May 1, 2009 7:08pm

Is Sen. Susan Collins a Member of an Endangered Species?

On this week’s ABC News Shuffle Podcast, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, talks candidly about the party-switch of Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Penn., her worries about her party and why she shouldn’t be attacked for helping to remove money to combat the flu from the stimulus package.

You can listen to the podcast HERE or on iTunes. The Shuffle is produced by Huma Khan.

"I was really stunned by his decision and it took me completely by surprise," the Maine senator says of Specter’s announcement. "I would not have been surprised had he announced that he was retiring and I would’ve been less surprised if he’d announced he was going to become an independent but continued to caucus with our party. But I was shocked that he became a Democrat."

Collins said that "there’s no doubt that this was a political calculation as he freely and forthrightly admitted, but I also think that being Republican had become increasingly uncomfortable for him and that’s the part that really concerns me."

Re-elected last fall, Collins says that "the Republican party needs to broaden its base. I’m very concerned that it’s increasingly becoming a regional party and we cannot regain control of the Senate, much less the House, nor can we win presidential elections if we’re just a small regionally based party. I also don’t think it’s good for the country, it’s not good for New England. … It’s much better for our democracy that there be robust competition between the two parties in all areas of the country. So I think this is a worrisome sign for the Republican party but it’s also not good for our country nor for specific regions."

This week Collins has taken some heat for being part of a group of Senate moderates who stripped $870 million "to prepare for and respond to an influenza epidemic" from the stimulus bill in February.

"Collins played politics with public health and the economic recovery," wrote John Nichols in The Nation. "That makes her about as bad a player as you will find in a town full of bad players."

Collins maintains that she’s been a longtime advocate of funding for flu preparedness, but this particular funding did not belong in this particular bill.

"We made exactly the right decision," she says. "This is just a blatant political attack and it’s the kind of unfair attack that ignores those of us who have worked very hard on this issue and what our record is… It’s what the American people really don’t like seeing in Washington these days."

Again, you can listen to the podcast HERE or on iTunes.

– jpt

User Comments

I am sad to hear Republicans, even RINOs like Collins say that the reason the Republican party has lost ground is because we have narrowed the base, because it is so wrong headed and that was what killed the party over the last 10 years. People stopped voting Republican or voting period because the party was trying to be like the Democratic party and appeal to a broad base of people, even if they did not share conservative ideals. The party did well under the Clinton years because we were forced to fight the liberal social programs that Clinton was pushing. We faltered when we gained the majority and started spending money like liberals. We lost our way and we need to get back to the conservative ideals we had in the 90′s in order to combat the spending onslaught Obama is bringing. There are a majority of people in the US that self identify as conservative, they just have not felt like they had a real conservative party to stand with. What was the difference between the Democrats and the Republicans in congress? Not enough. Partisanship is good for democracy, we need competing voices and parties to ensure we don’t swing dangerously in one direction or the other.

Posted by: Jason | May 1, 2009, 7:24 pm 7:24 pm

someone in the republican party should have sat down in a closed room with george w. bush and vetted him better.
people keep talking about the reps. have lost their way, and need to regroup.
when trying to figure what went wrong the reps. need look no farther than george w. bush and the last eight years.
that is the main reason the republican party is in the shape it is in.
george w bush and last eight years=republican party in the swamp now

Posted by: WHAT! | May 1, 2009, 7:35 pm 7:35 pm

You are exactly right, Jason.
And honestly, if you look at Congressional red/blue maps, the party isn’t that regional, although there are very few GOPers in the North East.
I would love to have embraced Arlen Specter because he was pro-choice as am I. The problem was that he was also pro-spending as are the current Democrats. It was an easy switch for him to make to protect his seat.

Posted by: MayBee | May 1, 2009, 7:39 pm 7:39 pm

What!: Blame Bush, blah blah blah
Get a life. Bush is gone, yes he damaged the party, especially at the end when he threw capitalism under the bus, but the real culprits were and some still are in the congress. McCain also did a lot to damage the party, and no I am not talking about his pick of Palin for VP. He still would have been the lesser of two evils between him and Obama, but the party would have deteriorated further. Obama’s spending has woken the conservative electorate up and they will punish the big spending Republicans in 2010.

Posted by: Jason | May 1, 2009, 7:46 pm 7:46 pm

I am sad to hear Republicans, even RINOs like Collins say that the reason the Republican party has lost ground is because we have narrowed the base, because it is so wrong headed and that was what killed the party over the last 10 years. People stopped voting Republican or voting period because the party was trying to be like the Democratic party and appeal to a broad base of people, even if they did not share conservative ideals. The party did well under the Clinton years because we were forced to fight the liberal social programs that Clinton was pushing. We faltered when we gained the majority and started spending money like liberals. We lost our way and we need to get back to the conservative ideals we had in the 90′s in order to combat the spending onslaught Obama is bringing.
****************************************
The Party line! And we wonder why they are so lost. RINO indeed1 You jus can’t except anyones ideas but your own.
You are loosing because only 25% believe in this junk you are pushing. It is your pipe dream that no one else wants. Yes we like to moderate the far left, but so do we want to moderate the far right. At least the left has some idea of how to interact with people. In other words if you are a moderate you have a better chance of being heard in the Democratic Party.

Posted by: Thinking | May 1, 2009, 8:05 pm 8:05 pm

This reminds me of an interesting op-ed in the NY Times by Ross Douthat, “Cheney for President”, in which he argues that much of the GOP is in denial about what went wrong and that the party would have been served better had Cheney been the nominee instead of McCain. Not because he would have beaten Obama but because his loss would have been so resounding that it would have forced them to face reality.
I think he is right.
Two excerpts:
“In the wake of two straight drubbings at the polls, much of the American right has comforted itself with the idea that conservatives lost the country primarily because the Bush-era Republican Party spent too much money on social programs.”
“The former vice-president kept his distance from the Bush administration’s attempts at domestic reform, and he had little time for the idealistic, religiously infused side of his boss’s policy agenda. He was for tax cuts at home and pre-emptive warfare overseas; anything else he seemed to disdain as sentimentalism.”

Posted by: El_Pajaro | May 1, 2009, 8:13 pm 8:13 pm

Thinking says: You jus can’t except anyones ideas but your own.
You are loosing because only 25% believe in this junk you are pushing.
Wow, where do I begin? Obviously not a lot of quality thinking going on in the above statements. In fact, this is not worthy of a response other than to point out how ridiculous you sound.

Posted by: Jason | May 1, 2009, 8:17 pm 8:17 pm

I’ve seen it all before. After the 1964 rout of Goldwater, the GOP was declared dead. Four years later, Nixon was elected. After Watergate, the press said the last rites over the GOP again. Six years later Ronaldus Maximus was elected in a landslide, and won 49 states four years later. His Vice President succeeded him by winning the election (first to do so since Martin Van Buren). That VP’s son then won two terms, on the second occasion doing something Bill Clinton was never able to do: he won a majority of the popular vote.
It’s best to take the long view on these matters. It really makes little difference whether, say, Arlen Specter declares himself to be a Democrat or a Republican (he started out as a Democrat, then switched to improve his chances of getting elected, then switched again for the same reason). If, like Specter, Snowe and Collins, you have no identifiable principles to guide you, you’re fairly irrelevant no matter what you call yourself.

Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 1, 2009, 8:25 pm 8:25 pm

El_Pajaro, I don’t have a lot of respect for Douthat or very many of the NYT columnists, and I don’t think I will bother to read such a boorish column suggesting Cheney should have run for whatever reason. As far as the excerpts and your statements go, I don’t think it does much to disprove my argument. It sounds like hearsay, and to speculate about how Cheney would have done is as pointless as speculating about how Giuliani or Thompson or any one of the others would have done. They all would have lost due to the media’s fawning coverage of the candidate Obama and that the country had tired of a republican in the executive branch. I don’t think it is possible that Obama or Hillary could have lost because the media refused to fairly report the issues and confront the candidates when they were caught lying about their past record. Either way, the election is done and over so this whole comment is kind of pointless just as Douthat’s column was. I believe that I am right in saying that the Reagan democrats would love to vote for a conservative if only they had one to vote for. The RNC needs to step up it’s recruitment of true fiscal and social conservatives because conservatism is not just a southern or a mid-western thing. I agree some of the social issues seem to be more regional, but not the majority of the conservative ideals.

Posted by: Jason | May 1, 2009, 8:31 pm 8:31 pm

Posted by: Thinking | May 1, 2009, 8:32 pm 8:32 pm

People haven’t stopped voting – turnout the past couple elections has been at historic levels. They haven’t merely stopped voting for Republicans, they have started voting for Democrats. That is a documented fact that STRONGLY suggests that Republicans aren’t loosing because they aren’t Right enough…
But I’ll admit that I’m still out for a bit of vengeance after the damage they wrought on our nation by creating and enabling Bush – I hope they do decide to go further Right for another election season.

Posted by: jhw539 | May 1, 2009, 8:35 pm 8:35 pm

Jason,
I think you are right about two things: That “the country had tired of a republican in the executive branch” and the part about Reagan democrats. But we may disagree on one important thing: I view Reagan as fairly moderate and I think that the difference between Reagan and Cheney is pretty stark. That is, in other words, what Douthat is essentially saying.

Posted by: El_Pajaro | May 1, 2009, 9:03 pm 9:03 pm

Jason:” I would challenge your documented fact that republicans switched parties for any reason other than Rush’s operation chaos where they voted for Hillary in an effort to try and draw out the democratic primary. ”
I’m not talking about switching parties, I’m talking about who the votes were cast for – the only metric that really counts. The Democrats aren’t winning a plurality, like when Clinton slipped in. It’s now a straight up majority.
“Polls done after the election still show a majority of Americans self identify as conservative, and I think that a lot of people were under the impression that Obama was a centrist who would return our country to fiscal responsibility so they voted for him over McCain.”
Keep spinning, it’s only to your own detriment.
I’m sure all those conservative folks just were completely hoodwinked when they voted for Obama, who openly campaigned saying he’d do – well, just about what he said he would. For example, McCain swore he would veto any bill with pork that reach his desk. Obama was challenged in one of the highly-publicized debates to match that challenge and clearly refused. But, if you need ANOTHER drubbing in the voting booth, go ahead and delude yourself.

Posted by: jhw539 | May 1, 2009, 9:04 pm 9:04 pm

She should worry if her own party will have a space for her when she crosses over to her home.

Posted by: Joe | May 1, 2009, 9:10 pm 9:10 pm

Bush was a huge dissapointment in many ways EXCEPT in protecting Americans.
He did a great job at that and history will prove that.
Other than that he was a lost president.
The right has no one but themselves to blame for what followed.
What would they expect running McCain?
They are scared to be conservative.
Well that’s their own problem.
Bobby Jindal and Sarah Palin arn’t scared to admit they are conservatives..
The GOP either dumps the old guard and moves on and embraces fresh true conservative ideas or they will continue their downward spiral.
Last election proved that real conservatives will no longer rubber stamp just any claimed republican.
Look at the real numbers. There was not a huge democratic upsurge in voters.
There was a slight increase in democrats and a slight decrease in repubs. that was all it took.
Facts are facts and the sooner everyone disregards the B.S. media spin the better off we will be as a nation.

Posted by: tommyd | May 1, 2009, 9:15 pm 9:15 pm

The problems with republicans is that they are just too too too stubborn. Also they think the are just out out of touch with the progression of certain values.
Don’t get me wrong… certain things like strong defense and fiscal responsibility are hallmarks of the republican party and things I value greatly. however they lost touch with those values and were overtly arrogant when they were in the majority.
Now that they are in the minority and steadly losing credibility and members in dc and state houses…. they are still ARROGANT.
Old Newt and the gang are trying to dust off that contract with America and use it again and America is just not buying it …. fool America once shame on you … we will not be fools GOP… how about instead of writing a contract with America, LISTEN to what America is SAYING and start from there.
Where are your young legislators GOP???? Young Republicans ….. Please…. cart these old farts off and take over the party if you want to become a competitive party again.
Or just continue to let Rush, Rove, Hannity, McCain and all the other q-tips continue to the cause the exodus of voters and legislators from your party.

Posted by: Omentum | May 1, 2009, 9:34 pm 9:34 pm

jhw539, I appreciate that there was a majority of people who voted for a democrat running for the presidency for the first time in recent history, but my main point that you left out was that the media deliberately mis-characterized Obama’s positions and didn’t report the full story on his voting record in Illinois. They also didn’t call him on his centrist statements that were inconsistent with past statements or his past voting record. Like I said, we will see what happens in 2010 and 2012, a lot depends on whether or not the economy can post gains in spite of the burdens being placed on it.

Posted by: Jason | May 1, 2009, 9:40 pm 9:40 pm

Wasn’t Specter a democrat to start with? Did he not switch to the republican party for the very same reason he’s switching back to the democrat party?
Since he did it once to save his political arse why is it such a shock that he’d do it again for the very same reason?

Posted by: Becca | May 1, 2009, 9:55 pm 9:55 pm

Jason:”but my main point that you left out was that the media deliberately mis-characterized Obama’s positions and didn’t report the full story on his voting record in Illinois.”
I disagree. He was called rather vigorously on them, and survived a primary far more brutal than what McCain went through. I have heard no one be surprised by his actions, other than some on the left annoyed that he has been too moderate and accommodating to Republicans (massive tax cuts in the stimulus including almost 10% of it to the AMT, no impeachment of Bush, continuation of business friendly policies, no immediate tax increase on high earners, continuation of legal defense of telecoms that supported illegal wire tapping, etc.).
But as I said, feel free to revise history as much as you want. In the end, the votes in 2010, or maybe 2012, are all that will be required to either drive reality home or clean Republicans out of government entirely (hopefully to be replaced by a productive, reality-based party). Hopefully we get there without another Timothy McVeigh, or more appropriately Jim Adkisson, who put down his O’Reilly and Hannity books long enough to murder liberals who were ruining America with the help of the media. (At least when modern lefties lose touch of reality they tend not to turn to murder.)

