Does anyone here remember what happened to Republicans in 2006? (That was two full years before the Credit Crisis hit, you know).

Still not ringing a bell? How about this:

The Patriot Act. The Iraq War. The Afghanistan War. Eavesdropping on Americans without a warrant. Torture. Water Boarding. Guantanamo.

Forget whether these policies were effective, or whether or not Barack Obama actually ended them. The point is, these things repelled Independent voters from the GOP in droves, in both 2006 and 2008 (although the economy was bigger in the latter election).

So fast-forward to today, and allow me the indulgence of playing sparring partner to the Romney team, and penning up a few Democrat talking points for them to respond to in Fall 2012:

(ahem):

-------------------------------------

"With (today's) announcement of Condi Rice as his VP running mate, we now see that not only does Mitt Romney intend to continue Bush's Failed Economic Policies - but his Failed Foreign Policies, as well!"

"As if there were any question that Mitt Romney was just another arm, just another tentacle of the DICK CHENEY / BLACKWATER NEO-CON SHADOW GOVERNMENT, his selection of a Senior Bush Administration Foreign Policy Official now removes all doubt."

"Bain Capital and Blackwater - the Republican's Unbeatable 1-2 Knockout Punch to the Middle Class of America."

-----------------------------------------------

Ok, you get the idea.

Regardless how you feel about the Bush Administration's policies, the fact is that Independents came to hate them; whether it was "fair" or not is beside the point. Independents left the GOP in droves.

Perhaps Mitt Romney's greatest asset is that he's immune to the whole Iraq/Afghanistan issue - because he was not in Washington when those policies were being created. But selecting Condi Rice as VP directly ties him to all that. It rips the scab off the whole Iraq/Afghanistan issue (which added massively to our debt, any way you slice it).

So, do we want Barack Obama to run against Romney in 2012...or George Bush? That's a no-brainer for me. Because if they put Condi on the ticket - in addition to the fact that she won't help deliver a single state - they're letting the Chocolate Bolshevik get away with running the 2008 campaign all over again ("It's Bush's Fault"). This campaign is shaping up to be an "Air War." The commercials about the stuff I said above are doubtless already being cut. You really think giving Condi one (1) 90-minute debate with Joe Biden (which nobody will watch) is going to make up for all that? Seriously?

Come now. Push your glasses back up on your nose, nerds, and stop being childish. I really dig Condi Rice, but this is nothing personal to her. If you think the Democrat Party did a job on Sarah Palin, wait 'till you see what they do to a female member of the Bush Administration.

A good reason for Allan West. Mike.

OMFG! lol...(does GW22 know you stole his Kool-Aid?)

Hey, you! I share my secret Kool-Aid WILLINGLY :)

GO CONDI!!

Buzz:

I don't believe Condi carries the stench you think she does. And the Democrats trying to hang that baggage on her will see it backfire if she and the Republicans handle it correctly.

Regarding your comments on Indepedent voters, Obama's margin of vitory among Independents was within about 1% of his overall margin of victory. That being the case, what's your point? Independents aren't necessarily conservatives, you know. In fact Kerry won more Independent votes in 2004 than Bush.

So whatchu talkin' 'bout, Willis?

-Gary

I would love to see Condi tear up Biden in the VP debates. It would be epic. Sadly, few care about that debate.

And Condi is very pro-gun. That's a big plus in my book.

But she proved to be a lightweight for foreign affairs, got chastised by Bush more than once, and has a lot of liberal leanings.

What effect would she have on the race? It might get a few people miffed at Romney to come back into the fold. It might give some blacks a real choice if voting based on color is what's important.

The real issue is Obama is hammering Romney hard in the swing states over his overseeing layoffs. Romney has done little to get in Obama's face about this. He's running a tame, gentlemanly campaign like grandpa McLame did, and he's going to get run over and have tire marks left on him if he doesn't get off his rear end and become more aggressive.

OK Brian, let me get this straight...

On July 5th @ 11:09pm EST you looked up Condi's conservatism credentials on a website provided by bigdogtx and replied "bigdogtx, thanks for that link. Most of her ducks are in order. Might make a good running mate for Romney."

Then today, July 14th, you say, "...she proved to be a lightweight for foreign affairs, got chastised by Bush more than once, and has a lot of liberal leanings."

Say, uh... you don't happen to reside in a fancy wooden clock, do ya?

-Gary

Gary (Coleman),

You made my point for me. Obama's margin of victory overall was huge...so if we take your own number at face value, what you're saying is that his margin among Independents was huge, also.

