18||0|0yes 0|0|Where Are the Dems Going%3F -- Buckley |khephra||19:40:23|10/30/2001|%28 I thought it might do some of you some good to fixate on a different columnist for a little while %3B-%29 %29%0D%0A%0D%0AWhere Are the Dems Going%3F%0D%0A%0D%0AThe listlessness of post-election life by Al Gore gives the impression that the Democratic opposition is asleep%2C perhaps under the hypnosis of September 11. The national impulse was certainly for a consolidation of national effort after the Twin Towers and a surcease in partisan bickering. This point became clear when President Bush gave a speech to Congress that aroused pretty uniform plaudits and was capped by a scene of him leaving the chamber and embracing the majority leader of the Senate. That was affirmatively striking%3B negatively so was the deportment of Sen. Hillary Clinton%2C who was seen by the television cameras to be twitchy and bored and dismissive%2C clapping only perfunctorily at the president%27s high moments. %0D%0A%0D%0AThere are two signs of Democratic life. Al Gore has been spending a week in New Hampshire reviving old fidelities. Those of us who have long attachments to New Hampshire can with impunity remark that the only reason to spend an entire week there%2C if you%27re not going to see the foliage%2C is to make a political point%2C relating of course to the primary contest that Vice President Gore won in February 2000%2C beating Senator Bill Bradley. Citizens who have not detected in Mr. Gore signs of a fresh political afflatus%2C talk more about the simple matter of his being in New Hampshire. His answers to questions about plans for the future are less interesting than the appearance of his beard. %0D%0A%0D%0ACuriosity on this point is legitimately aroused%3A Why would a man living into his fifties beardless suddenly change the character of his face%3F Is it intended that he also change his persona%3F Abraham Lincoln%2C we all know%2C grew a beard after his election and before his inauguration. There are anecdotes about why he did this%2C but without endorsing any of them%2C worshipers are happy to believe that a new %97 great%2C legendary %97 Lincoln was born. I know a young man who%2C as of September 12%2C ceased running a razor down his face%2C without exactly formulating the reason. Those who know him have an additional reason for hoping it will be a short war. %0D%0A%0D%0ABut also we have the advent of a book by Jeffrey Toobin of The New Yorker%2C flatly asserting that the election of a year ago was won by Gore%2C not Bush. The book is called Too Close to Call%3A The Thirty-Six-Day Battle to Decide the 2000 Election. Writing in the New York Times on Sunday to reiterate his findings%2C Mr. Toobin remarks%2C with disappointment%2C the diminished partisanship of the Democratic party. He cites several examples. One is the acceptance by the Senate of Theodore Olson as solicitor general%2C which he tells us is not the kind of thing Sen. Helms used to do when he was pivotally situated. He cites apparent Democratic acquiescence in the next tax bill%2C advertised as an economic stimulus%2C deplored by its critics as extravagantly solicitous to big business. %0D%0A%0D%0ANow the suggestion here is that because Gore lost the presidency%2C his party is disanimated%2C that the bipartisanship heralded after September 11 is a kind of lazy capitulation to the fatal miscount in Florida. %0D%0A%0D%0AMore..............%0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.nationalreview.com%2Fbuckley%2Fbuckley.shtml%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22%23333333%22 size%3D%221%22 face%3D%22Verdana%22%5D%0D%0A%0D%0A%5B%2Ffont%5D 1|1|Gore lost the presidency|kskiska||19:55:05|10/30/2001|no thanks to the Democratic party. The party didn%27t become disanimated because GORE lost the presidency. They were lukewarm all during the election and recount. They belatedly realized what they lost once The Restoration took hold and they all woke up%2C but apparently%2C not sufficiently to get off their butts and fight what these people are doing to this country. 2|2|we%27ll give them back Buckley|texasleo||20:01:46|10/30/2001|if they return Tina Turner........ 9|2|Where was the support from Dems during the recount|Simon2||18:35:51|10/31/2001|I am still wondering why the Democrats seemed to abandon Al Gore during the recount. All you heard was %22concede%2C concede.%22 And I will never forget how Jesse Jackson%2C Jr. couldn%27t even get one senator to sign on to the Black Caucus%27 petition. 3|1|Good lord -- is it still the beard%3F|SensibleCenterist||20:47:51|10/30/2001|What is it with the right wingers and Al Gore%27s beard%3F The fixation is bizarre.