Posted by: jhw539 | May 1, 2009, 10:07 pm 10:07 pm

Stacey:”History has already shown us that progressives will ultimately fail. Their ideas are bankrupt and unworkable in the real world.”
The funny thing is that all the conservative Aristocrats in England said the exact same thing about a bunch of revolting colonists led by insane progressives. No king? Government by the people? They’ll just demand the government take care of them and never work! That country won’t last a generation, we guarantee it!

Posted by: jhw539 | May 1, 2009, 10:13 pm 10:13 pm

The Republicans are about as “over” as the Democrats in 2000.
All this talk about liberalism being the new American way and so forth is ludicrous.
The majority of us are in the middle, and once we tire of the pendulum swinging in favor of this group of idiots, we will go back to the other idiots.
This “new face of America” will be a bit of forgotten hyperbole in about two years.

Posted by: paul | May 1, 2009, 10:25 pm 10:25 pm

To assert that the media is the cause of President Obama’s victory is an insult to Americans all across this country.
It also asserts that the GOP spent too too much time talking about Ayers and Wright and clinging to guns and religion and too less time talking about real issues that may have given them pause.
When you go negative you turn off folks. Just maybe that was one of many reasons as well.

Posted by: Omentum | May 1, 2009, 10:28 pm 10:28 pm

“No king? Government by the people? They’ll just demand the government take care of them and never work! That country won’t last a generation, we guarantee it!”
So they were off in their timetable. Intelligent, working people can only hold off the leeches for so long once they’ve had a taste of the welfare society.

Posted by: paul | May 1, 2009, 10:30 pm 10:30 pm

“To assert that the media is the cause of President Obama’s victory is an insult to Americans all across this country.”
No, actually, President Obama’s victory is the insult to Americans all across this country.

Posted by: paul | May 1, 2009, 10:32 pm 10:32 pm

“Collins maintains that she’s been a longtime advocate of funding for flu preparedness, but this particular funding did not belong in this particular bill.”
Jake you need to fire your intern. Her argument would hold water if she hadn’t also voted against the omnibus bill this ended up in after they stripped it out of the stimulus.

Posted by: Flash Override | May 1, 2009, 10:48 pm 10:48 pm

Gee, Stacey, not sure about that one-
The pendulum will swing the other way…but violent?
We’ve gone through more perilous times…this one is not even close.
There will be a repeat of 1994 on Congress.
And of the President puts too much on his plate and fails to move his agenda through, he may be looking at a difficult race in 2012.
He was very smart removing Hillary from the equation.

Posted by: J House | May 1, 2009, 10:56 pm 10:56 pm

“No, actually, President Obama’s victory is the insult to Americans all across this country.”
Speak for yourself. That is another pesky habit the GOP can’t rid itself of. Speaking on behalf of America when they are so out of touch with America.
Continuing to be arrogant gets you nowhere. I know know…. this is unfamiliar territory for you. Being in a destitute party what was flying high just a only a few years ago.
its time to work together with us or the Specters of the world will continue to side with us because the GOP is Yosemite Sam of politics. Always shooting themselves in the foot. Hi strung. Always shooting from the hip. A standout member of the looney tunes

Posted by: Omentum | May 1, 2009, 10:59 pm 10:59 pm

ee, Stacey, not sure about that one-
The pendulum will swing the other way…but violent?
We’ve gone through more perilous times…this one is not even close.
There will be a repeat of 1994 on Congress.
And of the President puts too much on his plate and fails to move his agenda through, he may be looking at a difficult race in 2012.
He was very smart removing Hillary from the equation.
Posted by: J House | May 1, 2009 10:56:08 PM
===============
my characterization would be a balance more than a pendulum. for the past 20 years the balance has been teetering back and forth but not the balance has overwhelmingly turned to the democrats. The democrats is he part of the new america. the republicans are the party of old america.
I would be suprised if the republicans win another presidency. EVER.

Posted by: Omentum | May 1, 2009, 11:10 pm 11:10 pm

Stacey:”Our forefathers were federalists. They had way, way more in common with conservative principles than progressive principles.”
Of course they were Federalists. They also offered George Washington the position of King…

Posted by: jhw539 | May 1, 2009, 11:14 pm 11:14 pm

“Speak for yourself. That is another pesky habit the GOP can’t rid itself of. Speaking on behalf of America when they are so out of touch with America.
Continuing to be arrogant gets you nowhere. I know know….”
I’m not a Republican. I’m an Independant.
Assuming that anyone who isn’t a Dem or Rep must be the other is about as arrogant as anything going on in politics.

Posted by: paul | May 1, 2009, 11:25 pm 11:25 pm

“I would be suprised if the republicans win another presidency. EVER.”
That’s because your memory is as short as your sight.
Bill Clinton won over Bob Dole by a larger percentage gap than Obama did over McCain.
And we got Bush in the next election.
Now coming off of the miserable failure of Bush and Obama still didn’t live up to Clinton’s stats? Please.
The only question is not if a Republican candidate will ever win again, but if they will win in 2012 or 2016.

Posted by: paul | May 1, 2009, 11:32 pm 11:32 pm

“Bill Clinton won over Bob Dole by a larger percentage gap than Obama did over McCain.
And we got Bush in the next election.
Now coming off of the miserable failure of Bush and Obama still didn’t live up to Clinton’s stats?”
That’s because Bush didn’t get caught with his britches down in the oval office like Clinton did. I thought it was going to ruin the Democratic party for 20 years, but Bush was so bad it saved us.

Posted by: Skip | May 1, 2009, 11:47 pm 11:47 pm

Susan Collins isn’t all that moderate. She lobbied successfully to cut 200 million dollars from education in the stimulus bill. Obama gave in to her demands thinking that it would gain him Republican votes. It didn’t. She outsmarted him.
I don’t like ANY Republicans! All they ever do is wreck the economy and slash education spending. Then they blame the fallout on minorities.

Posted by: booboo1 | May 2, 2009, 12:03 am 12:03 am

Re: “You’re assuming that tens of millions of taxpayers who are part of the “old america” will just willingly sit there and get soaked to pay for the reckless spending and welfare requirements of the “new america”.
You got soaked by the Republican Party! I’m tired of Republicans and their Orwellian ‘thinking.’ Facts don’t mean anything. You guys just make them up. Conservatives spend your money on wars and on handouts to Wall St criminals. THey run up a debt and a deficit as a payoff to Wall St. They wrecked the economy just like they did in 1929!
Those are the FACTS!

