Michael Barone

Warning to Obama and Democrats: Republican Party Is Coming Back in Virginia

February 4, 2009 RSS Feed Print

By Michael Barone, Thomas Jefferson Street blog

Barack Obama carried Fairfax County, Va., 60 percent to 39 percent . In a special election yesterday for chairman of the County Board of Supervisors to replace Gerald Connolly, who was elected to Congress in November, Democrat Sharon Bulova beat Republican Pat Herrity by only 51 percent to 49 percent. Turnout was 107,713, far below the 516,254 last November. Another example of how Democratic turnout seems to drop off more than Republican turnout in special elections.

Couple this with two findings from pollster Scott Rasmussen and you might conclude that Republicans' prospects are not as dismal as they seemed in the weeks after the November election. Finding one: Support for the stimulus package has fallen. Two weeks ago, 45 percent supported it and 34 percent were against. Now it's 37 percent for and 43 percent against. Finding two: The Democratic advantage on the generic ballot—which party's candidate for Congress will you vote for?—has fallen to 4 percent.

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republican party

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A Recipe for Scratch Socialism

Robin B. Bledsoe

Begin with an aged wedge of national overspending. Take the wedge of aged national overspending and carefully separate the over spenders from the pay their bills on time everyday citizens, into individual bowls. I prefer to use colorful bowls. Place the over spenders to your far left in a blue bowl. Note, the over spenders will need a larger bowl. Place the pay your bills on time everyday citizens to your right in a conservatively colored bowl, red will do nicely. Carefully stir into the overspending mixture a cup of a sense of entitlement. Stir slowly, then blend in even potions of mortgage buyouts, auto industry buyouts, bank buyouts, extended unemployment benefits, and uniform healthcare. Sprinkle the overspending mixture with a tablespoon of fresh partisan politics. Set aside.

Take your conservatively colored red bowl and slowly stir into your pay their bills on time everyday citizens mixture, a heated cup of additional taxes. Combine the heated cup of additional taxes with hard working people and add a dash of no incentive to increase personal income. Pour into the pay their bills on time everyday citizens mixture, a strong dose of betrayal.

Carefully combine the red bowl with the blue bowl and stir until the there is no visible sign of capitalism or the free market system. Should the pay their bills on time everyday citizens mixture rise up, don’t worry, the mixture from the left has the majority and will crush it back down. The mixture will closely resemble freshly disguised socialism.

Pour the freshly disguised socialism into a chilled bowl and toss and serve equal portions to everyone regardless of their appetite. Your meal should be served with a 2009 bottle of a gifted orator and masterful politician who convinced a nation to believe in change and hope. As you pour the wine, enjoy the fragrance of numerous broken pledges and a sense of shock and disbelief. The wine may taste sour initially, and if the meal sticks in your throat a little, don’t worry as you have 4 years to keep perfecting the recipe.

Substitute ingredients: Self-rising American spirit combined with everything that makes our nation the greatest in the world. Combining the two yields true hope and change in 2012.

Robin Barret Bledsoe of VA 6:02PM March 03, 2009

We are letting our country, families, and future down in what and the way we teach our children. They are our future and if they don't know how to make a descion and judge a situation bassed on facts and history with morals they will not make good leaders for our future. Without God it cannot be done. We need to know and teach what the forfathers tought respect, protect, direct, and correct. These are the tools our chilren need besides a strong foundation and relationship in Jesus. Our children want to do great things and succeed but without the proper tools it will go in a different direction. We now have a president who is dishonest and deceiving he does not plan to protect us he is bringing the very enemy in to live in our neighborhoods He is a poor leader for what we have fought for, for over 200 years. If we don't stand up for what we believe in we will not be able to stand up at all. Jesus did not come to bring us religion but a relationship and we need to seek that for guidance and direction and salvation. The holocaust is not being tought in England because it supposedly offends the musslims. History repeats itself and they treasure their relgion more that anything. True Christians do not hold on to a relion but a relationship with God. Chirstians will be the next victim of the next holocaust. We love, we give, and we serve, and yet we are hated. Just as the bible says. In the end we will win no matter what cause we will have eternity and only God can give that. If you don't fight for the right thing you loose the big prize. RESPECT, PROTECT, DIRECT, and CORRECT.

Deloris of WA 11:15AM February 28, 2009

With people like Mr. Eddie Dingle(as in Berries), living in Virginia, are we in anyway surpised that the republicans are making a "comeback"? The republicans have always been the party of ignorance, and it 's not going to change anytime soon.Not that the Dems are anything great mind you, but the thing that suprises me is all the dumb brokeass bluecollar ditchdiggers are still convinced that the republicans look out for their interest.even after they stole all your money and jobs. Perhaps if you lived up north where we have things called schools, they may hold different opinions.However, since the birth of our country, the south has always been a burden we have had to carry. Lincoln should have let them succeed, they would have only failed anyway, and we would all be better off without having to drag an inbred pile of hillbillies kicking and screaming into the future. Read a book and educate yourselves(if you know how)

al from NYC of NY 11:46AM February 20, 2009

Michael Barone

Michael Barone

U.S. News Weekly

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Michael Barone is a senior writer for U.S.News & World Report and principal coauthor of The Almanac of American Politics. He has written for many publications—including the Economist and the New York Times.

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