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Is the GOP a viable option in 2010?

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Whoever ends up running against Dodd should get a boost from this story:

WASHINGTON – Despite their denials, influential Democratic Sens. Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd were told from the start they were getting VIP mortgage discounts from one of the nation's largest lenders, the official who handled their loans has told Congress in secret testimony.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090727/ap_on_...ators_mortgages

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I don't know if Peter Schiff is an atheist or not but I do know that I've never heard him talk about religion or religious values, and as has been pointed out he doesn't take well to altruism. The Peter Schiff for Senate website doesn't have any position statements on it so it's hard to tell what his position is on 'social matters'. If it turns out that he is an unbeliever or has aversion towards religious (aka, family) values, then my opinion is that his electability will go down. We'll have to see what happens in the primaries.

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I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for atheists to appear on the ballot so that I can vote for them. If a politician doesn't seem to be interested in pushing his or her religious views, then religion essentially becomes a non-issue for me.

As far as the Connecticut Senate race is concerned, Dodd has now admitted that he knew he was getting a sweet-heart deal.....he just didn't think it was anything out of the ordinary. Apparently the fact that he regulates the mortgage industry and Countrywide was giving him a better rate than was available to the general public never caused any alarm bells to go off. I suppose that when you are this arrogant and detached from reality, nothing you do would ever deserve to be questioned or given a second thought.

"Two powerful Senate Democrats said Tuesday that they knew they got low mortgage-rate deals in a lender's VIP program but thought the special treatment was a "courtesy" or the same as "frequent flier" discounts."

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/j...today_headlines

Strange, but my bank has never offered me a "frequent flier discount" on a mortgage, even though I've done more than a dozen different loans with them over the last 10 or so years and my credit is very strong. Anyone who votes for Chris Dodd is getting exactly what they deserve.

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If it turns out that he is an unbeliever or has aversion towards religious (aka, family) values, then my opinion is that his electability will go down. We'll have to see what happens in the primaries.

This would be true in a lot of parts of the country, but Connecticut isn't one of them. Trust me; I live there!

Connecticut, even among Republicans, has an abnormally high ratio of non-believers, atheists, and individuals who do not "practice."Connecticut is one of the only places in the country that has "legalized" gay marriage, and is one of the country's most abortion-friendly states.

Chris Shays was one of our representatives for a long time, who got reelected for his foreign policy above all else. He supported government financing of the arts, abortion, and gay marriage, but was a Republican.

Schiff's religious views will probably do little to hinder his chances. His success will be determined by name recognition, and the ability to dodge any attempts in making him look loony (which is hard to do, because Schiff is a good person - a trait recognized by all who see and meet him almost instantly - and extremely bright).

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This would be true in a lot of parts of the country, but Connecticut isn't one of them. Trust me; I live there!

Connecticut, even among Republicans, has an abnormally high ratio of non-believers, atheists, and individuals who do not "practice."Connecticut is one of the only places in the country that has "legalized" gay marriage, and is one of the country's most abortion-friendly states.

Chris Shays was one of our representatives for a long time, who got reelected for his foreign policy above all else. He supported government financing of the arts, abortion, and gay marriage, but was a Republican.

Schiff's religious views will probably do little to hinder his chances. His success will be determined by name recognition, and the ability to dodge any attempts in making him look loony (which is hard to do, because Schiff is a good person - a trait recognized by all who see and meet him almost instantly - and extremely bright).

I thought about using a caveat concerning Connecticut for some of the reasons you've mentioned, but I decided not to because I would just be using generalizations I've learned about people from the Northeast U.S.; and I didn't know if they applied to the Republicans in the same area. I figured if the caveat should be given, someone more familiar with the situation would come and rebuff my post.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Dodd's sparked a lot of unpopularity across the country. Perhaps it reflects in his district. I remember a poll that showed it did...No access right now.

Schiff is an atheist? Is there a source for that?

I don't have the source, but in a recent print interview, when asked which party he would run with, he stated that he's more philosophically aligned with the republicans, "minus the religious elements which I'm not on board with" or somethng very close to that.

He is a Jew anyway so no need to worry about Christianity.

Edited by cliveandrews
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Under the current 2 party system, we're faced with choosing between a slow, meandering stroll toward statism under the Republicans vs. a sprint toward socialism under the Democrats. Not a great choice, but I still prefer the Reps because at least under that party, we have a fighting chance (as well as more time) to change the culture and the underlying philosophy that makes both parties possible. This recent healthcare insanity is a case in point. It now looks as though Obama's push is going to be delayed. So, perhaps we can now convince enough people that socializing America's healthcare system is not the way to go. However, if the Dems had been able to ram this through, we'd now be stuck with a system that would be virtually impossible to reverse in the future.

I'm voting for gridlock.

Unfortunately I think its too late for that. We've retrograded too far to maintain the status quo. We've lost too much industry and wealth, our liberties have become too perverted. It's impossible to run a business here or generate wealth. We've become so far in debt that paying it off has become unfeasible. I'm not worried about the socialized health care because I believe the government won't be able to pay for it for very long. Most Demarcates are living in a dream world. Reality will come knocking sooner rather than later.

I don't want gridlock because it wouldn't make things better and where we are now is intolerable. Unfortunately I believe things wont start getting better until they get worse. I just wish I wasn't on the ship while its sinking.

Edited by Rearden_Steel
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I don't have the source, but in a recent print interview, when asked which party he would run with, he stated that he's more philosophically aligned with the republicans, "minus the religious elements which I'm not on board with" or somethng very close to that.

He is a Jew anyway so no need to worry about Christianity.

This is the full quote:

Well, the Republicans talk about smaller government, less government. They don't govern that way but at least that's their rhetoric. Take out the religious elements — where I'm not necessarily on board — or the social conservative aspect, but the small government wing, the Ronald Reagan, Barry Goldwater types that are in the Republican party, they're not in the Democratic party.

As read in FairfeldcountyWeekly.com.

Edited by Rearden_Steel
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