not your father's fusion ticket

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 9:00am

with chucky's announcement that he's going to support joltin' jim's as yet unwritten amendment on the senate's supplemental defense appropriation bill (a.k.a. the bill that veto built) rumblings are starting in quiet corners that the two are considering joining forces for an '08 run.

for the sake of argument what would folks here think of the hagel/webb ticket?

i'll go first:

wouldn't even get past the planning stages as it would have to be an independent ticket. the gop hates hagel already so he's got no shot at the gop nomination. the netroots love webb but would never support a republican, even one so anti-iraq as hagel (not even if he switched parties and i doubt he would). so the ticket has no support from either base. rank and file republicans and democrats would look at it and think from both sides, "if i wanted to vote for a democrat/republican why not just vote for their nominee?"

even if it were to get past the planning stages to an actual ind. run, maybe it gets some independent support, but i just don't see it pulling anywhere near enough votes from either side to even influence the outcome.

oh and webb/hagel? not in this lifetime. not with chucky's ego.

what do you folks think?

[RadiGal2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 1:59pm

Agreed..it would never happen.
We are a long way from ever seeing a third party gain momentum no matter how disenfranchised the electorate is with both parties. I am surprised to hear you say Webb would not switch parties since he already has. Why wouldn't he again to advance his career? While I think hell would freeze over before he he would do it to form a ticket with Hagel, I could see him doing it maybe Powell (his reputation is getting better and better, but that is probably because the Administration looks worse by the day) or someone else with more stature within the party. I personally don't think Hagel is a far a cry as you do; even a cursory glance at his record reveals that with the glaring except of the Iraq war he is a pretty consistent conservative Republican. But then; I am wildly liberal social Democrat and do not really understand the brain of a socially conservative Republican voter. I can't for the life of me understand how someone who thinks the government ought to take minimal taxes, but is willing to dump unaccounted amounts of money into a an un-winnable war, have little to no influence over what you believe teach, or think-- but want to regulate who marries who and whether my daughter can obtain birth control or get a abortion if she is raped...but that's just me a wacky, illogical, deviant, anti-American feminist freak.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:11pm

i was talking about chucky switching parties.

joltin' jim's done it already and he knows he's got nothing to go back to after his scorched earth campaign for senate. he's a democrat now whether he likes it or not.

powell's never running. ever. even if he did, his reputation is shot on the left for his testimony at the u.n. and on the right for not being a loyal enough soldier.

[RadiGal2]

Posted: 3/26/07 at 2:22pm

Was being as sarcastic as possible about Powell or any other Republican and Webb. Missed the Hagel party hopping thing completely though... sorry. Losing my edge in the the last few weeks before graduation. My apologies, hopefully with a job and no more school, reading for pleasure and not skimming to survive will become the norm once again.