69 Comments - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:39 am: ===Where Republicans failed (including us) was in making crime THE issue instead of a gateway issue to voters’ real concerns. Crime was never THE issue: it was the 4th most important issue among even conservatives, let alone moderates and independents. But it could’ve served as an excellent emotional issue to gain attention to then paint Democrats as extreme, position Republicans as the more mainstream governing party, and address voters’ economic concerns. We didn’t do that. By contrast, Illinois Democrats did it right: they used their emotional issue, abortion, to get voters’ attention and then flowed right into their most persuasive issue, painting Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy.=== Once Hobbes happened, the reality is, and it’s kinda circled around here… Republicans had NO answer that they were dangerous to women’s health… and while “crime”, (real, framed, “gateway-ed”, “whatever”) was the want, the reality is ignoring that women felt “more” less safe on abortion than crime is a loser… beginning in *JULY*… and even Bailey couldn’t lean in on his pro-life stance to define himself… Pritzker did that for Bailey… and honestly too, if I may add. Maybe this miss is that the GOP see women and their allies as “scared”, but what these voters were more scared of was a Republican coming after their right to choose. The GOP was utterly blind to Hobbes, thinking it’d go away. Now they learned different. - Excitable Boy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:44 am: - Instead of constantly playing defense, it’s time to go on offense. - What, more purge law ads? Have Proft do some more ads pushing trans hysteria? Abortion up to the moment of delivery? It’s all been done. The idea that the GOP hasn’t been trying to paint the Democrats as extremists ignores reality. The GOP’s only chance to do better is to stop being the party of actual extremists? - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:46 am: This alone to a different point; ===…painting Republicans as too extreme and a threat to democracy.=== Did anyone in today’s Illinois GOP condemn Mary Miller? Who exactly stood up for Adam Kinzinger. For crying out loud… Rodney Davis refused to impeach Trump because… the GOP can’t have “anti-cultists”… It wasn’t just Illinois, the “democracy” leg of polling… Michigan, Arizona, Nevada, the Trump loyalists too… I would be terribly remiss if I didn’t single out - Norseman - - Norseman - knew the score. He knew it. Remember when Rich had the poll about “most important issue” or words to that effect, this election cycle… It was - Norseman - that understood the *base line* beginning of it all… … American Democracy… and where one stood defending it… or tearing it down. I’d be very remiss not to acknowledge that, because after that comment… it was the issue thereafter seemingly everyone wanted to chime in on too, no matter the “other” issue one wanted to cite. - SWIL_Voter - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:49 am: Was following along until the prescription. Painting moderates as extremists is what they’ve been doing, for like a hundred years. People believe Dems are just as extreme as Rs because they’ve been screaming about the purge, and groomers, and whatever other lunacy, but it didn’t win them votes. Their diagnosis seems right, but then the cure is to just keep doing what caused the diagnosis. Hey I won’t stand in their way - Out Here In The Middle - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:50 am: ==Did anyone in today’s Illinois GOP condemn Mary Miller? Who exactly stood up for Adam Kinzinger. Gif crying out loud… Rodney Davis refused to impeach Trump because… the GOP can’t have “anti-cultists”…== I’m just one guy, but this is the reason — after decades of being a pretty solid GOP vote — that I cannot support any current GOP candidate. What will you stand up for if you won’t stand up against “terminate the Constitution”? - Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:52 am: “Bruce Rauner and his administration spent four years trying desperately to convince voters our party had no idea what we were doing.” The word you’re looking for is succeeded. - TheInvisibleMan - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:52 am: If only there was some sort of childhood parable they could have been taught, to learn such a strategy would never work. It should be interesting to see how they pivot. —they used their emotional issue, abortion— Ah yes telling women access to their own bodily autonomy, which republicans openly state they want to take away and are actively taking steps to do so, is just an emotional issue democrats are using for taking advantage of republicans politically. You see, it’s not the republicans who are extreme in their actions taking away the rights of women. It’s really the democrats who are extreme in pointing out what republicans are doing. By definition, that will make republicans seem mainstream. “Look what you made me do” They’ve learned nothing, and are doubling down on it. - Big Dipper - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:53 am: ==Republicans are sure to have excellent opportunities to paint our opposition as extreme, which by definition, makes us mainstream.