Posted by: booboo1 | May 2, 2009, 12:06 am 12:06 am

That’s because Bush didn’t get caught with his britches down in the oval office like Clinton did. I thought it was going to ruin the Democratic party for 20 years, but Bush was so bad it saved us.
Posted by: Skip | May 1, 2009 11:47:14 PM
======================
EXCELLENT POST SKIP
soooo true!!!!
If Lewenski-gate would have never happened we would have had Gore in the White House.
Our country would be better received in the world today
Our country would have not doubled the national debt. with nothing to show for it
Our economy would not be so bad
Our service men and women would still be alive or uninjured.
Old Bill desecrated the oval office and all was lost but along comes dubya. He put Bill’s infidelity to shame. He did the deed to Iraq and America.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 12:10 am 12:10 am

- and what exactly did Bush do
in his 1st hundred days?

Posted by: strachi | May 2, 2009, 12:15 am 12:15 am

- and what exactly did Bush do
in his 1st hundred days?
Posted by: strachi | May 2, 2009 12:15:19 AM
===================
he was sitting at cheney’s feet being taught how to present this axis of evil garbage to the country.
strategerie

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 12:21 am 12:21 am

hmmm… I can’t figure out why everyone thinks republicans are out of touch with America…
S.C. republican believes that hate crimes involving murder of gays don’t really count,… a ‘hoax’ …..
Texas republican holds a hearing on college football playoffs and calls it ‘like communism’ (repubs just love that ‘ism’ thang)..
College playoffs’ is certainly more important than 2 wars etc.
Republican Gov. of Texas wants to secede, but then begs for government assistance when the flu hits…. and has been taking money from the feds for years….but still complains about the government
Michelle Bachman… ’nuff said
Michael Steele……… ’nuff said
Sarah Palin…………… ’nuff said
torture….
“Republican National Committee meeting in the next month to vote on (as if they could) forcing their opposition to change their name to what is variously described as the “Socialist Democratic Party” or the “Democratic Socialist Party”

Posted by: Non-Revisionist 33 | May 2, 2009, 12:31 am 12:31 am

poor steele……
he didn’t know what he was signing up for. he once seemed like a credible guy. The gop has got him frazzled.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 12:38 am 12:38 am

Where are the democrat moderates?
Where are the democrat mavericks?
Moderate = republican not standing for republican philosophy and siding with democrats.
Ms. Collins should leave the party and follow her heart and emotions over to the Democrat party.

Posted by: Terry | May 2, 2009, 12:44 am 12:44 am

Here’s some change we can not only believe in, we can laugh about it out loud:
“The Obama administration is moving toward reviving the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which was a target of critics during the Bush administration, including Mr. Obama himself.
“Officials said the first public moves could come as soon as next week, perhaps in filings to military judges at the United States naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, outlining an administration plan to amend the Bush administration’s system to provide more legal protections for terrorism suspects.
“Continuing the military commissions in any form would probably prompt sharp criticism from human rights groups as well as some of Mr. Obama’s political allies because the troubled system became an emblem of the effort to use Guantánamo to avoid the American legal system.”

Posted by: Fascist Hyena | May 2, 2009, 12:59 am 12:59 am

News: about the ‘swine’ flu
it wasn’t ‘the mexicans’ after all…
it was a
‘red state’
“The new H1N1 influenza virus that continues to spread through the U.S. has ancestry in a swine flu outbreak that first struck a
North Carolina hog farm more than 10 years ago, according to scientists studying the strain’s genetic makeup.”

Posted by: Med Man | May 2, 2009, 2:45 am 2:45 am

another person who signed over our childrens future, i would say 50 percent of the people who signed up to it will be gone next election were fed up with people just signing over the country worse not even reading it.

Posted by: i_dream_of_a_jeannie | May 2, 2009, 3:34 am 3:34 am

I am a conservative. I think we need to remove people like Susan Collins from the GOP. They weaken the party with their moderate nonsense. Moderates have no idea on how to run the country with their wishy-washy beliefs. Rush is right good riddence to all of the GOP moderates.

Posted by: Jim Peterson | May 2, 2009, 6:58 am 6:58 am

Republicans represent a rejected ideology. The results are in on free trade and tax breaks for the wealthy. If I were a republican I would be an independent now.

Posted by: rightbehind | May 2, 2009, 8:11 am 8:11 am

The GOP promotes wars; helps insurance companies and does not want to provide reasonable health care to Americans (health care is so expensive here that people die because they cannot afford insurance premiums); and the GOP opposes gay marriage and abortion. These issues are important for each individual living in this country. This is a big country and each person has his/her own opinions. Why should the GOP tell me what I have to do with my body? Women must decide if they want an abortion or not. Who is the GOP to decide for a woman? For this reason and the ones stated above, the GOP is not winning the votes from the American people and will not win. Each individual must have the freedom to make his/her own decision. In particular when we talk about abortion. The GOP or the Federal government must not get involved. We as individuals must decide the abortion issue. This is America. Each US citizen decides his/her own destiny. I do not want the government tell me what I have to do or what I do not have to do.

Posted by: Liza | May 2, 2009, 8:29 am 8:29 am

The GOP is stagnant. No input and no outlet.

Posted by: Thinking | May 2, 2009, 8:34 am 8:34 am

Here’s a suggestion. All the moderate conservatives should split away and call themselves Republicans out of respect for Lincoln and other REAL conservatives. I predict that such a move would actually attract conservative Democrats. We can just call the party that remains the Irrelevant Right Wing Minority Party . . . headed by Rush L of course!

Posted by: Scott_Michigan | May 2, 2009, 8:48 am 8:48 am

Jim Peterson wrote: “I am a conservative. I think we need to remove people like Susan Collins from the GOP. They weaken the party with their moderate nonsense. Moderates have no idea on how to run the country with their wishy-washy beliefs. Rush is right good riddence to all of the GOP moderates.”
Good for you. Stick to your guns! At a time when the GOP is losing supporters en masse, I think it’s a great idea to deliberately and actively remove even more people from the ranks simply because they are not as far right as you would like. Brilliant strategy. But why stop there? Since you seem intent on purging the party, why not come out and plainly call for the dismissal of all the gay members, and the pro-choice members, and the anti-gun members, and everyone else who doesn’t subscribe to your far-right myopic world view? That’s a surefire recipe for gaining back the support of the American people and political power in Washington. Good luck with that…..

Posted by: SearamblerOne | May 2, 2009, 8:51 am 8:51 am

Fascist,
I think we may have found Obama’s problem.
More than half of people who attend services at least once a week — 54 percent — said the use of torture against suspected terrorists is “often” or “sometimes” justified. Only 42 percent of people who “seldom or never” go to services agreed.
We need to stop him from going to church, its slowly causing him to lose his morality.

Posted by: Flash Override | May 2, 2009, 8:53 am 8:53 am

‘publicans should change their name to dummy democrats.

Posted by: moto | May 2, 2009, 8:56 am 8:56 am

I read a couple of people say Republicans need to stay true to their CORE values and they . Lets be honest about a few things. Republicans do not have a set of CORE values . . . they have old slogans. Once in office these slogans become meaningless because there is no CORE platform. There are 2 republican parties at the moment FISCAL conservatives and SOCIAL conservatives. A fiscal conservative wants smaller government and less regulation. Social conservatives want to enforce a social agenda. Enforcement costs money and requires a bigger government. These concepts are not compatible . . . its time for the Fiscal conservatives stand up and boot the excess baggage!

