The shrinking Republican party, so small it can now be "drowned in a bathtub"
Grover Norquist, known in recent years more closely as the unofficial member of team Abramoff, once famously quipped that his life's dream was to "reduce (government) to the size where I can drag it into the bathroom and drown it in the bathtub."
It seems Karl Rove stole Grover's idea and unleashed it on the Republican party. Hoping to get George W. Bush elected, Rove courted and whipped up the white-power, racist, uber-nationalistic minority of the Republican base. Ever since then, that base - once called "the crazies" by Bush Sr. - has infected the party like parasites and continue to cause what is left of the Republican to be marginalized more and more as a regional (read bible belt) extremist movement, only a hair away from crowning David Duke their next president (think about the difference between David Duke and Sarah Palin... not much).
Just today, Senator Arlen Specter declared that he would be switching his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. At least he is a bit more honest about it than a similar opportunist like Senator Joe Lieberman, who is a Republican, but too ashamed to caucus with the party, so he has transformed himself into an Independent.
The reality is that Specter has no choice. The Republican party which used to be about limited government and fiscal responsibility has morphed into a party more fitting to the Taliban and Il Duce combined than to an American system of government.
Take for example the concept of limited government. Real Republicans, those like Barry Goldwater, would be outraged at the level of government invasivness and control that the current version of the party demands.
They do still claim that they are for limited government, of course. But if we take a look at what they really want limited, the powers are government are not very much of an issue in general for these people.
As far as I can tell, there are only two issues where the current Republican party actually demands limited government: taxes and guns. Yet even on those two issues, there are limitations. In fact it is not the abolishment of all taxes and not the freedom of all gun-owners that this extreme-right wing advocates. Rather, they appear to be a bit selective about who gets tax cuts and who gets guns.
For example, they seem to only hold tea parties when millionaires have their taxes raised, but say not a word when the middle class is stripped away to an-almost non-existent demographic. Why is that?
With guns too they are selective in that they will argue that gun rights are sacrosanct (Constitutionally mandated), but ONLY for real-Americans (read, racism). If a group of five Muslim men bought guns legally at a gun-show, would the far-right react as casually as if a group of five Christian men bought guns legally at a gun-show? Not this Republican party, nope. Just ask Michelle Malkin.
But even if just on those two issues there was consistency on principle, there would still be a bigger problem for the Republican far-right.
Over the last 8 years they have expanded the role of government to a level that is obscene and still want more government power. Nothing is too sacred for this bunch, not what two consenting adults do behind closed doors to the living-will of a brain-dead woman.
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Predictably, instead of reclaiming control of the party from the nut-case wing, the current crop of politicians on the right continue to play to these extreme views. I think Norquist should personally give Rove a call and thank him for the way he has delivered the Republican party into the control of lunatics. And maybe, then Norquiest can act out his drowning fantasy on what is left of the GOP.
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The GOP will fade away, the Democratic party will be (mostly is already) the party of maintaining
the status quo for the Ruling Class/Plutocracy.
And maybe, if we work hard and organize on the streets, we can eventually build up a party of the Left that represents the People instead of Wall Street, Pharma, Big Ag, the MIC, etc.
It's ridiculous to pretend that the national Democratic party of today is anything but the kinder, gentler face of the Ruling Class -- the "Good Cop" who keeps the masses compliant by playing the Noblesse Oblige role just enough to keep the proles in line.
A party that opens its arms to a feckless liar like 'Magic Bullet' Arlen Specter is a party interested only in maintaining privilege and power -- not a party of principles and honor.
The only good thing about Specter's strictly symbolic defection is that it brings the dissolution of the GOP just a little closer. However, what that fundamentally means is that the Dems are filling the vacuum on the Right.
Meanwhile, it's up to us to fill the vacuum on the Left. There will be no progress against the predations of corporatism and the completely corrupt political class in thrall to the Plutocrats until there is a viable political alternative arising from the Left and acting as an opposition party to the Dems.
You could have saved yourself some time by eliminating all the bullshit from your story and stated why Specter really jumped parties.........He has no chance of winning the Republican primary. His feelings are hurt and he wants to be reelected. The only person or people he really cares about is himself. People do funny things in the name of self preservation. Of course the Dems want him. It's not because they are the "kind hearted" party that you prescribe. They want the 60 seats. Simple as that. By the way, it wasn't too long ago that members of your party were debating whether or not to kick Lieberman out of the Democratic party for supporting McCain. How inclusive 😛
Poll: Bush Getting Even More Unpopular Out Of Office
Edited on Wed Apr-29-09 04:24 PM by Tangerine LaBamba
Source: The Huffington Post
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found that former President Bush's popularity has dropped since he left office.
When he left office in January, 31 percent of American's viewed him positively. That number has now dropped to 26 percent.
President Barack Obama, meanwhile, is more popular than the past two presidents at this point during their first terms.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/29/poll-bush-gett...