Down the Stretch
Posted by Chap at 10/20/2006 9:54 AM and is filed under uncategorized 
Sorry for being out of touch. I just finished a stretch of eight depositions (three in Korean), two motion hearings and a two-day trial (also in Korean) in the past three weeks. Glad to be back among the living ...
The best I can tell the U.S. Senate race in Virginia is tied. Nationwide, the Democrats seem to be on the verge of an unprecedented victory on Election Day. At least a half-dozen U.S. Senate seats and 20-30 Congressional seats could change hands.
There's an irony in all this. After a very hard-fought campaign, President Bush won a narrow victory in 2004. Seems like that would have been a good time to scale back the partisanship and leave a positive legacy for his second term. Or not.
Every Presidential initiative in the past two years has been a failure (Medicare reform? privatizing Social Security?) Wrapped around this has been the continuing debacle of Iraq. Rather than admitting that the decision to invade was a mistake, the President has forged forward with a tone-deaf insistence on "victory" when that term defies any coherent definition. Iraq is in a civil war based on age-old rivalries. Nothing the U.S. can do will change that fact.
Now the hammer may be about to drop.
Chap
The best I can tell the U.S. Senate race in Virginia is tied. Nationwide, the Democrats seem to be on the verge of an unprecedented victory on Election Day. At least a half-dozen U.S. Senate seats and 20-30 Congressional seats could change hands.
There's an irony in all this. After a very hard-fought campaign, President Bush won a narrow victory in 2004. Seems like that would have been a good time to scale back the partisanship and leave a positive legacy for his second term. Or not.
Every Presidential initiative in the past two years has been a failure (Medicare reform? privatizing Social Security?) Wrapped around this has been the continuing debacle of Iraq. Rather than admitting that the decision to invade was a mistake, the President has forged forward with a tone-deaf insistence on "victory" when that term defies any coherent definition. Iraq is in a civil war based on age-old rivalries. Nothing the U.S. can do will change that fact.
Now the hammer may be about to drop.
Chap
Hey Chap,
Glad you are back. I agree that Iraq is a real drag for the GOP. I am a Republican, but I think Iraq was a huge mistake, which may cost my party control of the House. I do belive Bush needs to overhaul his Iraq policy, and fire some people. However, I do think Allen will pull through, say 52-48, give or take a little.
David
So Chap, last time we talked was on a live blog early in the summer. You never responded to my invitation to talk about the marriage amendment. Have you had a chance to read the whole thing and find a way to vote against this particular amendment like your friends Warner and Kaine??
My offer to put a face on this issue for you still stands...and I'd like to get some closure with you before the next cycle begins...
Hello Terry: Sure I remember our emails a few weeks ago. Thanks for staying on me (I'm flattered that anyone seeks my opinion on anything). I'll save you the $5 breakfast. I don't plan on voting for the Amendment on 11/7. I support the principle of traditional marriage and have voted that way before. However, I don't feel this amendment at this time is necessary. I'll leave it at that.
Thanks Chap. Very glad to see you and other Dems who supported this thing in the Assembly now see it for what it is. I would personally agree with you that marriage defines man/woman relationships. We just need to find a way to officially recognize and protect the legal rights of same-sex couples as well. But that is the long term challenge. The good thing is that we agree on so many other issues.
I do hope to stay in touch, especially since I live in the same state senate district as you.
The key to marriage is to get the government out of it. If one did not have to pay a TAX and get a LICENSE to marry, and it was left up to the individual churches/pastors/priests, etc. those individuals would make the decision of who their consceience would let them marry.
Does anyone else think it is ironic that the far right hates government, unless it is something they want the government to ENDORSE! Are they so weak in their faith that the need the imprimatur of government?
As a Democrat with libertarian leanings, I think this is an area where the Dems could win back the mantle of limited government!