Tanker! Dude! Long time no see!

Ironically, a minority govt might actually produce a more conservative result, as it would force an alliance between the Tories & the BQ, and the common philosophical ground between the grassroots of those parties is decentralization: i.e. proper federalism with more power devolved to the provinces.

[Absent corruption, that is....]

Liberation in the Soviet Republic of Canuckistan.

Sure, the Spaniards were real coños, but remember they were half-occupied by Muslims for 700 years.

And they're still right next door. So Spanish fear is in the face of a real threat. Doesn't make their response admirable or right, but there you go.

Cordially...

The Spanish reaction may have just been a fluke. Aznar was killing in the polls before the bombings, and his botched response (blaming ETA) sunk him. If he had had more time, even Spain might still be with us.

Liberals must feel so awful right now

You forgot another conservative: Ahmadinejad

Congratulations!

You might want to start putting together the invite list for the party to celebrate the end of the People's Republic of Canada.

Whoa there Ace! Martin has something up his sleeve that may swing it around at the last minute.

Sure, the Spaniards were real coños, but remember they were half-occupied by Muslims for 700 years.

And with a lifetime birth rate of 1.1 children per female, their facing another 700 or so years in the near future.

DISCLAIMER: This post is intended as political comment, protected (for now) under the first amendment of the U.S. Consititution. It is not intended as an endorsement of any particular political candidate in violation of the McCain-Feingold Campaign Reform and Hinderance of Political Expression Act. It is also not intended to harrass, offend or (heaven forbid!) annoy anyone in violation of any other Unconsititutional Acts recently passed by the Republican Congress and signed into law by our Commander-in-Chief (also, purportedly a Republican).

That's a real handy disclaimer there, Red Jode. I'd use it too, but then I'd be adding copyright infringement to the list.

searp, I don't know if you've been paying attention, but Ahmadinejad might soon be standing in the same unemployment line as Chirac, Schroeder and Martin.

But... Ahmadinejad is a conservative! Chirac is a conservative! Why do we want those folks unemployed? I am confused now. Do we have a March of Conservatism, a March of Pro-Americanism or a March of Dimes? I am truly lost, but willing to be educated.

They all end up unemployed sooner or later, except maybe that good conservative Putin.

Bremer does not have many kind words to say about the performance about the Spanish troops. He says in his book that they stood by and did not come to the aid of the Americans when they were under attack in Najaf. He refers to it as the coalition of the totally uncooperative.

I think Spain, and to a lesser extent Italy, have proved to be more trouble than they were worth. What with their litigious judges charging our troops for friendly fire incident swith murder and the Italians and their funding of terrorists through ransom, we may need to rethink this whole coalition thing.

I believe "searp" is conflating "conservative" with "reactionary." Putin was a senior officer in the KGB, which office never went to Federalist Society types.

And lefties can be reactionaries--witness Chas. Schumer trying to freeze one SCOTUS decision in amber for all time.

Cordially...

"But... Ahmadinejad is a conservative! Chirac is a conservative! Why do we want those folks unemployed?"

Because neither of them is a "conservative" in an American sense. Chirac may be conservative relative to, say, Mao, but that's not exactly enough to get American Republicans or libertarians to like him.

And Ahmadinejad isn't so much "conservative" as he is "bat-guano insane."

Ahmadinejad is a reactionary. On a simplified (read: unnuanced) spectrum, reactionaries are to the right of revolutionaries, liberals and moderates, but that doesn't conservatives = reactionaries. It means reactionaries are further to the right than conservatives.

Note that while American conservatives emphatically renounce reactionaries, American liberals embrace revolutionaries (e.g. Stalin, Mao, Castro, Guevara) enthusiastically. Brutal killers all, and yet the Left just loves 'em, makes t-shirts and posters celebrating them, make fawning movies about them. Why do you suppose that is, searp?

Let's see... Putin is an avowed atheist who looks back fondly to the days of the Soviet Union. He's no fan of private enterprise, loathes federalism, and would never legalize private gun ownership in a million years. (The number one murder weapon in Russia is the knife. Number two, for all you Dostoevsky fans, is the axe.)

Sounds more like Howard Dean than Ronald Reagan. For that matter, neither Reagan nor Putin has much in common with Ahmedinejad. I'll beat Inigo Montoya to the punch: "You keep using that word 'conservative.' I do not think it means what you think it means."

Spain is not alone.

A left-wing coalition took power in Norway, leading to that country pulling out of Iraq (its combat engineer contingent had already redeployed, but Norwegian officers continued to serve on the staff of the UK-led Multi-National Division South).

Ukraine and Bulgaria also announced withdrawals lot long after changes of government. However, both showed more guts than Zapatero, and put off redeployment until after the December elections and after they had trained Iraqi forces to take primary responsibility for their sectors.

The Italian government and Italian politicians have made noises, but their troops are still there. Poland, Denmark, Japan and several others have remained steadfast, although like most others (including the US), they have looked for or are looking for ways of downgrading their force levels in Iraq.

Spain is a democracy. The overwhelming majority of Spaniards were strongly against the invasion. They voted out a manipulative liar.

Democracy happens. Try to get used to it. Someday, you may even like it, or at least appreciate it. Okay, maybe just RESPECT it.

Just... respect it.

Just once I'd like to see some rightwingers admit they wanted leaders of Spain, Italy, Turkey etc. act undemocratically, to support the US administration. A little honesty would be refreshing.

Because neither of them is a "conservative" in an American sense. Chirac may be conservative relative to, say, Mao, but that's not exactly enough to get American Republicans or libertarians to like him.

Bush is not a conservative in the American sense. He may be conservative relative to, Karl Marx, but that's not exactly enough to get libertarians, or more than 40% of Americans, to like him.

Let's see: I guess if Chirac isn't conservative in an American sense that is because he is... French. Shocking, simply shocking. I guess we could move further along the spectrum and look to Le Pen?

Ahmadinejad prays a lot, was elected to a local office before becoming president, doesn't know or care much for the rest of the world and probably favors tax cuts. Sounds like someone else I know.

I thought we were talking conservatives here, not Republicans. Now I understand.

"Ahmadinejad prays a lot, was elected to a local office before becoming president, doesn't know or care much for the rest of the world and probably favors tax cuts. Sounds like someone else I know."

Ooh! I know! Bill Clinton? LOL

Victories in the GWOT:
First Afghanistan, then Iraq, and now Canada!
LMAO