GOP Primary Megathread!

[alfred russel]

Yes.  He, like the Democrats before him will be his own undoing.

It is always something isn't it?

Dukakis by the tank helmet, Gore by sighing during the debate,

Dukakis was undone more by the Willie Horton thing and Kitty Litter.
Gore did more damage than sighing when he dry humped his wife at the Convention.

The two worst moments at any convention: the Gore dry hump, and Kerry "reporting for duty".

I wasn't serious about Obama being a bad president, btw. Grading on the curve of 21st century presidents, he is an all star.

[DGuller]

Obama has more sense than to overplay the "I'm not a weenie" angle.  Those Democrats who tried it not only looked pathetic, but also validated the Republican chest puffing.

[Neil]

Dukakis was a pansy for that stuff. The ACLU thing, Willie Horton... he could have and should have fought back instead of taking it like  a little bitch.

Swift Boats...
Story of the Democrats;  taking the High Road just means you've got farther to drop when the Republicans put you through the guard rail.

It wasn't the Republicans who used electoral fraud and media stoogery to win the 1960 election.

[Ideologue]

Dukakis was a pansy for that stuff. The ACLU thing, Willie Horton... he could have and should have fought back instead of taking it like  a little bitch.

There's something about the Democrats and an unwillingness to be nasty.  I've never understood it.  What we need is a Democrat willing to be as mean, vicious, and dirty as a Republican.  Like LBJ, or FDR.

[Ed Anger]

Obama has more sense than to overplay the "I'm not a weenie" angle.  Those Democrats who tried it not only looked pathetic, but also validated the Republican chest puffing.

You sound like a wuss.

[Admiral Yi]

There's something about the Democrats and an unwillingness to be nasty.  I've never understood it.  What we need is a Democrat willing to be as mean, vicious, and dirty as a Republican.  Like LBJ, or FDR.

Part of the reason you think Democrats can't be nasty could be that you perceive Democratic nastiness as the simple truth.

[Ideologue]

I concede being biased, but by no means do I believe, nor do I think you believe, that Obama is as mean as the average Republican presidential candidate in 2012,  nor most Democratic candidates in general as mean as Republican candidates.

When Dems get called "socialists" (or have their policies called such), I've never heard one fire back with "fascist," "theocrat" or "anarchist," as appropriate; when called "class warriors," I've never heard one respond by calling their opponents "job destroyers," "mercenaries" or "thieves," as appropriate.

They also seem to make a lot fewer statements that aren't true or are incredibly viciously spun, e.g. that the Obama stimulus did nothing, that Obamacare includes death panels, or that Obama isn't an American.

Maybe all the "no blood for oil" stuff counts, but I don't remember any actual candidates who said that...

[DGuller]

Dukakis was a pansy for that stuff. The ACLU thing, Willie Horton... he could have and should have fought back instead of taking it like  a little bitch.

There's something about the Democrats and an unwillingness to be nasty.  I've never understood it.  What we need is a Democrat willing to be as mean, vicious, and dirty as a Republican.  Like LBJ, or FDR.

I think it's easy to understand, actually.  When you have a strong goal, it becomes easier for the ends to justify the means.  Republicans have it, they have a very coherent reactionary agenda.  Liberals have no strong agenda.  Another reason is that liberals by their very nature reject the concept that there is a simple truth out there, and that naturally makes you a less determined fighter.

[CountDeMoney]

Dukakis was a pansy for that stuff. The ACLU thing, Willie Horton... he could have and should have fought back instead of taking it like  a little bitch.

Swift Boats...
Story of the Democrats;  taking the High Road just means you've got farther to drop when the Republicans put you through the guard rail.

It wasn't the Republicans who used electoral fraud and media stoogery to win the 1960 election.

LOL, and Nixon was the height of political honesty.

[Eddie Teach]

When Dems get called "socialists" (or have their policies called such), I've never heard one fire back with "fascist," "theocrat" or "anarchist," as appropriate;

The socialist label is more accurate, not that it's a bad thing.

[CountDeMoney]

Dukakis was a pansy for that stuff. The ACLU thing, Willie Horton... he could have and should have fought back instead of taking it like  a little bitch.

There's something about the Democrats and an unwillingness to be nasty.  I've never understood it.  What we need is a Democrat willing to be as mean, vicious, and dirty as a Republican.  Like LBJ, or FDR.

I think it's easy to understand, actually.  When you have a strong goal, it becomes easier for the ends to justify the means.  Republicans have it, they have a very coherent reactionary agenda.  Liberals have no strong agenda.  Another reason is that liberals by their very nature reject the concept that there is a simple truth out there, and that naturally makes you a less determined fighter.

Meh, the problem with Liberals is they actually believe that Nice Guys Finish First, and that politics is some sort of "higher calling" that doesn't need to be fought in the mud. 
Suckers.

[The Brain]

If only someone had settled that crap in writing already 500 years ago.

[DGuller]

That too.  The history of politics is full of guys who erroneously thought that playing nice would be appreciated by the voting public.  It would've been way fuller if losers actually wrote history.

[Admiral Yi]

I concede being biased, but by no means do I believe, nor do I think you believe, that Obama is as mean as the average Republican presidential candidate in 2012,  nor most Democratic candidates in general as mean as Republican candidates.

When Dems get called "socialists" (or have their policies called such), I've never heard one fire back with "fascist," "theocrat" or "anarchist," as appropriate; when called "class warriors," I've never heard one respond by calling their opponents "job destroyers," "mercenaries" or "thieves," as appropriate.

They also seem to make a lot fewer statements that aren't true or are incredibly viciously spun, e.g. that the Obama stimulus did nothing, that Obamacare includes death panels, or that Obama isn't an American.

Maybe all the "no blood for oil" stuff counts, but I don't remember any actual candidates who said that...

Oh come now Ide.  Fascist is hardly the counterpart to socialist.  Democrats have been engaged in a non-stop rhetorical war about fat cats and greedy millionaires and billionaires and out of touch Republicans who own thousands of vacation homes and special tax loopholes for the rich, etc., etc.

[PDH]

The proper counterpart to "socialist" is "like, those guys who own the factories are sending the jobs overseas but don't care about us at all.  I know, my uncle was in a union and I worked at K-mart between semesters."

I loses a lot of oomph when used as a retort.