== Um, no. You can potentially have extremists on both sides. - Jerry - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:53 am: Republicans need to quit lying about abortion. There is nothing in “Roe” mentioning “Pro-Life!”. It was based on precedent in the Loving and Griswold decisions. Imagine if women had to bring a note from the “man” in her life to purchase birth control pills. Life before Griswold. But to the bigger point. Republicans need to start offering some solutions. - Flying Elvis'-Utah Chapter - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:54 am: In summation- We haven’t learned a flippin’ thing. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:55 am: ===on both sides=== (Yoda voice): This is why they fail. The voters are deciding the extreme. It ain’t the Dems losing on “who is more extreme” when it comes to seats, races, statewides. - cermak_rd - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:58 am: A couple things stood out at me in the full article, 1. when describing why Bailey was not a disaster in the election, the article stated, in a more balanced electorate that would have been close. So clearly stating the author doesn’t think the electorate in IL is balanced, but how does the party plan to change that? If anything, the trends are against a so-called balancing of the electorate. The other thing was his suggestion that the candidate match the district, with more conservatives in conservative district and moderates in moderate districts. I doubt anyone is arguing that, but the article dodges the question of what to do with the statewides. - very old soil - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:58 am: “Illinois Democrats hold extreme positions on many hot-button issues”. Please share the list. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:58 am: I guess too… Raunerism and Raunerites are ruining the GOP, if they hadn’t already after that single term, that entire GA without budgetS… But let’s ignore those who also contributed Voters seeming didn’t - LOL - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 9:59 am: Yeah so the issue here is that Dem extremism is gay marriage and abortion rights and making sure cops don’t kill black people for no reason. And Republican extremism is storming the capitol and spurring hate crimes. Those two are not the same and I don’t think Republicans trying to pain Dem views as extreme is going to work. But hey, they should give it a shot. I’m sure the people of IL would love to hear about how extreme dems raised the minimum wage and legalized weed and protected your right to choose– extremism for sure. - Give Me A Break - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:04 am: My father, a lifelong GOP primary voter, refused to vote in the last primary. He’s a Goldwater Republican who told me until the GOP confronts and removes the MAGA extreme from the party, he is done. - Grandson of Man - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:10 am: The crime issue that was front and center of the ILGOP strategy was a gateway to racism and attracting certain voters. That obviously wouldn’t work in Illinois, but they couldn’t help themselves. Thinking Republicans have to go harder against Democrats is what helps define them as a mean party, constantly on the attack. Which is the case with some who can barely if ever utter nice things about opponents. - vern - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:11 am: Collin Corbett is an extremely smart guy. He has had a front-row seat to the Republican collapse in the suburbs, and has never had the luxury of indulging the base nonsense. The ILGOP would be wise to listen to him. But he is missing something important here. The first part of his analysis is right on the money: Republican caterwauling and hyperbole isn’t working. The right track-wrong track trend is a clear rejection of that message. Republicans need to get more constructive. But that advice is mutually exclusive with the “attack Democrats harder” advice in the second paragraph. Constructive, non-ideological politicians… don’t do that as much. They’re less negative, less hyperbolic, more generous to their opposition. They don’t ratchet up drama for no reason. So while Corbett gave good advice in one paragraph, he followed it with advice that is both bad and will confirm his audience’s priors. Couching good advice with id-pleasing red meat makes the whole thing ineffective. Someone has to say what Republicans don’t want to hear. Corbett was a great candidate to do that. This is a missed opportunity to improve their party. - hisgirlfriday - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:12 am: What do Republicans in this state actually like about Illinois? Maybe figure that out and build a campaign from there instead of always catering to the mega donor types like Uihlein and Griffin who hate Illinois. - Chicagonk - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:19 am: Honestly Republicans could have had a completely different message and it wouldn’t have mattered that much. Republicans ran one of the worst possible candidates they could run in a general election