Posted by: Scott_Michigan | May 2, 2009, 9:09 am 9:09 am

we need more politicians like Palian, Newt, Rush, and Glen Beck and jeb bush. now there’s some a good ‘mericans. i think jeb will set the tone for a new ‘publican party with out these losers like sue and arlen , mccain. With Jeb, Newt, And SARAH, all amreican will shout, yes we can and mean it!

Posted by: joeyb | May 2, 2009, 9:09 am 9:09 am

Our country is going through a period of fanaticism. It has happened before, it will happen again and this period will end when reality sets in and we all see that not only are we all poorer but we are in some much debt that we’ll never pay it off.
If Ms. Collins likes herd mentallity then she is in the right place at the right time.

Posted by: david | May 2, 2009, 9:19 am 9:19 am

Scott_Michigan | May 2, 2009 8:48:16 AM
Careful Scott, you’re making too much sense now. I’d love to see a revolution in the GOP. Even though it may actually present more of a threat to Democrats in the long run we could be spending our time arguing about political and economic issues again and not just dealing with raw propaganda from hysterical ideological fanatics. I support your call for Republican restructuring.

Posted by: Skip | May 2, 2009, 9:25 am 9:25 am

think about it…
what a dangerous world it would be if the gop ruled.
especially with all of the right wing running to the church on sunday conservatives.
they would ruin the world because of their selfish greed.
because they are in a hurry to see god also. just like the terroist they claim to hate. the right wing conservatives, republican hate anyone who is not just like them, greedy, cheaters,all me,me,me
and mine. people unlike them, trying to have something, they will work undercover, hard to cheat them, and walk all over them. and then curse them for not having, or blame them.
on the other hand, thank god the gop is shrinking, the world will be better without them.

Posted by: WHAT! | May 2, 2009, 9:29 am 9:29 am

we need more politicians like Palian, Newt, Rush.
***************************************
This is exactly how I see the Republican Party.

Posted by: Thinking | May 2, 2009, 9:37 am 9:37 am

“Collins played politics with public health and the economic recovery,” wrote John Nichols in The Nation. “That makes her about as bad a player as you will find in a town full of bad players.”
This is just stupid. The flu would have been contained had Collins not stripped that out? Utter nonsense.

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 9:40 am 9:40 am

“they would ruin the world because of their selfish greed.”
The richest people on Earth are Democrats. George Soros is a Democrat and he’s enjoying this financial crisis. He’s making a fortune during this bad time.

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 9:42 am 9:42 am

I wonder if Barry can find a supreme court appointee who cheats on is taxes like the rest of his herd. it’s good to be consistent. maybe he/she will be a former lobbyist as well. oh barry

Posted by: holly | May 2, 2009, 9:44 am 9:44 am

according to soros, this has been a good crisis, he has expressed thanks to both barry and totus too.

Posted by: map | May 2, 2009, 9:47 am 9:47 am

“The richest people on Earth are Democrats”
That may be true but it doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re all greedy. Many rich Democrats are in favor of raising their own taxes for example.

Posted by: Skip | May 2, 2009, 9:51 am 9:51 am

conservatives will be fine. We will overcome the dummy liberals/progressives/facists barry bunch before long. the same happened with JC. We are like the turtle racing with the hare. we always end up winning. the drive bys in the media can have their fun with barry and totus, we don’t have bromances with our leaders. we want leaders to lead not make our legs all tingley.

Posted by: chrisy | May 2, 2009, 9:56 am 9:56 am

dems are for raising taxes cause they don’t pay them. ask the abortion queen from KS, timmy tubo tax, Puff Daschel ect.

Posted by: mikey | May 2, 2009, 9:58 am 9:58 am

It must be christmas.
Obama gets to pick a supreme in his first year.
The GOP is going belly up
Specter jumped ship
Obama has a super majority poised to pick off more senator seats EVEN BEFORE MIDTERM ELECTIONS.
Rush Limbaugh is the spokesperson for the GOP
I am just giddy.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 10:00 am 10:00 am

or maybe the republican party is shrinking because many people who are a part of it, are realizing the plan of the republican party is just not people friendly.
at any rate, i am glad the rep. party is shrinking. it is weeding our the
“undesirables” soon it will be a pure party of rable-rousers, rush, newt, cheney,hannity, michael steele, all rabbling and rousing each other.

Posted by: WHAT! | May 2, 2009, 10:10 am 10:10 am

Posted by: Jenny | May 2, 2009, 10:11 am 10:11 am

Actually, Senator Collins could do wonders teaching her party on how to compromise. The GOP needs to stop promoting, “it’s my way or the highway”. Could help the Dems too.

Posted by: Don | May 2, 2009, 10:26 am 10:26 am

there is a difference in the nature of the man or woman,
and the nature of a whole political party.
the repbulican party has a nature not being for people unlike them.
they want the world, and will cheat and step on anyone unlike them who gets in their way.
the men you mentioned are not perfect,
but at least they were of a political party that tried to help everyone.
not the republicans.
and that is the rebublicans way,
they know they cannot get people with the plan of the party, (it is not everyone friendly) so they have to try and find human weaknesses in the dems.
(and all people have them) but the reps. are hypocrites, because many of them have human weaknesses too.
and they always get caught, a lot of repbulican men were exposed during the clinton witch hunt, clinton is still standing, still doing good, and where are these pious, hypocritical rep. men?
no where to be found.

Posted by: WHAT! | May 2, 2009, 10:30 am 10:30 am

The Republican party is the party of voodoo econonomics and unjustified wars. Americans have awaken to the reality of the Republican party. The Republican party does not reflect America..look at the attendees at the Republican convention..95% white.. whereas at the Democrat convention the attendees are diverse and looks like America. The Republican party made fun of community organizers during their last convention and Americans took note of that. The Republican party is for the rich and those who pretend to be rich. The Republican party is not good for America!

Posted by: Stanley | May 2, 2009, 10:47 am 10:47 am

pres.barry can’t even say his name without checking in with ‘prompter totus. joey aka chicken little says we are all going to die from the pig flu, Jannet N is going to put soliders in jail along with people who don’t want to have abortions. people are going to be beggin republicans to save us, not the dummy ones like susan collins either. you demmy dummies are going to say please rush, make it stop!! This pres. argues with a teleyprompter. boy, you can’t stuff like this up. How many of you demmy dummies would trust timmy G to do your taxes, honestly????

Posted by: margarette | May 2, 2009, 10:50 am 10:50 am

Senator Collins do Be careful The Leader Rush Limbaugh Will chew you up and Spit you Out The Republican Party we Have right Now is so Not Healthy for our Country Shape up Gop or we will not see you Until 2016!

Posted by: Angie in Pa | May 2, 2009, 11:04 am 11:04 am

JIM PETERSON
That is Why the Gop has Shrunk to 21 Percent and Falling THE COUNTRY IS MODERATE Not hard Left or Hard Right!The Republicans need to Lose the Far right wing nuts!