%0D%0A%0D%0AWhat Buckley is missing %28or can%27t admit%2C or is in denial%29 is that Al Gore and his advisers finally realized that the media was absolutely not going to give him a break of any kind. As Conason wrote%2C there was one unified media mission throughout the 2000 campaign. It was%3A %22Get Gore.%22%0D%0A%0D%0AIt goes on even to today. Gore speaks in support of Bush%2C the %22news%22 is all about how rambling his speech is or whatever.%0D%0A%0D%0AAnyway%2C if faced with a no-win situation like that%2C I would have advised Gore to fall back and lie low for a quite a while. Let the media fixation with getting him %28which obviously isn%27t over yet%29 die down a bit and develop a new and better media strategy. Activate it at the right time%2C which will be close to the next election. %0D%0A%0D%0ASince Buckley can%27t%2Fwon%27t see the media bias%2C no wonder he%27s confused. 4|2|I think they%27re obsessed with Gore%27s beard|AlGore2004dotORG||21:46:00|10/30/2001|Because they can%27t win on the issues. Instead of talking about Gore%27s %28or any other Dem%27s%29 agenda%2C instead of winning the voters over to their agenda%2C the GOP slams their personal apparence. They slam their personalities. They manufacture pseudo-scandals. There is no one on the planet who can%27t be successfully ridiculed for how they look %28they can even look %22too beautiful%22%29%2C what they wear%2C or their personalities. And if you take 25 years worth of public statements by anybody%2C you will find one or two quotes you can take out of context and twist into a shocking accusation%2C even if that accusation doesn%27t hold an atom of water. %0D%0A%0D%0AFocusing on this kind of trivia works in two ways%3A it turns off the %22intellectual%22 voters who want to vote on the issues and it guides the %22nonintellectual%22 voters who don%27t even realize what the issues are. If there seriously was absolutley no difference between the candidates%27 proposals and their ability to get the job done%2C why wouldn%27t you vote for the nice%2C honest%2C compassionate guy instead of the prissy%2C lying%2C egocentric jerk%3F %28Or%2C the new variation created after the selection - - why wouldn%27t you vote for the guy who had the guts to fight for his beliefs - - even if he didn%27t exactly follow the marquis of queensbury rules - - instead of the guy who lacked fire in his belly when it was gut check time%3F%29%0D%0A%0D%0AIt helps that the media don%27t do in depth political coverage - - I noticed a lot of TV coverage of last year%27s election would show a three or four second clip of Gore or Smirk at a rally%2C waving to the crowd. They did not speak at all - - the announcer would explain what they had said. It%27s really hard to notice that Gore is really the nice%2C honest%2C compassionate guy and Smirk is really the prissy%2C lying%2C egocentric jerk when you only see three seconds of them waving. %0D%0A%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.al-gore-2004.org%2Fgoregallery%2Fcitizen_president%2F09292001f.jpg%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22%23333333%22 size%3D%221%22 face%3D%22Verdana%22%5DGore 2004 - - Letting The Glory Out%0D%0Ahttp%3A%2F%2Fwww.Al-Gore-2004.org%5B%2Ffont%5D 5|3|William F. Buckley |Loki||21:56:44|10/30/2001|just loves to hear himself talk. Too bad he never has anything intelligent to say. %0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22%23333333%22 size%3D%221%22 face%3D%22Verdana%22%5D%22Let us not meekly serve our time.%22%0D%0ATom Hayden%5B%2Ffont%5D 8|3|Well put|SensibleCenterist||13:57:40|10/31/2001|If Gore is to be anywhere in the political scene%2C the Dems supporting him will have to come up with a way to counteract the shrill%2C right-wing media. 6|1|what does Buckley expect%3F|MrLiberal||22:05:20|10/30/2001|Like it or not%2C Gore is being prudent. There will be plenty of time later to pick apart the Bush presidency. Instead of peace and prosperity%2C we have war%2C anthrax%2C and an economy in freefall. Gore will be well positioned when the time comes to deliver this country from the chimp and his minions. 7|1|Buckley as in William F. Buckley%3F |rocknation||22:21:23|10/30/2001|[font size="1" color="#FF0000"]LAST EDITED ON Oct-30-01 AT 10:22 PM (ET)[/font][p]Awwwwwww%2C mommmm...Couldn%27t I have a nice root canal instead%3F 10|1|My Idea of Hell on Earth|DemoTex||18:45:20|10/31/2001|Dinner with George Will%2C William F. Buckley%2C Jr.