The point? _Those_ people are the only voters who are "gettable" for either party. And, the Independents hate Bush and anything that smells of him.

Mitt is totally "clean," as far as having kept the stench of Bush off himself. No presence in Washington, no Iraq war connections, nothing.

And I think what you're going to see, is that the smart, realistic thinking coming from the Romney camp will match exactly what I said above, when he announces that Condi Rice will _not_ be his running mate. He will allow her to burnish her future GOP credentials by acting as a stump mouthpiece for him on selected campaign stops, like Virginia...but his actual Veep choice will be someone who is:

1. Un-tarnished by negative Washington connections, and...

2. Can solidly deliver a win in a key swing state.

You'll see.

-Willis (now if you'll excuse me...Kimberly and I are going to go finish our conjugal visit...she wants to work out the rest of the positions in her Kama Sutra book).

I'll pause for a moment while Brian comes up with a nasty, retaliatory comment.

Hurry up Swing State, I want to answer him.

-Gary

Gary,,,,if this is your premise for having Condi on the ticket:

"I don't believe Condi carries the stench you think she does. And the Democrats trying to hang that baggage on her will see it backfire if she and the Republicans handle it correctly."

Then hussein will win as the R's haven't handled much handed to them on a silver platter,,,,,,"correctly".....

Well bigdog, you've got me there. But I figure the Republicans can only be stupid for so long. But then again, I thought that in 2007 and then they nominated a guy who literally finished in the bottom 1% of his college class and never held a non-government job in his life.

And that leads me to my reply to BuzzGun's post. Buzz, in addition to Independents, there are significant "undecideds" who can also be "gotten." All that the numbers mean is simply that you can't get them by running a dolt.

And speaking of undecided voters, it's a fairly well known fact among pollsters and polliwonks that the majority of undecideds end up voting against the incumbent. The analogy sometimes used is this: If you poll a bunch of married men about whether they intend to file for divorce in the next year and they reply that they're "undecided," then it's pretty clear that the marriage is over.

-Gary

Well,,,,,the R establishment, mostly rinos, did that before with Bob Dole,,,,,the crap about it is 'his turn' or 'he's paid his dues' wound up giving this country the biggest (too many adjectives) and is accelerating the death of this country at breakneck speed,,,,,,and while I agree with supporting Romney,,,,,we cannot just put someone in there without COMPLETE vetting,,,,,,good thing about Romney being younger is the "just a heartbeat away from the presidency" won't hold any water like it did in 2008......

Allen West is ten times a better VP candidate the Condi. And it would also set up a Rubio run in 2020. I hate to see him used up as a VP anyway.

Yes,,,,but Allen has alienated a lot of the TEA party when he called them schizo.....

I dug deeper into her foreign affairs and her abortion stance. She made some blunders on one and takes a liberal position on the other, plus some other positions. But nothing compared to Romney's train wreck liberal career.

Even so, she would make a good VP.

In fact, if she was the nominee I would vote for her. At least she is a friend of gun owners.

And if you expected a snotty reply, sorry, don't have one. You seem to have that talent wrapped up.

OK Brian, let me update the BIO Condi Rice Flip-Flop Scoreboard:

"Good running mate for Romney."

"Lightweight for foreign affairs... and has a lot of liberal leanings."

"If she was the nominee I would vote for her."

So, by simply combining your own quotes, we now have you officially on record saying you - the self-proclaimed principled conservative - would vote for someone who has a lot of Liberal leanings. Quick, Brian - you better start editing those posts again.

LMAO! I'm telling ya, Folks - you just can't make this sh!t up.

-Gary

And in the other column of the Flip-Flop Scoreboard, I'll cross GW.22's name off the "Romney will win the Independent vote" tally, and move him over to the "Okay, he won't win the Independents with Condi...so we'll hang our hopes on Undecided Democrats switching their loyalty."

That sounds much better.

I have posted that I would compromise and vote for Romney *IF* and *ONLY IF* if was not a gun banner. That's the one line I will not cross. I have repeatedly stated such. There is no way you do not know this. You're just fixated upon being a juvenile Internet cyber bully to the point where you've lost all objectivity and honesty.

Condi is more conservative than Romney on most issues, and is pro-Second Amendment. She understands better than most people here what the Second Amendment is all about.

Come on Buzz, let's see where I said those two things. Either post proof or admit you're joking.

-Gary

Well Buzz, look at his flip flopping by throwing tantrums that my vote is going to a third party instead of Romney, then he says Oregon is going blue so my vote isn't needed. Classic flip flopping.