Posted by: Angie in Pa | May 2, 2009, 11:07 am 11:07 am

The last 2 posts sound like children. There is BAD in both parties. I mean, weren’t JFK, Clinton, John Edwards cheating on their wives? Isn’t Ed Kennedy an alcoholic and killed someone in an auto accident due to a DUI? I’m not sure about both George Bush’s and Reagan cheating on their spouses but they had issues too.
Posted by: Jenny | May 2, 2009 10:11:53 AM
====================
And you call me childish. ONLY a child thinks they need to clarify that there is BAD in every party. DUHHHHHH!!!!
I was talking about political events. You are talking about peoples private lives.
But since you want to go there, give me Bill “who can’t his pants up” over George “who initated a senseless war that killed over 4000 of our finest”
ANY DAY.
And if cheating on spouses is your litmus test for who can lead a country, I must ask…. who is the child here???

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 11:15 am 11:15 am

Jake
How about posting Obama’s move toward using the military tribunals for terrorists that he blistered Bush about?
It was a Friday night leak to avoid press scrutiny.

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 11:18 am 11:18 am

The Kurdish daily Kurdistani Nwe has published a 2002 letter from the Iraqi presidency that it says proves that there was cooperation between the regime of Saddam Hussein and Al-Qaeda.
The letter, which appeared on the paper’s front page, was published by the intelligence apparatus of the Iraqi presidency and discussed an intention to meet with Ayman Al-Zawahiri in order to examine a plan drawn up by the Iraqi presidency to carry out a “revenge operation” in Saudi Arabia.
Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki said Tuesday that Iraqi forces had recently arrested a leader of the Sunni insurgency who had been in league with members of Saddam Hussein’s ousted Baath Party.
Iraqi officials say the insurgent, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, is the leader of the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella group that includes Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia, the homegrown group that American intelligence officials say is led by foreigners.
The government has not provided proof of his capture since announcing the arrest on Thursday, beyond showing a photograph of a man with a trimmed beard wearing a black T-shirt. In 2007, Iraqi officials announced twice that Mr. Baghdadi had been captured and killed. A spokesman for the United States military, which has suggested that he might not exist, said Tuesday that the military could still not confirm his arrest.
Mr. Maliki, who spoke out Tuesday on the arrest for the first time, has increased his anti-Baathist language in recent weeks and has resisted American pressure to reconcile with more approachable members of the party. Many analysts say they believe that he is under pressure from his Shiite partners in the government, some of them allied with Iran.
“This terrorist had deep ties with the former regime and created with its followers a devil’s pact reflected in bloody scenes of carnage involving innocent children and women and the elderly,” Mr. Maliki said.
His statement coincided with the birthday of Mr. Hussein, who would have turned 72 and was executed in 2006…
In an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation on Monday, Mr. Maliki said all of the recent attacks had resulted from coordination between Qaeda militants and elements of Mr. Hussein’s Baathists.
“They agreed that Al Qaeda would carry out the suicide attacks, while the Baathists would do the remote-control bombs,” he said.
Hmm. This sure looks as though there were definite connections between Saddam and Al Qaida.

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am

jenny
to go there again…
i bet you voted for mccain right?
the same mccain that cheated and ditched his first wife for cindy.
right?

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 11:19 am 11:19 am

Senseless war?
Let Tom Friedman tell you otherwise:
“I believe that the most important reason there has not been another 9/11, besides the improved security and intelligence, is that Al Qaeda is primarily focused on defeating America in the heart of the Arab-Muslim world — particularly in Iraq. Al Qaeda knows that if it can destroy the U.S. effort (still a long shot) to build a decent, modernizing society in Iraq, it will undermine every U.S. ally in the region.”
There is is. Tom Friedman says the war in Iraq kept the US safe from attack.
Doesn’t sound senseless now, does it?

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 11:24 am 11:24 am

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009 11:20:38 AM
The truth hurts, eh?
You guys love it when classified intelligence is disclosed as long as it hurts Bush but golly you get snippy when Bush looks prescient.

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 11:25 am 11:25 am

One of three Repubs, House or Senate, who voted for a failed stimulus…. 70 B auto bailout, Chrysler bankrupt will result in 4 plant closings even at reorganization, White House will now have to create another stimulus for infrastructure costs as the first will not be enough…150,000 jobs with no evidence..on and on and on. Yeah, Collins days are numbered with the Repubs and Obama’s results are beginning to show…

Posted by: Parallax View | May 2, 2009, 11:29 am 11:29 am

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009 11:24:22 AM
======
the key word there is
BELIEVE.
give me evidence
give me facts
give me proof
don’t give me a slant headed opinion.
4000 folks died…
is that all you got is a slant headed belief of a person who share your view.
get real.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 11:38 am 11:38 am

Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009, 11:40 am 11:40 am

THE LAST THING that the Republican Party needs is more “diversity”. We’re fighting an organized enemy, the Democrat-Socialist Party which tolerates NO diversity of thought and we cannot defeat them with RINOs like Specter, Collins and Snowe. We MUST have a solid Conservative (pro-American/pro-Constitution)Party to be effective.

Posted by: Ron | May 2, 2009, 11:46 am 11:46 am

“It must be christmas.”
Surely you mean “The Holidays”. We’re not allowed to say “Christmas” according to the left.

Posted by: fish | May 2, 2009, 11:53 am 11:53 am

know why they changed from christmas to holidays, because, gop,rightwingers, conservatives, tried to force people who are not christians to say christmas, and only recognize christmas.
the reps. do not like or want to recognize anyone who is not like them.
fox news is their network, rush is their leader, michael steele is their token, cheney, hannity, and oriley their pit bulls, and george w bush
their dummy.

Posted by: WHAT! | May 2, 2009, 11:59 am 11:59 am

Senator Collins is a pig.
She voted for the wallstreet bailout too.
Not sure why Maine keeps re-electing her.
Maybe because her fraudulent advertisements claim her as an “Indedependent” which she surely is not.
Oink Oink. Piglet.

Posted by: Mark Collins | May 2, 2009, 12:07 pm 12:07 pm

Most of the reactionary comments above explain perfectly why the Republican Party is nothing but a political rump, a wagging tail with no dog. There’s not much chance that moderate/libertarian Republicans can reclaim their party and most have sadly walked away from a party that no longer tolerates them. They will have to start a new party in order to restore republicanism to its roots. And that wouldn’t be a bad thing to have a three-party system. The neoconservative/evangelical party has a strong and vibrant base of about 23% of the voters. If moderates/libertarians create their own party, or build up the Libertarian party to competitive strength, then those who were exiled from the GOP for lack of ideological purity will have a political home too.
Ultimately this may be good for the country and it will certainly be good for all those mainstream Republicans who’ve become political refugees.

