Bill Kristol: Specter's Defection "Good News For Republicans!"

Washington Post:

On May 24, 2001, I wrote an op-ed for The Post in the wake of Vermont Sen. James Jeffords's party switch. I argued that the switch, which cost Republicans control of the Senate, could well turn out to be good for President Bush.

Not entirely for the reasons I speculated on in the op-ed, I turned out to be right. Bush was still able to get enough cooperation to govern over the next year and a half, and he was also able to run successfully against the Democratic Senate in the fall of 2002. The GOP regained control that November.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[keepemhonest]

Billy ... I think your letters to President Clinton - on your PNAC site - where you Bush & Cheney & Rummy all signed letters to Clinton explaining why & how to invade I-r-a-q was more interesting than this artcle.

They are interesting and eery letters on the PNAC website ... careful if you go read them .... they are eery .... skipping around the blog & looking at who their members are is also EERRY ... Bolton, Rummy, Cheney ... cast of e-v-i-l- empire..

[jackjava]

It's guys like Billy K that keep shrinking teh party down to nothing. I hope Billy, Rushy, Seany, and the boys keep kicking out moderate Repubs to teh curb. Eventually, they will be kicked to teh curb. They are the problem, not the solution to what ails the Repubs.

Keep up the anti American posture Billy!

[trunk65]

Kristol reminds me of a drunk guy in a dark room, blindfolded, and still trying to hit the politica pinata.

[Cunningham]

I don't think Kristol believes anything he says or writes. He can't be THAT stupid.

[dragonlady620]

He is.

[V4Vigilance]

For Kristol every day is Opposite Day.

[SarcasticFringehead]

Good thinking, Bill.
Let's hope even more Republicans defect to the Democratic Party.
Those Democrats will be so used to getting things done and setting the country on the right track, that they won't even suspect the brilliant sneak-attack the Republicans are going to surprise them with in 2012. Yes, Sara Palin and Michele Bachmann will be leading the Republican hordes as they sweep back into Washington and once again claim power. America will once again be a god fearin', gun-lovin' nation.

Don't hold your breath, Bill.

[elmerfude]

I thought this dork retired.

[SharpDressedMan]

He doesn't know when to quit.

[NWBrunette]

Some folks will criticize anything with Kristol's name on it. And there's plenty of good reason for that. However, what he wrote this time is just common sense and certainly not partisan. Specter with a "D" gets the Dems pretty close to nothing, and it gives the repubs a new way to polish up their critique.

[ayisha]

i am inclined to agree with your comment. however, i believe that many republicans, like Specter, find themselves suddenly standing outside of the ideological center of the party, and they too may walk away from anyone with an R next to their name. at the core of the problem is a failure to recognize that the party has become grounded in policies and philosophies that represent a shrinking, extremist proportion of the country. this does not mean that the rest of us want big government or want high taxes, but it means that we don't want to be associated with the ignorance that seems to be rampant on the far right. just listen to the comments made this week regarding the swine flu outbreak. all of the good intentions and good ideas of the Republican party are wrapped in a banner of racism, xenophobia, and anti-intel­lectualism (to name a few of the symptoms). Kristol may be correct that Specter's move may yield no net gain for the Democrats, but it may also represent a much more important gain in the Democratic base. time will tell.

[Cunningham]

"Some folks will criticize anything with Kristol's name on it. And there's plenty of good reason for that."

He hasn't been correct about anything up to this point. There's no reason to believe he'll start any time soon.

[Centient]

Well if Bill "Crystal Ball" Kristol said it you can pretty much put your money on the opposite happening. It's really astounding that this gasbag continues to be taken even remotely seriously. Neither literary nor enlightening. One of the worst right-wing commentator's out there.

[gconners]

I was just about to say the same thing! Good old Bill "I've never been right about ANYTHING" Kristol. Gotta love the guy.

[Grannysue]

Now I remember where I've seen Bill, on an old comedy central show with a brown paper bag over his head! Stop Bill your killin me!

[Homer Meriwether]

When will this guy learn that he is a has been. he lost his mouth when the american people voted in nov. He need to find the same rock cheny and bush are hiding under.

[frontstreet]

Like watching a blind man at a firing range.

[Mauiloa]

I think the Kristol balls...er­...ball is getting a little cloudy.

Only in Bill's bizarro world could this be a good thing for Repugs.

[WilliamProc]

Bill Kristol: the most trusted name in non-journalism. Always right-wing, always dependable for incorrectness.

The Republicans can breathe a sigh of relief that Kristol is on top of this story with his usual skill and acumen.

[the964kid]

I can't believe this guy gets paid to write this stuff. He's always wrong, always. Glad to see our economy is strong enough for newspapers to throw money away on this jacka**. Somebody should pay me to be a neurosurgeon.

[Freesia2]

Isn't that the truth though? If he says the sky is blue and sunny, I'd grab my umbrella.

Hey, if you become a neurosurgeon maybe you can help his brain. Oh - my bad. He'd actually have to have one, wouldn't he?