Top Headline Comments 7-17-13

Happy Wednesday.

So, Liz Cheney, eh? I thought folks had enough of foreign policy interventionists like Obama, Bush 43 and Sens. McCain and Graham. Sen. Paul certainly is no fan: “When I heard Liz Cheney was running for Senate I wondered if she was running in her home state of Virginia." There was something undeniably ballsy about her announcement, though. After telling Sen. Enzi she wouldn't run if he did, she made her video announcement -- obviously planned well in advance -- a bare 30 minutes after he announced that he was running for reelection. This is gonna be a helluva fight.

Popehat has a formidable critique of the distasteful existence of Nancy Grace, no doubt spurred in part by the Zimmerman coverage.

Dementia in the aging is dropping, according to several major studies. If it is, this gives hope to quite a few people who had to watch their parents go through it and fear it in themselves. It also suggests that projections for elderly healthcare will need to be adjusted.

For all of Washington Post's efforts, a bare 16% say Gov. McDonnell should resign over his alleged ethical lapses in accepting gifts.

Regarding yesterday's post suggesting that being nasty isn't going to win the GOP any votes, if you think that depicting Sen. Rubio, who is not Mexican, in a sombrero against a Mexican flag background isn't a problem, well... there's really a great explanation for why you were surprised we lost in November. As I wrote way, way, way back in November when folks were probably too shell-shocked to actually read it, the GOP doesn't have a policy problem. It has a messaging one.

Democrats excel at this game. Both parties shuffle around a fairly stable political center, with their policies actually on the perimeter. The Democrats' policies are to the Left, but their messaging is centrist. The Republicans' policies are to the Right and so for the most part is their messaging. That's a problem when we need to attract swing voters.

You know who understands this really well? Sen. Paul. He opposed the Gang of 8 bill and he did it without making an ass of himself. It is entirely possible to do, the question is whether we have the will to do it.

posted by Gabriel Malor at 06:56 AM

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