and the result was 54% to 43%. Democrats now control 62% of the house seats and 69% of the senate seats. As long as Democrats control the redistricting process, there is no hope for Republicans in either chamber. - Lying eyes - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:19 am: COR lost everything it’s put it’s hands on for nearly a decade. I’m not arguing with the conclusions but to cite COR for anything is malpractice - froganon - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:19 am: Democrats positions regarding gun control, abortion, health care, protect Social Security and minimum wage poll well with voters. I’m not talking about post-birth abortions or nine month abortions - two hyper extreme talking points for the R’s. It seems that Republicans’ relentless efforts to paint Democrats as extreme have worked very well given the results in this article. - Amalia - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:21 am: wait, I missed the part where Republicans DID NOT use crime as an issue? jeez, Cor, it was everywhere. also key was the crazy about the no mask no vax talk by someone who did not sound smart. Candidates who sound dim are taken as such. See Georgia for another example. - Annonin' - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:24 am: Not Working? Bah Humbug. Worked just fine for the Ds. GOPies are great at declaring problems, but get F+ on solutions. Gripe about fed spending, but forget to mention is started with Trump trillion dollar tax breaks for wealthy. Or the Trump/PudgyPompeo pull out. The list is full. Can’t wait til they serve up more Trump filth. - Wading in... - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:30 am: ===My father, a lifelong GOP primary voter, refused to vote in the last primary. He’s a Goldwater Republican who told me until the GOP confronts and removes the MAGA extreme from the party, he is done.=== Yup. ===What do Republicans in this state actually like about Illinois? Maybe figure that out and build a campaign from there instead of always catering to the mega donor types like Uihlein and Griffin who hate Illinois.=== And, yup. - Arsenal - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:32 am: There are no recommendations here. “Go on offense” is not a recommendation, it’s a slogan. BUT, and this is key, it’s a slogan that makes Republicans feel good (it would work on Democrats, too). So I’m sure this guy will sign some new clients, and THAT points to one of the actual, concrete problems Republicans face. Republican have built a cottage industry where you can make a lot of money by telling Republicans pleasant-sounding fictions. Republicans will continue to struggle so long as they give their money to people who are lying to them. - SubRosa - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:33 am: So, the report says that voters don’t view Republicans as the governing party. It identifies Illinois as a moderate state. And it’s run by Democrats. So, how am I to believe that our Democratic leadership is extreme? - Anon324 - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:33 am: ==Throughout the Illinois suburbs and beyond, there are conservative and Republican mayors earning high praise in their communities for leading, as clients in one village put it, by putting “people over politics.”…That’s the model of a winning Republican candidate.== I can’t say for sure this is who the pollster is referring to, but that’s been the Keith Pekau slogan in Orland Park for the past couple of cycles. The same Keith Pekau who sued the Pritzker admin for the Covid mitigation closures in a quixotic effort of political grandstanding to bolster his conservative bona fides with an eye towards the midterms. The same Keith Pekau who gladly accepted an award from Awake Illinois for that same bit of political grandstanding. The same Keith Pekau who lost once he had to try to win votes outside of the Orland Park bubble, and the facade of his slogan was shown for what it was. So while I agree that there needs to be a shift to show they can be responsible fiduciaries if they want to win elections, I tend to think using Keith Pekau and his ilk as the model is no more than a rebrand. Of course, the remainder of the post also indicates that the pollster isn’t actually advocating for a change in anything beyond screaming even louder that the sky is falling and it’s all the Democrats’ fault. So I’m not sure how serious that first excerpt actually is in the first place. - Frank Manzo IV - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:33 am: From the write-up: “If Republicans do a better job with working class, moderate voters, they can win.” From the poll: More likely to vote Republican… Supports Labor Unions 27% much more likely 23% somewhat more likely 12% somewhat less likely 20% much less likely TOTAL MORE: 50%, TOTAL LESS: 32%. NET MORE: +18% The Workers’ Rights Amendment was always a bipartisan issue. It received 150,861 more votes than Governor Pritzker outside of the Chicago area (7-county CMAP area) — where a lot of white, working-class people reside — even though not everyone voted on the question. And it was put on the ballot with 11 Republican Senators and 9 Republican Representatives in