‘One (hundred) seat at a time…’

House Minority Leader John Boehner made a comment late last week that raised an eyebrow or two:

When pressed for a number, Boehner said he believed the GOP could win as many as 100 seats in this fall’s elections.

“At least 100 seats,” Boehner said when asked how wide the playing field for districts is. “I do,” the top House Republican answered when asked if he thinks there are 100 seats in the U.S. “that could change hands.”

Much as I hate to contradict Rep. Boehner, we must fight inaccuracy in all its forms.  There are not currently one hundred Democratic-held seats that could change hands, and he should have known better than to claim that in this media atmosphere.

There are currently only ninety-nine. Continue reading ‘One (hundred) seat at a time…’

L’Affaire Meghan McCain.

I’ve mostly ignored the shenanigans of Meghan McCain, but this latest bit sparked a response from Allahpundit that I want to highlight:

…this whole line of attack demonstrates how fundamentally she misunderstands why so many “far right” Republicans don’t like her. As I think I’ve said before, McCain’s really no further towards the center than I am; she supports gay marriage, as do I, and she’s conventional on most other core conservative issues (guns, abortion, religion). And yet the base hates her while they, errrrr, tolerate me. Why is that? If the “old guard” of right-wingers is so retrograde, how does a wayward atheist like me end up co-blogging at one of the biggest righty blogs in America? Simple answer: I spend most of my time challenging the left while Meggie Mac spends hers challenging the right, so I have a certain baseline credibility on our side that she has yet to establish.

Well, I’m not an atheist, and I have a better relationship with my RS readers than Allahpundit has with his HA ones – but his basic point is one that I share. I’m openly for allowing same-sex marriage, and by a lot of people’s definitions I’m ‘pro-amnesty;’ I’ve even been known to remark that we could increase the budget for the National Endowment for the Arts. But what I’m not is someone who’s into kicking say, social conservatives in the shin for the sake of kicking social conservatives in the shin: firstly, because they usually don’t deserve it; and secondly, because it’s neither good manners nor good political sense.  I don’t expect the groups that I do mock and go after to love me for it*, but I can expect at least respectful attention from the ones that I merely disagree with. Continue reading L’Affaire Meghan McCain.