Posted by: windrider | May 2, 2009, 12:17 pm 12:17 pm

Concerning George Soros
According to the Forbes Rich List, George Soros is now the 28th most wealthy man in the World.
However Soros would not be a multi-billionaire if it were not for the international language Esperanto.
Born in Hungary in 1930 as Gyorgy Schwartz, the family changed its name in 1936 to Soros, which in Esperanto means “to soar.” The deliberate Esperanto name-change was an effort to protect the Jewish family from the rise of fascist rulers and the whole family spoke this language at home.
As a native Esperanto speaker, (someone who has spoken this language from birth), George Soros defected to the West in 1946, while attending an Esperanto youth meeting in Switzerland.
Esperanto enabled Soros both to defect, and to become a multi-billionnaire.

Posted by: Brian Barker | May 2, 2009, 12:23 pm 12:23 pm

drjohn, are you citing THIS Tom Freidman? The NY Times journalist who supports outsourcing American jobs and loosening immigration restrictions? HE’S your Iraq war expert?!?!?
“Friedman argues that when low-skill and low-wage jobs are exported to foreign countries, more advanced and higher-skilled jobs will be freed up and made available for those displaced by the outsourcing. He theorizes that as long as those whose jobs are outsourced continue to further their education and specialize in their field, they will find better-paying and higher-skilled jobs.
He also views American immigration laws as too restrictive and damaging to economic output:
“It is pure idiocy that Congress will not open our borders — as wide as possible — to attract and keep the world’s first-round intellectual draft choices in an age when everyone increasingly has the same innovation tools and the key differentiator is human talent.”

Posted by: SearamblerOne | May 2, 2009, 12:37 pm 12:37 pm

Omentum
I guess you do not know who Tom Friedman is.
That figures.
I also posted article and links of the connections between Saddam and Al Qaida. I don’t know how long the links will survive but they are there.
Posted by: drjohn | May 2, 2009 11:40:27 AM
============================
The question is do I Care? The answer is no!!!!
The war was a fiasco. That is a huge reason why the gop is irrelevant now.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 1:19 pm 1:19 pm

drjohn:”I also posted article and links of the connections between Saddam and Al Qaida.”
The links are even stronger between Al Qaida and the US CIA – heck, my link to Kevin Bacon is even stronger!
You do provide a fascinating look into the world of the 21% deadenders.

Posted by: jhw539 | May 2, 2009, 1:23 pm 1:23 pm

There’s no way the GOP can broaden its base.
They don’t like anybody but themselves.

Posted by: newz4i | May 2, 2009, 2:29 pm 2:29 pm

I don’t really care what happens to the GOP… what I would like to see is a few fiscally conservative Democrats stand up for what is right and good for the country.. that’s all..

Posted by: DontGet818OnMeNow | May 2, 2009, 2:36 pm 2:36 pm

There’s no way the GOP can broaden its base.
They don’t like anybody but themselves.
——————————
Very true. Tfhe GOP can forget the black voting bloc. They can also forget the Hipanic vote because of the GOP’s hardline stands on illegal immigration.

Posted by: beto | May 2, 2009, 2:41 pm 2:41 pm

Why should the GOP broaden its base? They are doing an excellent job as is.

Posted by: Teabag | May 2, 2009, 3:25 pm 3:25 pm

The biggest current failing of the GOP is its intolerance of dissent within the party. The view that voting en bloc the “party line” is loyalty is what got this country in trouble under Bush/Cheney – they violated the principles they espouse out of a foolhardy “loyalty”. Well, instead of learning, as lemmings they march in lockstep to their doom. Now if the GOP had real leadership, then it wouldn’t matter that they have all become sheep but the problem is they have no coherent thought or plan to recover.
It is silly, though, to think the GOP is dead. I believe today’s youth is very libertarian-minded (see Ron Paul’s success to some degree). I think the first step is to divorce from any Bush/Cheney ideology. The next step is to admit that the free market alone will not save us and some efficient and effective regulatory system is necessary. Next is that although government isn’t the answer to every problem, it is necessary for some things and privatizing parts of government only works if real competition exists (rather than handouts to your Ivy league buddies).
What Obama is trying to do (and so far doing it well) is making the GOP seem to be a fringe party. The GOP seems all too willing to help him along…

Posted by: 1percenter | May 2, 2009, 3:56 pm 3:56 pm

I just want to know the the President is going to bail out one of the oldest organizations in America.
They are bankrupt too. They need leadership and management restructuring too. They need new direction too. They need an infusion of cash too.
Barack Hussein Obama…. when are you going to bail out the Grand Old Party Corporation.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 4:43 pm 4:43 pm

broaden its base.
The south is only so big. and that is shrinking too. Georgia and Arizona will turn blue in 2012.

Posted by: Omentum | May 2, 2009, 4:53 pm 4:53 pm

This has been coming for a long time.
With erosion of their moderates,the hardcore “Republicans” rally to the support of Rush Limbaugh, and crush anyone who dares to disagree. There is only direction now….off the cliff and down down down….
They will be remembered as Limbaugh’s Lemmings…

Posted by: think-long-term | May 2, 2009, 6:31 pm 6:31 pm

The only logical thing that the GOP can do now is run from the word “conservative” …much like the Dems ran from the word “liberal” after 1980.

Posted by: think-long-term | May 2, 2009, 6:57 pm 6:57 pm

“Susan Collins isn’t all that moderate. She lobbied successfully to cut 200 million dollars from education in the stimulus bill.” – Good point. Her and Snowe and Specter supported most of the the Bush/Cheney party line. Occasionally they voted against them on relatively insignificant legislation just to show the folks back home how “moderate” they were. It is a disgrace that they represent fine, progressive states like Maine and Pennsylvania. The GOP is so far-right it doesnt take much to appear moderate, but dont let them fool you – on core ideology, such as trickle down economics and foreign policy, they fall into neocon lockstep.

Posted by: Mark from Atlanta | May 2, 2009, 7:28 pm 7:28 pm

The republicans that are left represent a rejected ideology. As soon as they speak you know who they are, “tax breaks for the wealthy”. It’s sad that good republicans that love their country will suffer the same voter rejection as the neocons. Rather than take the risk on them the voters appear to be removing almost all of them.

Posted by: rightbehind | May 2, 2009, 8:01 pm 8:01 pm

There are some folks that are in denial even now because they think the republicans over the past 10 years have drifted left. Its the opposite. The results are in on reaganomics and the voters are well aware of which party is responsible. We have had government of no accountability or transparency for more than 8 years. Looks like the voters are making republicans accountable at the ballot box. I expect another 10 republican senate seats to go democratic in 2010.

Posted by: rightbehind | May 2, 2009, 8:11 pm 8:11 pm

The only logical thing that the GOP can do now is run from the word “conservative” …much like the Dems ran from the word “liberal” after 1980.
Posted by: think-long-term
The word liberal in the KJV Bible is always used in good context. I’m proud to be a liberal.