the General Assembly. Every Republican who voted Yes to putting it on the ballot, and who ran again in November, was re-elected. That’s not the case of a few who voted No or Present. Seems noteworthy. - dirksen - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:36 am: We can do all the post-game metrics we want, but the bottom line is this–there are very few ticket splitters left, so when the top of the ticket loses by double digits it’s nearly impossible to overcome (see DuPage). When the main messaging is done by people like Proft and Bailey, there’s very little chance for down ballot republicans to breakthrough with a message that appeals to wider audiences (a universe that could actually win an election). Finally, Illinois needs a new set of GOP consultants. The dogmatic rigidity of Z and Proft (do as we say or no donor $$) have left candidates and campaigns with few options and no independence. Although, they both had good years…$$$ - Lincoln Lad - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:36 am: The Rs persistently have allowed a vocal minority to dominate their view. Following the loudest and most persistent doesn’t mean you relate to or can capture a majority. It’s clear through the midterms that the majority is not on board with it (Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania are prime examples). Move toward the center, and abandon the anarchists. Stop choosing them in your primaries. Speak out against them to prove you mean it, stop living in fear of your base. Act like a serious person, and treat voters like they are too. - H-W - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:37 am: = The voters in this state aren’t hyper-partisans or idealogues. They just want things to get done—they’re not interested in the drama and hyperbole. = This is how I describe the farmers I know personally. It is something that I found refreshing when I moved to West Central Illinois. They tend to vote Republican for obvious reasons, not out of fear. - Excessively Rabid - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:42 am: Your positions are extreme. Change them. You don’t need different voters, you need your head examined. OTOH, it would be interesting to see a follow up on which positions of each party voters identify as extreme. - Pundent - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:46 am: Here’s my personal take as an independent voter. Much of the Democratic “extremism” is contrived. To the extent there are extremists in the Democratic party they tend to be outliers with minimal influence. It does not keep the party from governing. The GOP in contrast has in many instances abandoned the idea of governing. There was a major shift a few years ago when the national party decided that the platform would be whatever the party leader decided. Facts and reality were in many instances completely suspended and voters were expected to simply believe whatever the party leader said regardless of how preposterous it may be. They went from being a political party to a cult and have not demonstrated a willingness to shift back. - Must win - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:47 am: Kinda,why I laughed at all the commercials jb ran and all the stories on the media supporting him while attacking bailey. They were a,waste, he’s a lock as is the rest of the blue candidates in a blue state. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:51 am: ===the rest of the blue candidates in a blue state.=== You can’t cite Bailey as a poor candidate and then say Illinois is a blue state. It’s boring, lazy, disingenuous, and wrong. Candidate Quality matters. Georgia is a prime example of that. Georgia GOP statewides that either angered or opposed Trump, they won, then there was Walker. The GOP in Illinois has not given voters a viable “stand alone” candidate for a while, and Bailey isn’t that either. - New Day - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:57 am: “This is essentially the same argument put forward by longtime hardcore Republican commenter “Lucky Pierre,” Please don’t encourage him. - New Day - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 10:59 am: “Illinois Democrats hold extreme positions on many hot-button issues”. Please share the list.” I’m sure the GOP would say some dishonest nonsense like Democrats favor abortion up to the moment of Bar Mitzvah. - Streator Curmudgeon - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:00 am: ==They tend to vote Republican for obvious reasons, not out of fear.== They vote Republican because Republicans don’t like to raise taxes. Then roads, bridges, schools and airports fall apart while Republicans are in office, Democrats have to raise taxes to fix them, and Republicans call them “tax and spend.” And on and on. - Pundent - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:05 am: =They were a,waste, he’s a lock as is the rest of the blue candidates in a blue state.