Yep, I'm deeply troubled by one person's 3rd-Party vote in a state that hasn't voted Republican in 28 years. Cuckoo.

-Gary

We know you are, because you have an obsession with anything I post, and have proven that with repeated obsessive trolling of my posts, and yes, you are a cuckoo.

Now, Gary. Surely you are not denying you said Independents were the Key to the White Hizzy, back when all the terbacky-chewing, snake-dancing conservatives were braying and hollering for Rick Santorum?

And the proof is immediately above, that you "pivoted" to Undecideds, when I pressed you on the impossibility of winning Independents with Bush Officials on the ballot.

Say, wait a minute...you wouldn't happen to be from Oregon...would you?

Buzz:

You're funny, but let's be serious for a second.

Clearly Independents and Undecideds are the keys to winning any election. Who would argue otherwise? But where are you saying that I said, "Okay, he won't win the Independents with Condi..."? I never said that. I think Condi WILL win over many independents.

Anyway, I tried to convey two points to you:

1) Your 2008 comparison regarding Independents isn't valid because the Republicans ran a dolt. Romney and Condi aren't dolts.

2) It's not necessary to depend solely on Independents because there are lots of undecided voters who can be swung also.

Explain how that's a Flip-Flop or a "pivot" on my part?

-Gary

Why yes, he IS from Oregon. Which means he acknowledges that HIS vote doesn't count either. So that means that his whole approach here is to simply troll others to harass them into voting how he wants to vote, trying to make himself relevant by proxy.

The fact that you always swallow the bait might have a little to do with it too....... It's no fun fishing unless the fish are biting.

LOL!! Ya THINK?

Seriously though, Galt is lying. I sincerely want badly for Brian to vote for a gun banner he hates. It's very important to me.

-Gary

I wonder why buzzgun is posting on this site in the middle of the day while the Indiana state trapshoot is in progress? Hell he lives in Naptown. One would think he would be there, instead of commenting on someone who has no chance in hell of being the VP nominee. Condi? Where in the hell is she even from? I don't know and neither does anybody else. Even the people whom reside in the same state don't make the connection.

The VP has got to come from a Swing State! And if Romney is that damn dumb to not figure that out he deserves to lose.

FYI for you Indiana trapshooters. If you come out of a strip joint tonight somewhere in the Indy metro and you have a dead battery or need a lift because you are too intoxicate - give buzzy a call. He's a nice guy who will give you a jump or he can even put you up for the night. Just ask.

bisi - inebriated somewhere outside of Btown

Man, this political stuff sure was a lot more fun when all I had to think about was Sarah's tight little red leather mini-skirt.

Bisi,

In my newfound state of Magnanimous Reverence For The Sport, I've decided to let somebody else win the Indiana Singles Championship for a change (lol). And trappers, Bisi's offer is good...(as long as you're not from the Midwest - or have a Lugar sticker on your car - that would ruin my rep.).

But enough joviality, you - you...youuuuu (wink), I see what you're trying to do here - you're trying to distract me from my main goal in life, which is to fraudulently talk GW22 (and by extension, the Romney campaign, since I'm sure they listen to him) into supporting that shiny-object Marco Rubio guy and any hell snowball's chance of winning Florida's 29 electoral votes. (This is really important to me). After all, anybody who isn't a dolt should be able to see that...right?

(Please, in your inebriated state, try not to get in a car wreck tonight...I'd hate for the nice lady from the Naptown Coroner's Office to have to cut short her Saturday Night Wine Binge and drive out there, slam on the brakes, and run over your ass!)

Brian your know it all style is getting old. OK now fire away.

Have I mentioned lately that Romney is a Gun Banner and I refuse to vote for him?

-Brain in Oregano

But what if we can get Condi to borrow Sarah's mini? Will you vote for Mitt then???

Sarah?

Yummy, yummy - I'm HOT for this dummy!

-Brain in Oregano

You get Condi to dress like that, we ain't talking suicide anymore!

Kit, did you miss this the first time around? You gotta keep up, man.

Gawd, Man, I've NEVER seen that one! I now unequivocally refute any notion that Condi could symbolize suicide to any candidate...lover maybe, but candidate, NEVER.

Who let the dogs out, unh! unh! unh-unh!?????????????

DARN! I Googled "Sarah's tight little red leather mini-skirt" and got nothing but this thread!

Charlie

Kit gets a tad senile when his blood rushes from one head to the other. The skirt was always black.

She did wear a red leather jacket once though. Not that I pay attention to such things.

-Gary

Har Har Me Hardies! Shiver me timbers!

Tight Black Skirt, Tight Black Skirt, AWWWK!