Posted by: rightbehind | May 2, 2009, 8:30 pm 8:30 pm

Memories of an era are still there…

Posted by: blablabla | May 2, 2009, 9:14 pm 9:14 pm

“The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated” – Mark Twain. The GOP will be just fine. In a couple of years, the Obama mania will be replaced by the reality a new Jimmy Carter. A filibuster proof Senate will only hasten its coming. The democrat’s policy is to do anything to spite Bush, even if it kills them in the long run. Liberals are not rational, history has proven that. In the mean time, enjoy the show. “The resulting torrent of illogic will be most entertaining” – Mr. Spock

Posted by: realitycheck99 | May 2, 2009, 10:06 pm 10:06 pm

Sen Collins need to learn how to blow her nose.

Posted by: Sluggo | May 2, 2009, 10:20 pm 10:20 pm

Have the Tyrannosaurus Rexes come home to roost? I mean, is “endangered species” an accurate nomenclature?

Posted by: kim | May 3, 2009, 2:11 am 2:11 am

“Sen Collins need to learn how to blow her nose.”
*******************************************
Certainly with social distancing givven the current H1N1 paranoia. Dear me, do I dare specify the politcally and socially incorrect . . . swine flu?

Posted by: kim | May 3, 2009, 2:17 am 2:17 am

“Soros” is Esperanto for ‘will soar’. ‘To soar’ is “sori”.

Posted by: stevo | May 3, 2009, 3:53 am 3:53 am

>>>Is Sen. Susan Collins a Member of an Endangered Species?<<< I most certainly hope so.

Posted by: The End Up | May 3, 2009, 7:37 am 7:37 am

>>>He [Obama] was very smart removing Hillary from the [2012 election] equation.<<< Don't worry, that won't stop Hillary. She is not above challenging a sitting President for the party's nomination. And there is precedent for it that she can point to – Ted Kennedy did exactly that when he challenged Carter for the nomination in 1980.

Posted by: The End Up | May 3, 2009, 7:39 am 7:39 am

Republicans,
Haven’t you heard this story before from democrats, independents, and republicans, men, women, children, nationally, and internationally.
Get a clue. It’s true.
Accept. Embrace. Change.
Just trying to help. 9 time out of 10 you will reply with some asinine remark and I will say YES!!! they are still ignorant and the Democratic will continue to gain seats.

Posted by: Omentum | May 3, 2009, 3:35 pm 3:35 pm

Collins and Snowe need to be removed from the party as well. The GOP won’t get a dime of my money if they continue to support those two RINO’s who voted for a mass spending bill that they never even read. Specter leaving is a godsend.

Posted by: Cindy | May 3, 2009, 5:31 pm 5:31 pm

SUSAN COLLINS is a Liberal, not a Moderate.

Posted by: Ron | May 3, 2009, 10:38 pm 10:38 pm

The little boy named sue set up an organization called the HSS to separate the nation calling out sheep and goats. How the heck does she think she is god? Thanks you worthless little kook. Did you think the lives of one human is worth less than another in the eyes of god? Well this half pint god does. She is intoxicated with the blood of SO’s and will be coming after anyone in her way.

Posted by: Keith Richard Radford Jr | May 4, 2009, 9:27 am 9:27 am

So now she’s a Pig? McCain is a traiter for speaking out against Torture? Snow is also a traitor? You guys are looking to go down faster then the Titanic and you seem oblivious to your fate as you dance around with each other looking down on everyone else..

Posted by: BushWasaRetard | May 4, 2009, 10:03 am 10:03 am

It’s going to be one hell of a going away party for you right wing lunatics. I’m sure your defacto leader Rush limblah, his hand puppet Sean Hannity, their bag boy Glen Beck and Ugly (her Rants) Anne Coulture the voice for females in your party will keep you all happy as your party fades into darkness… The Alaskan Palin, Joe the fake Plumber and the new one dimensional miss Boob Job California. The voice or Morality. You guys are doomed we might just get an Independent Party or Libertarian Party to replace you Stoneage Back woods bumpkins.. But then again you have God on your side right? Nothing to worry about. You’re going to Heaven?

Posted by: RushTheLushLimblah | May 4, 2009, 10:10 am 10:10 am

This Republican ranting about Specter doing it for political advantage is pretty silly. Specter hasn’t changed, the GOP base in PA has.
Show me a politician who doesn’t calculate the political advantage of any given situation and I’ll show you an ex-politician.

Posted by: Brooklyn Democrat | May 4, 2009, 2:42 pm 2:42 pm

I’ve never cared for any of the RINO’s, including John McCain (had to hold my nose when I voted for him but I was actually voting for Sarah Palin.) I have more respect for the Blue Dog Dems than for Susan Collins, Olympia Snowe, Arlen Specter, etc. They are NOT moderate Republicans, they are LIBERAL Republicans. A Moderate would never have supported this Administrations ridiculous spending bills! They need to join the parasite Specter in the Democrat party. Good Riddance.

Posted by: Peggy | May 4, 2009, 4:18 pm 4:18 pm

That is Why the Gop has Shrunk to 21 Percent and Falling THE COUNTRY IS MODERATE Not hard Left or Hard Right!The Republicans need to Lose the Far right wing nuts!
Posted by: Angie in Pa
You are SO wrong. This country by all polling is Center Right. Many Republicans like myself and my family have changed to the Independent Party because of the out-of-control spending of George Bush, plus his refusal to enforce our immigration LAWS and stop the flood of illegal aliens from destroying our school system and bankrupting our hospitals! Many Independents are NOT swing voters and will always defer to the most conservative candidate. Go ahead and think we are a dying breed and see what happens at the mid-term election in 2010!

Posted by: Peggy | May 4, 2009, 4:29 pm 4:29 pm

THE PROBLEM with the Republican Party IS Susan Collins and the other RINOs who have been working from inside the party to destroy it. We don’t need a Democrat Party and a Democrat Lite Party. There MUST be a unified Conservative-Patriot Party to do battle with the Democrat-Socialist-Communist Party.

Posted by: Ron | May 5, 2009, 11:16 am 11:16 am

Hey GOP continue to let the far right wingnuts control your agenda. Have Rush,Hannity,Cheney and Palin be your spokespersons too. You wonder why your becomingthe exclusive party of the over sixty angry white uneducated bigots?

Posted by: AJ | May 5, 2009, 8:23 pm 8:23 pm

To me, there is a simple reason why Republican are simply losing their base and it is because they have nothing new to say. When they had the White House for the previous 8 years they voted and supported the ideas of the leaders biggest bafoon George Bush Jr. Now that those last 8 years have taken the country to the depths of incompetence they now want to do all they can to make the new administration and its leader Barrack Obama as a tax and spend liberal President who will run the country fiscally into the ground. HEY REPUBLICANS, WHO DO YOU THINK HAVE PUT US IN THE MESS THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY IN, THE TOOTHFAIRY? Funny how they seem to remember selectives what they want to remember and choose to forgot was is really important? Keep letting Rush and the skeleton Ann Coulter along with the Fox channel keep supporting this failed agenda as you already are the laughing stock of the country!

Posted by: Anthony Ravenell | May 9, 2009, 11:47 am 11:47 am

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