Dead In The Water

Hilarious. So the House Republicans had a playdate with President Georgie today, and there are pictures, too. So much for distancing themselves from the worst President in history. In fact, Republicans are downright touchy about it.

Columbus, Ohio: You boldy predicted that Bush’s approval ratings would rebound — instead he is, according to Gallup, the most unpopular presdient [sic] in history. Will you finally admit that your vision for this nation has been overwhelmingly rejected by the majority of the people?

Karl Rove: Get your facts right — there are at least three president who had worse approval ratings, Truman, Johnson and Nixon. I’m absolutely positive history will be kind to this president, who made the right decisions in a difficult time for this nation.

Won't surprise you to know that Turdblossom got his facts wrong. But that's besides the point. It's the collective denial, the touchiness, the flinging headlong into the arms of that disaster Bush, that is sending Republicans down a path of electoral disaster.

Shellshocked House Republicans got warnings from leaders past and present Tuesday: Your party’s message isn’t good enough to prevent disaster in November, and neither is the NRCC’s money.

The double shot of bad news had one veteran Republican House member worrying aloud that the party’s electoral woes — brought into sharp focus by Woody Jenkins’ loss to Don Cazayoux in Louisiana on Saturday — have the House Republican Conference splitting apart in “everybody for himself” mode.

“There is an attitude that, ‘I better watch out for myself, because nobody else is going to do it,’” the member said. “There are all these different factions out there, everyone is sniping at each other, and we have no real plan. We have a lot of people fighting to be the captain of the lifeboat instead of everybody pulling together.” [...]

And in a closed-door session at the Capitol, National Republican Congressional Committee Chairman Tom Cole (R-Okla.) told members that the NRCC doesn’t have enough cash to “save them” in November if they don’t raise enough money or run strong campaigns themselves.

They don't have the ideas, they don't have the ear of the public, and Cole is signaling that they don't have the money. Newt Gingrich is the Cassandra of the GOP, warning that disaster is imminent And it is. This is very stark language.

The Anti-Obama, Anti-Wright, and Anti-Clinton GOP Model Has Been Tested -- And It Failed

The Republican brand has been so badly damaged that if Republicans try to run an anti-Obama, anti- Reverend Wright, or (if Senator Clinton wins), anti-Clinton campaign, they are simply going to fail.

This model has already been tested with disastrous results.

In 2006, there were six incumbent Republican Senators who had plenty of money, the advantage of incumbency, and traditionally successful consultants.

But the voters in all six states had adopted a simple position: "Not you." No matter what the GOP Senators attacked their opponents with, the voters shrugged off the attacks and returned to, "Not you."

The danger for House and Senate Republicans in 2008 is that the voters will say, "Not the Republicans."

I really don't think Republicans understand the enormity of this, and I don't think Newt Gingrich is that good a messenger in the sense that he will probably not be listened to in any legitimate way. And of course, Gingrich doesn't have any real answers to this dilemma. His proposed solutions - repealing the gas tax for the summer, earmark reform and cutting the runaway Census budget (!) - are a warmed-over brew of meaningless solutions that have no support among the broader public. The fact that Newt plugs his book at the end of this clarion call shows that he's looking out for himself more than the party, and that he considers his readers to be little more than suckers.

P.S. -- Father's Day is just around the corner and there are great gift ideas available at great prices at Newt.org. Just click here to order personally signed copies of my new novel, Days of Infamy, as well as Pearl Harbor and Real Change. With the purchase of either of these three personally signed books, you can get a signed copy of Gettysburg for only $5. If you buy both a personalized copy of Pearl Harbor and Days of Infamy, you will receive a signed Gettysburg for free!

P.P.S. -- The Days of Infamy book tour took me to New York City last week where Callista took some great pictures of us on the set of Hannity and Colmes, The View, The Daily Show and others. You can view them here.

I'm continuing the tour with a signing in Marietta, GA Wednesday. Click here for details.

This is what the conservative movement is reduced to - hawking their books while the party hollows out and lumbers toward permanent minority status. Their Idiot Boy King broke the party, and nobody can remove themselves from his embrace.





Good luck, Republicans.