%2C and William Murchinson %28of the %22Dallas Morning News%29. %0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22%23333333%22 size%3D%221%22 face%3D%22Verdana%22%5D%22This is an administration that will let its special interests %97 particularly its high-rolling campaign contributors and its noisiest theocrats of the right %97 have veto power over public safety%2C public health and economic prudence in war%2C it turns out%2C no less than in peacetime...%22 Frank Rich NYT 10%2F27%2F01%0D%0A%0D%0A%5B%2Ffont%5D 11|1|Who cares what the Wise Old Fool says%3F|hatrack||18:49:11|10/31/2001|Back in 1982%2C the New Haven dirigible docked one night in my little hometown. He then proceeded to vent and offload 60 minutes of puffy musings on how it would indeed be far better for all of us to die in a nuclear war than to yield to Godless Communism %28yeah%2C right%29. That%27s right%2C folks%2C Old Bill just came out and said it - better dead than Red. Given that %28known as %22insanity%22 by its proper name%29%2C who gives a single solitary shit about any of his elephantine and oh-so-learned musings%3F%0D%0A%0D%0ABesides%2C there%27s an inescapable pair of political bookends of which everyone as aware%2C as inescapable as gravity and as scalding as drain cleaner. Buckley and the rest of the Neocons are now trying desperately to answer this rhetorically%2C and failing pathetically in the process. Here it is%3A%0D%0A%0D%0A1. Bush I - recession%2C corporate corruption and war%0D%0A%0D%0A1. Clinton - 8 years of peace and prosperity %28with some corporate corruption%29%0D%0A%0D%0A2. Bush II - recession%2C corporate corruption and war.%0D%0A%0D%0ASomehow%2C responding with %22Al grew a be-ard%21 Al grew a be-ard%21%22 doesn%27t quite qualify as a ringing%2C stinging rebuttal - how about you guys%3F Any thoughts%3F 12|2|Most Americans|lackaraina||20:24:47|10/31/2001|be they Democrat or not would fight against Communism. And yes%2C nukes would be a last resort. 13|3|Buckley and |ignatius||20:40:44|10/31/2001|George Will and William Safire can all kiss my rosy red butt. They sing the same sad%2C tired song%2C hell%2C they even look alike. How can these men stand themselves%3F%0D%0A%0D%0ABuckley%2C having been in the CIA%2C would think there is nothing worse than communism. How about living in a dictatorship with bunker boy and daddy as leaders for life. Scary thought. 15|2|Hey hatrack|Hokies_Against_Bush||22:39:25|10/31/2001|I posted soemthing close to this the other day. I like your additions.%0D%0A%0D%0A1. Bush I%3A war and recession%0D%0A2. Clinton%3A Peace and prosperity%0D%0A3. Bush II%3A 5000 dead%2C war%2C recession%0D%0A%0D%0AWhat is so hard to understand about politics%3F 14|1|Nowhere to go but up|gulliver||21:32:30|10/31/2001|The Dems need to get mad. As anyone who watches the WWF knows%2C there comes a point in the match where one of the guys is more or less beaten into submission. Thats the point where the turnaround begins. The %22beaten%22 guy suddenly gets some spirit and then turns the tables on his opponent. The audience demands that.%0D%0A%0D%0AIf and when the Democrats start showing some spirit%2C I think they will find a receptive audience. Right now they are taking an unfair beating for Clinton and PC. Soon%2C the wrestling audience will feel they%27ve been punished enough.%0D%0A%0D%0AThe majority of people are Democrats and voted that way. That should be a solid source of inspiration to the Democrats.%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A%0D%0A 16|1|ah%2C|Vis Numar||02:24:10|11/01/2001|let the Gops gloat in their glory of having stolen 2000%2C let%27s concentate on kicking their ass in %2701-%2704 while they continue Gore-baiting.%0D%0A%0D%0A%5Bfont color%3D%22%23333333%22 size%3D%221%22 face%3D%22Verdana%22%5Dhttp%3Awww.mydd.com%2Fpolitics.html%0D%0A%0D%0AIN THE HEAT OF THE NOON%2C A MAN TAKES A SIESTA.%5B%2Ffont%5D 17|1|I Think Gore Should Run Again But...|farmboxer||02:31:22|11/01/2001|he should be much more aggressive like he was vs. Bradley%21 Democrats have almost or perhaps all of the issues on their side%21 Democrats do not need to lie like the Republicans%2C all they have to do is tell the truth and that is very devastating%21 Bush and his ilk are a bunch of crooks who are only for the extremely rich%21 Bush and the Republicans are destroying this country%2C before the terrorist%27s attacks%2C not just after%21 Bush is even worse than I could have ever imagined%21 18|1|Billy Foolish Fuckley is a blowhard%2F|opihimoimoi||00:25:46|11/02/2001|Why anyone listens to that wannabe is a mystery. He mumbles terrible and can hardly be understood. Like he forces you to listen more carefully by speaking in tongues or Buckese which is the cousin to Bushese.%0D%0A%0D%0AHe is over the hill and regulated to diapers and medication for the loloitis infecting his brain.%0D%0A%0D%0Anough%2C we go boogie at the Rock Za