groups as â??landmark reformâ? and â??a sea of changeâ?

PASSED HOUSE AND SENATE

  * Largest expansion of college aid since GI Bill
  * Health coverage for 6 million children protected and millions more eligible children to enroll
  * New quality care standards for wounded military personnel
  * Energy Independence initiative to promote clean American renewable fuels and energy efficiency, and to reduce global warming
  * 3.5% military pay raise, larger than Presidentâ??s proposal
  * Head Start preschool improved and expanded
  * Reform of unethical practices by student loan industry
  * Authorizing prosecution of gas price gouging and OPEC price fixing
  * Sweeping reform of prescription drug safety
  * Key Flood Control and Waterway Restoration Re-investment, including for Gulf Coast

PASSED HOUSE

  * Largest increase in history for veteransâ?? health care
  * Major new investments in equipment and training for troops to meet the worst readiness crisis since the Vietnam War
  * 3,000 new border patrol agents, tougher aviation and port security funded
  * Farm Bill for 21st century shifts priorities to family farmers, crop diversity, nutrition, and biofuels
  * Clean, renewable energy spurred with $3 billion investment
  * Incentives for small business innovation to compete globally
  * Federal small business loans made more affordable
  * Small businesses guaranteed fair access to federal contracts
  * Voter deception made a federal crime, voter intimidation penalties increased
  * Seniorsâ?? access to doctors protected
  * Discrimination based on genetics banned in health care
  * Safe drinking water efforts expanded
  * 50,000 new police officers on the street
  * Collective bargaining rights allowed for public safety officers nationwide
  * Government contracting reformed to stop waste, fraud, and abuse
  * Whistleblower protections strengthened
  * Members of Congress barred from putting spouses on campaign payrolls

that the Democratic leadership has done a poor job of touting the accomplishments.

of the "corporate" media and the blogs as well.  I don't mean to let our leadership off the hook at all, I'm just sayin' that it's not only their fault to the extent there's been a failure to communicate.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot, it's the responsibility of the PUBLIC to pay attention, to get involved and engaged in THEIR democracy.  Without that, what kind of Democracy do we have, anyway?

take them for granted. Although I think, as Lowell pointed out, that Democrats have accomplished some very good things, they have not effectively, I believe, done what they needed to do to promote their accomplishments to sway the American voter. 

That said, I too believe that until we quit apologizing to the Republicans (e.g., Stark), we'll be viewed poorly and weak.  Until we get Democrats that act and sound like leaders, I wouldn't hold my breath on holding a majority for any length of time.