re: #68 Walter L. Newton

I’m going to have to 100 percent agree with KT on this. And he points out just what I was saying, the GOP are terrible (and basically chicken) when it comes to strategy.

See, I think the thing is, they believe in lockstep, or nothing.

Meanwhile, the Dem’s are a rowdy bunch and say all sorts of stuff, till the end, when the votes count.
To the Dem’s, the measure passed counts, not the number of votes it passes by. I was stunned by the near 100% Republican vote total that almost every vote passed by during the Bush years, both when they had both houses or not.
It looks good as discipline, but gives no wiggle room for dissenters, and it’s coming back in a big way now, for tho the base, as Thanos said, if you voted against something even for strategic reasons, your were screwed. The Rove years killed the outliers, and now it is what is expected of the party.

I can see Obama saying to Lieberman, or the Blue Dogs:” You can vote against it here, or here, but you’ve vote for it here and here, giving the illusion that they care about constituent opinion, and that they are “INDEPENDENT” of the WH, when it’s all a kabuki.
It’s kind of impressive to watch, as he rolls up legislative victories, and keeps the dull thinking that there is real dissent in the ranks.