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May 24, 2012
Jeff Jacoby: The peace process battered Israel's reputation
Michael Muskal: 'Pro-choice' position hits record low, according to poll
Chris Farrell: Are We in a Tech Bubble?
The Kosher Gourmet by Penelope Wall: PHILLY CHEESE STEAKS --- hold the steak!
May 23, 2012
Tony Pugh: More private colleges offering tuition discounts
Mary Beth Franklin: How to Choose the Right Annuity for You
Tina Susman: The wig wasn't enough: Man gets 13 years for posing as his dead mom
The Kosher Gourmet by Emma Christensen:A simple way to do fish right
May 22, 2012
Warren Richey: Can US group challenge overseas surveillance act? Supreme Court to decide
Thomas M. Anderson: Walking Away From a Mortgage
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: Enjoy a celebration of the most rich and layered flavors: Black bean, sweet potato and quinoa chili
May 21, 2012
Mark Clayton: Cybersecurity: How US utilities passed up chance to protect their networks
Howard LaFranchi: NATO summit: Who will foot the bill for long-term Afghanistan security?
Chris Farrell : Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Stephen Whiteside, Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: Social anxiety disorder --- or just shy?
Guy Jackson : Victim's father regrets death of Lockerbie bomber
The Kosher Gourmet by Mario Batali: Famed chef's veal shoulder farsumagru: A festive meat course for late spring
May 18, 2012
Rabbi Berel Wein: Striving: The People of the Book's Book for (All of) the People
Steven Goldberg: 5 Great Stock Picks and the Exchange-Traded Fund that Owns Them
Mary Pickett, M.D.: Ask the Harvard Experts: Don't be forced into gluten-free lifestyle based merely on a doctor's false-positive test
The Kosher Gourmet by Carolyn Malcoun: DIY healthy lunchbox treats: HOMEMADE FRUIT BARS for kids and brown-bagging adults alike
May 17, 2012
Warren Richey: Teacher fired for being unwed and pregnant can sue religious school, court rules
Josh Mitnick: Netanyahu's 'centrist' coalition is already proving it's anything but
Steven Goldberg: Earn Dividends in Emerging Markets with This WisdomTree ETF
Amina Khan: Research links coffee to lower death rates
The Kosher Gourmet by Faith Duran : Cheesy Potato Breakfast Casserole with Cheddar and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
May 16, 2012
Carmen Terzic, M.D., Ph.D. : Mayo Clinic Medical Edge: A variety of exercises can help improve balance
Melissa Healy: National strategy on Alzheimer's disease aims to halt it by 2025
The Kosher Gourmet by Joyce White : GOODNESS GRACIOUS: GREENS! 4 winning recipes that are no longer just for down-home folks (Includes expert tips & techniques)
May 15, 2012
Kristen Chick: Obama administration resumes arms sales to Bahrain despite serious unresolved human rights issues. Activists feel abandoned
Pat Mertz Esswein: Homes are now affordable again and mortgage rates are low. What you need to know before you buy
Kathy Kristof: Our Practical Investor Fights Inflation with These 6 Investments
Sue Hubbard, M.D.: The Kid's Doctor: Lactose intolerant young child? Check again
The Kosher Gourmet by Kathy Hunt: Spread a Little Excitement with EXOTIC CONDIMENTS (4 RECIPES)
May 14, 2012
Lisa Gerstner: How to Protect Your Identity, Finances If You Lose Your Phone
Harvard Health Letters: Heart disease and dementia
The Kosher Gourmet by Megan Gordon: MANGO COCONUT OAT MORNING MUFFINS are a bright but hearty delight
May 11, 2012
Jessica L. Anderson: Get the Best Deal on a Used Car
Jett Stone: Forget face-lifts and fake knees. Scientists have seen the fountain of youth --- and it's broccoli
The Kosher Gourmet by Chef Mario Batali: The famed chef's vegetable dish that tastes true to the season: FAVAS AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS WITH POTATOES AND TARRAGON
May 10, 2012
Sergei L. Loiko: Putin sends warning to U.S., NATO in Victory Day speech at Red Square
Mary Rourke: How being a 'mentch' got Vidal Sasoon his start and fighting in Israel's War of Independence provided him with confidence and a strong sense of his own identity
Jeff Bertolucci: Get Home Phone Service for Less Than $10 a Month
The Kosher Gourmet by Betty Rosbottom: Gleaming with its golden, crimson, and snowy white hues, this silken smooth and creamy STRAWBERRY ORANGE TRIFLE looks impressive, but is easy to prepare
May 9, 2012
Sharon Palmer, R.D. How you can reduce your risk -- or delay -- chronic diseases associated with aging
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Jewish World Review
August 31, 2005
/ 26 Av, 5765
GOP, Dems in synchronized funk
By
Tony Blankley
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
Usually, when one of our major political parties is feeling
weak, the other one is feeling strong. But right at the moment, both the
Republican and Democratic Parties seem to be in a synchronized funk.