= We’re only a few years removed from having a Republican governor and US Senator. Failing to embrace candidates like Bailey and Devore does not make Illinois a blue state. It’s simply a wake-up call to the ILGOP that severely flawed candidates will not be competitive and will drag down others on the ticket. The ILGOP hasn’t figured out how to establish a non-MAGA identity. Until they do they’ll be wandering in the wilderness. The problem lies within the party not the voters. - low level - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:05 am: I cant count the number of times I heard Bailey and other Repubs call Democrats extreme. They said it over and over. It didnt work. Why? Dem positions are very mainstream. Lets face it. Guys like Prtizker are actually quite boring, kind of like Edgar was. They project competence and a lack of drama. Their opponents? Not so much. Thats why they won big. - Old time Independent - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:10 am: -Anon324- @10:33am. Thanks for saving me the time to say almost exactly what you said. Corbett should have disclosed that his firm has a lucrative contract with the village of Orland Park when he referenced the People over Politics motto. Pekau has at least 2 open FEC complaints along with other issues regarding money being spent from his Mayoral campaign. 1. No bid paving contracts for millions to donors. 2. Taking money from bars and restaurants while acting as liquor commissioner. 3. Recently gave a $100,000 consulting contract to a developer that had his family donate approximately $75,000 to his race for Congress. 4. Multiple donations from 2 car dealerships that received $500,000 tax breaks then donated to all three of his campaign accounts. If that’s People over Politics I will take a pass. It’s more like Pekau over People - Skeptic - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:14 am: “…go on offense…” If by “offense” they mean “Dems bad” instead of “Reps good, and here’s why”, I don’t think they’re going to get very far. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:21 am: ===This is essentially the same argument put forward by longtime hardcore Republican commenter “Lucky Pierre,” Please don’t encourage him.=== To be fully transparent, honest, and truthful to things. I had both thoughts here, and I didn’t comment because of the latter, even as the former is so true. I’ve asked - LP - often what good is in IL, and like the ILGOP, they find “nothing” to policy or governing. - walker - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:26 am: vern 10:11 ++ - low level - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:28 am: Try calling someone like Harmon “extreme”. Good luck w that. He’s about as centrist as they come. He also is quite boring. Thats not an insult - its a compliment. Its one of the reasons he’s so effective. Most people couldnt identify him if their lives depended on it. That is a good thing for him and Sen Dems in general. - vern - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:32 am: === Please don’t encourage him=== Ehh, I like that LP is a regular. Most people that partisan aren’t willing to engage at all with people who disagree. He’s taken one step further out of the bubble than most folks on his side, which I consider worthy of encouragement. Politics is a game of addition, after all. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:38 am: - vern - This even goes the ILGOP too. You think - LP - is an honest actor to things, even with contradictory words and thoughts within the partisan… … or is - LP - disingenuous, as some of the ILGOP positions seem to come across too. It’s difficult for me, speaking only for me, to see the total negativity that the ILGOP and - LP - want as reality as honest to a discussion. It is, to me, wholly dishonest to the entirety of the discussion, built around “winning the day” as Rauner and his crew tried and found success. - Just sayin’ - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:58 am: A reasonable start? The Eastern Bloc extremists calling someone a RINO should be worn like a badge of honor. RINO = Sane in the new world order. - vern - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 11:58 am: ===or is - LP - disingenuous, as some of the ILGOP positions seem to come across too=== No way to know for sure, but extending generosity is a good exercise even if nothing comes of it. If LP is some kind of operative trying to “win the day” for Republicans, he’s clearly not doing very well. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt that he’s sincere enough to be worth engaging with. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:03 pm: ===No way to know for sure=== The lack of convictions… that seemingly change to the “politics of the moment” for the GOP want or desire? To bring it back to the polling and the ILGOP too… the default is to the base/core of this ILGOP thinking when policy and governing are put into play, and that may include changing positions to fit a narrative instead of finding positions that prove a better policy. - Jusy sayin' - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:15 pm: Republicans would do well to reject the MAGA base. IT may cost them a few election cycles…but eventually, a solid platform with a solid message and less hate and hyperbole would attract new voters and could cause some “Dems” to cross-over. - Commissar Gritty - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:36 pm: 56% counts as “overwhelming”? In statistics we would call that a slim majority. I know that journalists are prone to exaggeration as a way of keeping people reading, but the amount if hyperbole dripping from their language choices here makes it hard to read through all the eye rolls. