“…any Republican who does not pass the right’s litmus tests on social issues and the economy is unlikely to be nominated.” No kidding. The same goes for democrats, but somehow that went unsaid in your article.

Nice article going to bat for the Dems.

Dear Kevin: I only wish I could see the “change” as being enough to actually help. Democrats are less organized and less monolithic, although more numerous, which is why you see them running around squabbling with each other rather than lock-step rolling over the Republicans in Congress and the Senate. There are no media choruses of “up or down vote!” now that the Republicans are the ones filibustering. Dems, despite your suggestion of “litmus tests,” can’t seem to agree on what should be done first, then next, let alone what positions are Officially Good, so despite their majority they are less effective. The only reason they were able to wrest power from the Republicans briefly was that the Bushistas had messed up the economy so badly. What political party can justify a trillion dollars on two simultaneous overseas wars while also insisting on tax cuts (wars sparked by a horrific incident which killed some 3,000 Americans), and then turn around and moan about how much an ounce of health-crisis prevention will cost, to save 45,000 Americans each year, who die of underinsured preventable/treatable conditions? Hint: starts with “R.”

If the folks run on Obama’s record, THEY WILL LOSE!!

Whatever he has touched has turned into a mess! TARP (As of early Nov, we now have 115 banks that have folded — how much will the taxpayers get back?), Stimulus (are you stimulated …yet?), Auto Bailouts–they went bankrupt, Cash for Clunkers–dealers still need repayment, NO Jobs, H1N1 Vaccine shortage, Afghanistan indecision, Professor Gates, Health Bill with government control, More NO Jobs, The Olympic Bid fiasco, Iran, North Korea, MORE NO Jobs, Europe’s latest impression of the US — especially Sarkozy, GITMO goat ropin’, and More NO Jobs.

Obama’s instincts are simply troubling – as an example, we have a shortfall of H1N1 vaccine, but Team Obama was going to provide limited vaccine to the prisoners at GITMO. This folks, is a troubling when it comes to HIS PRIORITIES!

Given his PROMISE of transparency, would he please share with the US the algorithms he uses in determining “OBAMA JOBS SAVED”??

He does not have the common decency to accept responsibility for his sophomoric actions — throwing one contender under the bus two weeks before the election — (Deeds — Virginia). IT IS ALL ABOUT OBAMA. SAD!!

BE INTELLECTUALLY HONEST WITH YOURSELF:

Would you tie your wagon to this donkey????????????????

Hey Kevin:
If you were correct, then the Dems would have passed health care reform months ago. Tell me, what is the GOP equivalent of the Dems Blue Dogs?

Bob from Edmonton, Canada says it all:

“As a Canadian with outstanding universal health care, I cannot help but look at America with great pity. You are debating health care when the rest of the developed world moved on it decades ago. You debate gay marriage and gays in the military like it was 1960 as opposed to 2009. You seriously consider the merits of allowing handguns into shopping malls while ignoring debates about so many important issues.

Let me tell you about my life. My wife gets 1 year maternity leave with 55% pay. We have health care that is equal to that which an insured American gets for about 1/3 the cost. We have gays in the military with no problems and gay marriage. Traditional marriage seems to be surviving just fine. We pay about 1/2 the cost for prescription drugs. I am very well off, but send my kids to public school because they are good schools here – even in poor neighbourhoods. We have about 1/10 the level of gun violence in our country and less than 1/2 as many people per capita locked up in prison. Oh, and we suffer under a total tax burden that is approximately 2% higher than we would in the USA…I feel its worth it!

Canada has it’s problems, but at least they are 21st century problems. Why is it that the US government is grappling with 3rd world issues?”

@Slothrop
My comment was about those thinking of running for office, not those already occupying it. It’ll be interesting to see how many Blue Dogs get democratic machine backing.

@Helen The article and my comment were about elections, not incumbents.

Kevin:
All of the Blue Dogs will get party backing. The Blue Dogs have always been supported and encouraged by Rahm Emanuel, Obama’s Chief of Staff.

Slothrop/Helen: From today’s headlines…

“Moveon.org has reportedly raised $3.5 in contributions to fund primary challenges against ‘any Democratic senator who blocks an up-or-down vote on health care reform with a public option,’ according to an e-mail sent to group members on Thursday.”

Emanuel will get his marching orders to tell those he recruited to get on the party wagon or get expelled from office. He’ll also be told to stop recruiting conservative dem candidates who are helping to block the democrat’s agenda.

Our owners, the international companies, don’t care what changes we make as long as there is still a trillion dollars left to steal. After the money is gone, they won’t care what changes we make . . . as their serfs.

Speaking as a Republican who suppoted Obama, I believe Obama is a liberal who wore a moderate hat in order to get elected.
He used “lofty reteric” which many of us fell for.
His big mistake was fulfilling his pledge by working with both sides
of the aisle on his stimuls package and now his Health propsal.
Will Obama be known like Johnson for escallating a war that may not be
winnable? This may turn out to be one of his legacies.
The governors elections were isolated incidents and I don’t believe
the 2010 election will be a landslide for Republicans but I do believe enough to loose a majority and thus more gridlock

A brief analysis of all of the misinformation posted by Pappy Happy.

“TARP (As of early Nov, we now have 115 banks that have folded — how much will the taxpayers get back?)” TARP is a Bush era bailout

“Stimulus (are you stimulated …yet?)” Actually, there are more road and bridge construction projects going on than I’ve ever seen in my life time. The stimulus project has kept me, a teacher, from losing my job. Thank You Obama.

“Auto Bailouts–they went bankrupt, Cash for Clunkers–dealers still need repayment” Which ones? GM and Ford are doing fine. Chrysler is having a tough time, but still kicking. Remember, your favorite president Bush bailed out Ford a few years back. American auto makers need to get with the times and start producing cars that people want, beyond gas guzzling trucks and SUVs. I haven’t heard anything in the news about auto dealers not getting the Cash for Clunkers money yet. Something that newsworthy would actually be in the news.

“NO Jobs” We’ve just started bottoming out in one of America’s hardest recessions. Obama has not even been a president for a full year and he has to undue 8 years of Bush’s mishandling of the economy.

“H1N1 Vaccine shortage” H1N1 is the most worried about non-issue of the year, maybe even the decade. Those that are doing the most complaining also think the world is going to end in 2012.

“Afghanistan indecision” It’s nice to have a president who actually thinks about decisions relating to war and troop levels. Unlike Bush who got us into this mess becasue he “went with his gut.”

“Health Bill with government control” There is one sentence that sums up the birther/deather/teabagger crowd like Happy Pappy. “Keep government away from my Medicare!”

“Europe’s latest impression of the US” Europeans have expressed enormous relief that we have elected a sane thinking man for our president. It was such a deep breath of relief that they gave Obama the Nobel Peace prize for it. Europeans are still gravely concerned about people like Pappy Happy getting back in power only to ruin the state of international relations, economy and war again.