if the voters are still punishing the GOP its because of George

cowalker — Thu, 15 May 2008 21:28:17 -0700

Yes, you're probably right. But it's just fine with me if Boehner gets smacked down for being a conscienceless Bush rubber stamp.

Is John Boehner's Seat-al Region Warming Up?

Nick D — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:54:02 -0700

Apologies to Tony Reali of ESPN's Around the Horn for the use of his trademark phrase "seat-al region."

In the wake of three special election losses in what should be safely Republican districts, the Illinois' 14th, formerly held by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the Louisiana 6th, and the Mississippi 1st, Republicans on the Hill are girding themselves for battle and pointing fingers. Right now, there is quite a bit of finger pointing going on between NRCC chief Tom Cole of Oklahoma, and Ohio's own John Boehner, the House GOP leader. And if the House GOP is looking for a scapegoat, the rumor is that one of these two fellows might be thrown out of leadership, according to Politico.com

The loss of the Mississippi 1st has to be a serious psychological blow to the GOP. This is a district that gave George W. Bush 62% of the vote in 2004. The Republican candidate was the mayor of a Memphis subrub and perfectly suited to the district. The NRCC spent $1.3 million, and Ari Fleischer's 527 group Freedom's Watch spent another $400K, while the candidate himself raised and spent a half-mil (those numbers are according to Kos). That's $2.2 million to hold onto a 62% Bush seat in Mississippi of all places. And they couldn't do it. They ran attack ads linking the Democrat, Travis Childers, to Barack Obama and Rev. Wright. In Mississippi. And it didn't work.

As MSNBC's First Read blog points out, since the Republicans no longer are running Congress, if the voters are still punishing the GOP its because of George W. Bush. If you needed more evidence to support the theory that 2006 was about George W. Bush and not a "culture of corruption," this is it. And it should have been expected. When you tell 70% of the American people you don't care what they think, as Veep Dick Cheney did, you ought to expect a little punishment for that foolishness.

Buckeye State Blog - Is John Boehner's Seat-al Region Warming Up? - Comments

if the voters are still punishing the GOP its because of George

Is John Boehner's Seat-al Region Warming Up?