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:41 pm: ===56% compared to 30%=== That’s overwhelmingly - Norseman - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:52 pm: Hat tip to Oswego Willy. - Lurker - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:54 pm: So the problem is the ideology and extremist stupidity of people like Uihlein, Proft and Griffin but they provide the money. Meanwhile, people like me are being driven so far away that I’m doubtful to make it back. - low level - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 12:56 pm: ==56% counts as “overwhelming”? == Yes. One candidate got 56% vs four opponents who combined for the rest. Thats overwhelming - Rabid - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 1:11 pm: Gop operating with the 44 point turnaround agenda? A new GOP platform could help LP - VerySmallRocks - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 1:33 pm: What the IL GOP fail to understand is that the Illinois political center has moved left for years. It’s not 1957 anymore. - Politics understander - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 1:48 pm: I would not be surprised if the partisan breakdown of those results where people see the parties as equally extreme is that dems and lean dem think Rs are more extreme and vice versa for how Rs perceive dems. - Suburban Mom - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 2:00 pm: ===Was following along until the prescription. === Yeah, he gets to “Republicans need to govern and offer ideas for governing” but then his idea is “… paint the Democrats as extreme.” My dude, that’s not governing. - Lurker - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 2:39 pm: And for those of you that are wondering what is extreme about the Democratic Party, I will offer the words of my great friend who is a lifelong and ardent democrat: there is no problem that cannot be solved by good government. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 2:42 pm: - Lurker - So hating on government is a thing? The same folks who think that have been found to get… farming subsidies, PPP/Covid relief… It’s a caricature thought. I mean, government now is telling women in some states they can’t have control of their bodies in health. - Anyone Remember - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 3:18 pm: Frank Manzo IV - Not just Illinois. When Josh Hawley beat Claire McCaskill 54-45, at the same time Missouri voted against Right to Work 2 to 1. - JS Mill - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 3:27 pm: Given the election outcomes and the fact that all statewides for two election cycles, and all but two in three election cycles are democrats…it is very clear who is mainstream and who appeals to voters. Add in a super majority in both houses of the GA, is there really a question who is extreme and living in an echo chamber that is simply undermining their ability to appeal beyond our population centers? Math is funny in that it does not care about feelings. - Thomas Paine - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 3:52 pm: Dilbert reminds us that the first job of every consultant is to get your next consulting contract. Imagine the laughter and outrage and crickets if he concluded that instead flipping the script, Republicans needed to prove that they know how to govern? Where is the money in that, I guess? Not a great way to make friends, either. I would also disagree with his summation that it’s about “extremism.” Voters mostly only care about the extremism that affects them: reproductive freedom, guns, etc. Most voters do not care about transgender bathrooms or drag shows. And as a practical matter, I expect any targeted legislators are gonna be voting no on anything controversial in 2023 and 2024, a luxury they have with a super-majority. Welch will also likely use rules to avoid rollcalls that make Democrats queasy and put Republicans in a tight spot, if that is how McCombie wants to roll. Imagine forcing Republicans to vote on each separate provision. Of a major gun overhaul bill, for example. - Lurker - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 6:56 pm: So hating on government is a thing? To some yes. But to me, hating on government to do everything, is more correctly stated and too many people in this country want that. - Oswego Willy - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 7:21 pm: ===hating on government to do everything, is more correctly stated and too many people in this country want that=== I mean, you’re afraid of… socialism taking over? Let’s start with ending all farm subsidies, lol - Jibba - Thursday, Dec 8, 22 @ 8:31 pm: Lurker…you said extreme. Using government to find solutions sounds more mainstream to me, and I suspect to most people. If you think it is a little more government than you’d like, that seems more like a small overreach/difference of opinion rather than an extremist takeover. Sorry, comments for this post are now closed.