Rise in Foreclosures Could Hurt GOP in Exurban Counties

The L.A. Times has an article out that raises the issue that the rapid increase in foreclosures could hurt the GOP in what are often referred to as "exurban" counties. The article focuses in on one county in northern Virginia, Loudoun, that voted heavily for Bush in 2004. This is a quote from the article:

STERLING, VA. -- Every afternoon, when Karla Schroeder walks her two boys home from school, she takes note of the new real estate signs springing up on neighborhood lawns. These days, they're not what she's used to seeing, and she's not happy about the change.

Along with a great many "For Sale" signs are new ones that say "Foreclosure." A few weeks ago, she was startled by a bright orange sign that said "Auction."

The national downturn in the housing market has arrived in Loudoun County, a once-largely rural area on the western fringes of Washington that has become one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States. In addition to the economic effect, it's stirring anxiety and discontent that have begun to change the climate in which people consider politics -- especially some Republicans.

"I used to consider myself a Republican, but now I consider myself an independent," Schroeder said.

The foreclosure crisis is not limited to Virginia or states like California. Ohio has seen a rapid increase in the number of foreclosures. Foreclosures now make up almost half of the new cases filed each month in Medina County. The increase in foreclosures may be one reason why Ted Strickland and Sherrod Brown both carried the county just two years after George Bush got around 55% of Medina County's vote in 2004.

Since 2004 there have been reminders that the market-oriented philosophy of the GOP cannot solve certain social problems or even produce a competent government. The continuation of the war in Iraq, the response to Hurricane Katrina, the break-down of America's system of health care, and now the rapid increase in foreclosures all serve to reinforce that point.

People turn to the Democratic Party when they are feeling economically insecure and are looking for help. The increase in foreclosures contributes to such a feeling of insecurity.

The Democratic Party, however, has to come up with solutions that actually help people instead of rich donors. It will be interesting to see if the Party will respond to the concerns of people living with the threat of foreclosure.

Thanks to Medina County Democrat David Brown for sending us the link to the L.A. Times article.

Republicans Putting Anti-War Republicans in Their Crosshairs

The L.A. Times ran a story on October 21, 2007 on how Republican Representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives are being challenged by pro-war Republicans, some of whom are recruited to run by Republican leaders. According to the article such opposition is one reason why more Republicans aren't breaking with Bush on the Iraq War.

Their dilemma is seen in the following results from a CBS News poll. While all adults polled opposed the way Bush is handling the war by 67% to 27%, among Republicans the numbers are reversed with 58% approving his handling of the war and 35% disapproving. These figures make it difficult for Republicans who are opposed to the war in the House and Senate to actually vote against Bush's positions.

Of course, these numbers among Republicans stay up because Bush hasn't asked anyone other than those serving in the military and their families to sacrifice for his war. Republican supporters aren't asked to pay more in taxes, or to risk being drafted, or to go without things to support the war. All they are asked to do is put a bumper sticker on their cars and talk about how much they support the troops.

GOP Senator Hagel: GOP Will Use Fear in 2008

On Monday, September 24, 2007, the L.A. Times published an article on its website about how Republicans are uniting against the idea of closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba. The article contains a great quote from Nebraska Senator Charles Hagel. Here is the quote:The Republican Party has won two elections on the issue of fear and terrorism. [It's] going to try again."

It's refreshing to see a Republican actually admit that his party used fear to win the 2002 and the 2004 general elections. The question remains, though, whether it will work in 2008.

On the one hand it might not because by the election of 2008 the U.S. will have been in Iraq for over five and a half years, with little or nothing to show for the tremendous human and financial cost. On the other hand it might because the GOP presidential nominee won't be George W. Bush. It is hard to know how much of the opposition to the war is based on Bubble-Boy's performance in office and how much is based on the objective reality of what's happening on the ground.

What is known, though, is that the Democratic nominee has to be tough enough to withstand the assault on his or her patriotism that is going to come from the Republicans. Which brings us to Hillary Clinton.

She isn't our first choice for President, Edwards is our first choice, and she might not even be our second choice, but one thing is obvious and that is that she is probably the toughest Democrat running. By that we mean that she doesn't get thrown off message and has the discipline to keep her eye on the ball.

A good friend of ours once remarked that every political campaign goes through a crisis at one time or another. Often the success of a campaign depends on the ability of the candidate and the campaign to rise above that crisis. So far this year, Hillary Clinton seems like the candidate best able to do that. She is certainly running the most effective campaign and is doing the best at staying on message.

Surprise, Surprise-Bush's Advisers Tell Him to Stay the Course in Iraq

Despite reports like this one from the Monday, September 4, 2007 edition of the Los Angeles Times, or this one from the Monday, September 4, 2007 edition of the Washington Post, the AP is reporting that Bush's advisers are telling him to stick with his current strategy in Iraq. Clearly, the Bush Administration is not going to withdraw any troops from Iraq unless they are forced to do so by two-thirds of the Senate and the Congress. Since that is not going to happen, this means that the 2008 presidential campaign will be dominated by Iraq. We wonder how the Republicans running for President are going to like spending all of next year answering questions about Bush's Iraq War? Our guess is not very much.

L.A. Times Story: CIA Reports Iraq Money Going to Bin Laden's Followers in Pakistan

Just in case you needed more evidence to convince any Bush Kool-Aid drinkers you know that the Iraq disaster is hurting our security, try this out. The L.A. Times is reporting that the CIA has been conducting an extensive search for Osama bin Laden. While it hasn't found bin Laden, it has found that money from Iraq is going into Pakistan to help support bin Laden's followers there and in Afghanistan. This money is coming from the kidnapping and ransoming of Iraqis and from donations to groups in Iraq who are fighting the United States. So our staying in Iraq is not only killing American soldiers, it is helping to finance al-Qaeda. Way to go, George. Click on the link in this entry's title to read the whole article.

L.A. Times Ron Brownstein on Dems & Fox News

Brownstein wrote a interesting column in Monday's L.A.Times about the Democrats and Fox News. He said that Democrats were right not to give it legitimacy, but also suggested that Dems need to do with Fox News what Republicans do with other media: both throw stones at it and use it to get out your message. He pointed to the Clinton interview with Chris Wallace last fall as one way to accomplish that goal. You can read the column by clicking on the link in this entry's title and we recommend that you do so. We think you will find the article very interesting.

L.A Times Article on Talking Points Memo & the Power of Blogs

The L.A. Times did a story on Saturday about the website www.talkingpointsmemo.com which is owned and operated by Josh Marshall. The article, which you can read by clicking on the link in this entry's title, is a very interesting analysis of the advantages and disadvantages of blogging using Marshall's pushing of the fired U.S. Attorneys as a case study.

One thing that the article makes clear is that blogging has a much closer relationship with its readers than mainstream journalism. The article also quotes the founder of company selling blog ad space as claiming that left of center blogs are getting over 160 million page views per month. If that is based just on the blogs that are running ads from his company, then that means that there are many more page views on left of center sites that are not being counted. This blog, for example, does not run any ads and so would not be counted in his research. Check out the article, we think you will find it interesting.