Is Newt Trying To Re-Take The GOP?

A couple of pundit/well to do Washingtonians (Mike Barnicle and Andrea Mitchell-Greenspan) have been hearing whispers around the capitol that yesterday's lack of leadership in the Republican caucus was the result of Newt Gingrich. Why would Gincgrich do such a thing? Perhaps to cap McCain's faltering campaign in the knees and run for President in four years. Of course after hearing the chatter, Gingrich quickly berated them, raising suspicions even higher.

From ThinkProgress:

.....Speaking at the National Press Club today, Gingrich denied Mitchell’s claim, saying MSNBC is wrong and probably “deliberately wrong” because its a “stunningly dishonest network.” “I was reluctantly helping it get through,” he said.

Even throughout yesterday, Gingrich’s position was nearly impossible to pin down. On Glenn Beck’s radio show, he admitted, “I’m not sure if I were in the Congress I could vote against it” while also declaring that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson “should be fired” and that the bailout plan “is still a bad bill.” On Fox News last night, he seemed to praise the House’s rejection of the bill: “The vote today indicated that even when they’d worked for five days to try to improve what was really a pretty terrible original plan that [Paulson] sent up, it still couldn’t get a majority in the House.”

Apparently, Gingrich was against the bailout before he was for it — before he was against it again.

Gingrich is staying extra slimy throughout this situation and it raises the possibility that he wants to bring about a full circle in the GOP. The vehement denial by someone of his stature means that we should all watch out for a resurgent Gingrich. Of course, that would be absolutely hilarious, since it was his reckless behavior that ultimately screwed Republicans out of power two years ago. People are tired of his brand of thuggery (along with the rest of the GOP) and desire leadership in these trying times, not cheap political tricks. Now with that said, if he wants to help divide up what's left of the Republican caucus, then by all means, go right ahead.

"Holy Joe" Lieberman Speaking At RNC

Not that this is the most shocking of news, but now we have it confirmed. Senator Joseph Lieberman (CT 4 Lieberman-CT) will speak on the first night of the RNC convention.

From TPM:

The McCain campaign confirms what we all have known for months would happen: Senator Joe Lieberman will speak at the GOP convention on the first night.

Maybe Lieberman will reiterate his claim that Obama has not always put his country first. It's awfully valuable to McCain and the GOP to have a so-called Democrat leading with such a smear, and there apparently is nothing Lieberman won't do for his new buds.

There's simply no chance whatsoever that Lieberman will have his plum committee slot come 2009, presuming he's still calling himself an "Independent Democrat" by then.

The Senator gets to share the stage that evening with the most prestigious tyrants warmongers Republicans, George Bush and Dick Cheney (29% and 18% approval ratings respectively). Like the traitors to their country that Bush and Cheney are, Lieberman is the Democratic Party's Benedict Arnold this time around and he's ready to flaunt it in Minneapolis one week from this coming Monday.

All I have to say is that the Democratic leadership better be ready to kick his old ass out of his chairman positions in the Senate the minute after he take the GOP stage.

Minneapolis A Bore Compared To Denver

No, this is not a dig on Minneapolis. As far as cities go I have no idea which is better than the other, especially since I haven't been to either one. Nevertheless, Minneapolis will be a bore when the RNC comes to town right after the Democratic Party has a huge bash that will fill the city to the brim a week or so beforehand.

From Politico:

Of the 12 Republicans running in competitive Senate races — five of whom are incumbents — only three have said they will be attending the convention. Six are definite no-shows, and three are on the fence.

“Nobody likes a funeral,” said a Senate Republican press secretary who spoke on the condition of anonymity, citing “the overall climate of general malaise about the party” as the reason for hesitance on the part of Republicans.

On the House side, according to a report in The Hill, during a July 31 conference call National Republican Campaign Committee Chairman Tom Cole of Oklahoma discouraged congressional hopefuls from attending, saying that doing so would potentially be a “waste of time.”

At least a handful of Republican incumbents, ranging from vulnerable incumbents such as Jon C. Porter and Dean Heller, both of Nevada, to safe veteran members such as Jim Sensenbrenner Jr. of Wisconsin and Sue Myrick of North Carolina, have also decided to stay home this year.