Republican operatives do not currently anticipate the 2006
election to be a good time for Republican challengers. As a result, as Bob
Novak and others have pointed out, it is hard to get the best Republican
hopeful candidates to risk taking on even weak Democratic incumbents in the
next election.
Meanwhile, Republican incumbent congressmen and senators are
sending signals not to expect many heroic legislative efforts from them
before the election which is still 15 months away. Social Security, of
course, is off the Republican legislative agenda. But so, too, will be other
smaller legislative efforts that might upset even small groups of voters.
I have always found it a curious, if predictable, response of
legislative parties, which fear the public is not satisfied with their
performance that they retreat further into inaction, rather than exert
themselves to re-gain the sagging approval of their natural electors. It is
the instinctive pose of the deer to freeze in place and hope not to be
noticed.
Given that in an off election the legislators are the only
federal incumbents on the ballot, hiding in plain sight may not work too
well. Although it has to be conceded that unless Election Day 2006 is far
worse for Republicans than it currently looks, they are not likely to lose
either the House or the Senate. But when a party, hoping to only lose two or
three Senate seats and a half dozen or so House seats, adopts a hunker-down
policy they run the risk of having no strategy left to play if things are
in fact worse next spring or summer.
Compounding the problem is President Bush's insistence on
pushing for his guest-worker legislation this fall. Unless he agrees to a
full, really-secure-the-border-first-before-addressing-guest-worker plan
this is both political and legislative terrible news waiting to happen. If
the Republicans go along with him, they further alienate the growing part of
the public for whom secure borders is becoming the single issue on which
they will vote. If they oppose the president, they further weaken their own
party's president as well as upset the business and agri-business
interests, which want the cheap labor and make campaign contributions.
The best prospect for the White House's congressional party in
an off election is a popular president. The congressional party undercuts
their own electoral prospects by undercutting and weakening their president.
But sometimes as in 1990, when President G.H. Bush came out for tax
increases it is the lesser of dangers to oppose their president on a
vastly unpopular (and unwise) policy. Insecure borders and immigration looks
to be shaping up as the tax increase tar baby of 2006.
Overhanging Republican anxieties is the war in Iraq which is
not yet a lethal threat to a Republican congressional majority but might
become one.
With the Republican Party thus mired in this bog of despond, one
would expect the Democrats to be as chipper as a roué bouncing up the stairs
of his favorite brothel. But the regular, elected Democrats are more likely
to be playing the song "Blue Monday" on their CD players and reaching for
their razor blades.
That is because the mainline Washington Democratic Party has
been all but possessed by their lunatic, MoveOn.org, Howard Dean, anti-war,
anti religion, anti-pickup truck, anti-normal, activist wing and they
know it. Not only is their left-wing fringe forcing its goofy ideas and
obnoxious, off-putting rhetoric on the party regulars, but they are raising
most of the money.
The Democratic Regulars find themselves similarly situated to
the1970s' British Labor Party, which, though possessing many sensible
members and some sensible ideas, came to be seen as the party of the loony
Left. They lost power in 1979 to Maggie Thatcher and didn't shed their loony
image and regain power until 1997 a full 18 years later.
Once the loons get a hold of a party, it is the devil's own time
unprying their maniacal grip from a party's throat. Thus, currently, the
normal Democratic senators and congressmen know that, to placate their loony
Left, they will have to pronounce various foolish and irresponsible things
about Supreme Court nominee John Roberts and the Iraq War.
Even Sen. Clinton who it had been presumed would get a free
pass from the liberals in order to moderately position herself for a general
presidential election may find that she, too, will have to placate the
loons by feeding them with the harsh and foolish words they demand from
their politicians.
But in this parity of despair, the Republicans have one
advantage over the Democrats. They have the executive branch and legislative
power to actually carry out some good ideas if any pop into their heads.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.
Tony Blankley is editorial page editor of The Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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© 2005, Creators Syndicate
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