November 16, 2006 [LINK / comment]
So Trent Lott is really going to be the next Minority Whip? Has he really learned since that gaffe praising Strom Thurmond four years ago? Somehow, I doubt it. Robert Novak is also very upset with keeping the same GOP leadership, noting that "For good reason, the GOP often is called 'the stupid party.'" He takes particular criticism of Virginia's ambitious young Rep. Eric Cantor, who ought to know better than to "stay the course" in the wake of a historic defeat:
Bright and able though he is, Cantor has drunk the Kool-Aid in viewing the Republican Party as a private club where personal loyalties must transcend all else.
Novak is among the best-informed pundits in Washington, and while his opinions are often a little on the strident side, his observations are usually pretty accurate. I think he hit the bullseye with this one.
On the general theme of policy and philosophical position versus party loyalty, I have to agree with what Andrew Sullivan wrote:
in most periods, this finessing between party and principle is a difficult task. But today, when the GOP has abandoned the most basic conservative principles, it's impossible.
But do you think very many Republicans are actually engaging in thoughtful debate over what direction to take in coming years? Not from what I've seen. Along the same lines, Sullivan writes, "
There is something deeply Orwellian about the current state of the right. If you ask them what they're for, you tend to get platitudes. But ask them what they're against and their eyes and keyboards light up
Shawn Smith, executive director of Republican Party of Virginia, will be leaving his post. Former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie is rumored to be the next chairman of the RPF, replacing Kate Obenshain Griffin. Will the change of personnel matter?
Guns n Butter: "Dems divided: Is Bush anti-Christ or bumbling oaf?"