A waste of time? Like attending a funeral? Damn, that doesn't sound good at all. It certainly doesn't sound like the grand old time they had in New York four years ago or in Philly in 2000. Perhaps those cities are a little easier to get to, instead of say, Minneapolis. For the Republican DC elite, the heartland is a scary place, but nowhere near as scary as the entire country will be for them come election day. If I were them, I'd head out and have a nice week of partying....because after that they will only have things to commiserate.

Lieberman Gung-Ho For Speaking At GOP Convention

Joe Lieberman and his staff have denied he's attending the RNC convention in Minneapolis a month from now. That denial was issued last week, but if you saw him on the Meet the Press yesterday, you can see Joe changes his tune quite quickly:

An Anniversary Republicans Wish Not To Remember

In a little over a month from now, thousands of Republicans will gather in the beautiful city of Minneapolis-St. Paul. From the party faithful to the party elite to the wealthy backers, hob nobbing, networking and more mundane issues like party platform will be hammered out (still important though). They'll all have a great time and cheer themselves on, but one thing that would be surprising if mentioned would be the tragic anniversary that the city of Minneapolis is remembering today.

From The Politico:

It’s a year today since the Minneapolis bridge collapse that killed 13 people, but don’t expect Gov. Tim Pawlenty to showcase the reconstruction.

Indeed, with the Republican National Convention in St. Paul just a month away and Pawlenty reported to be high on John McCain’s running mate list, Republicans want to drive attention away from the infrastructure disaster that spotlighted the nation’s crumbling bridges and from the criticism the governor faced for what some critics said was a slow response.

The governor’s staff reports there are no plans to hold any events near the site of the bridge collapse, about 10 miles from the convention hall. And GOP convention planners have organized hundreds of buses to ease the congestion expected when some 45,000 conventioneers, guests and media commute to the hall.

Pawlenty claims the two aren't related, but to callously dismiss the connection is telling of a party that cares more about itself and less about the health of our nation. In fact, it goes straight to the core of why the Republican party needs to be walloped in this year's election. See, maintaining infrastructure takes money and a competent government that will fix and repair old bridges. Like one speaker or at least prominent attendee at the upcoming RNC once said, “My goal is to cut government in half in twenty-five years, to get it down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub.”

Dead governments can't fix our infrastructure....and don't think that privatizing every road, bridge and tunnel will do the trick either.

Some In GOP Want Bush To Stay Away From Convention

Although some Republicans may say that there is no problem distinguishing John McCain from George Bush, the reality of the matter makes for a very tricky situation. Party leaders worry about being seen as supporting a third term for George Bush and the specifics of the upcoming convention in Minnesota are very, very important. It is so essential to pull it off just right, that some do not even want Bush to be seen (let alone heard) at the big event at all.

From The NY Times:

This year, of course, Mr. McCain is trying to escape from Mr. Bush’s shadow. Most Republicans say Mr. Bush should play whatever role Mr. McCain wants him to. Some, like Representative Dana Rohrabacher of California, simply wish Mr. Bush would keep out of it, though few would say so openly.

“I don’t think there are a lot of people who want to see him at the convention,” said Mr. Rohrabacher, who is especially irked with Mr. Bush for his stance on immigration. He said the president “should stay home from the Republican convention, and everybody would be better off.”

But others, like Rob Portman, a former congressman and budget director for Mr. Bush, say Mr. McCain would be unwise to put too much distance between himself and the sitting president. “The president’s approval rating among Republicans’ base voters who are needed for a successful McCain campaign is relatively high,” Mr. Portman said.

Despite intra-party differences, one thing is for sure, there will definitely not be anymore embraces of the two Republican icons. As for the divide in opinion between those like Rohrabacher and Portman, both know that George Bush is a problem for their brand, since he has been the official banner holder for the last eight years. The question is, do you try to earn the respect of a small minority or look to convince a larger minority?

Of course appearances are important and especially in St. Paul when voters really begin to pay attention, but the real worry for the GOP is if those voters look at the candidate's policy decisions and see that John McCain, despite any theatrics, is just more of the same from the last eight years.