Eugene Robinson is, of course, completely right:
After eight years of the Bush administration, the Republican Party — to put it bluntly — is a mess and a fraud.
There is an intellectual case to be made for the economic philosophy that the party purports to represent. I disagree with it strongly, but I respect its integrity — in a way that this administration and the Republican leadership in Congress clearly did not.
The Republican Party said it believed in free and unfettered competition, but it picked winners and losers through a system of crony capitalism. All it takes to make my point is a name: Jack Abramoff.
***Oh, and isn’t the Republican Party supposed to stand foursquare against intrusions on privacy? Then why were Republicans so unmoved when it was revealed that the Bush administration had been conducting unprecedented surveillance of Americans’ private electronic communications?
When Ronald Reagan was president, I had a sense of what ideas and principles his party stood for. When Newt Gingrich and his “Contract With America” brigade took Washington by storm in 1994, I knew what they believed — loopy though it was — and what they hoped to accomplish. I defy anyone to give a coherent explanation of what today’s Republican Party, under George Bush and now John McCain, wants to do except perpetuate itself in power.
When a political party reaches the point of lurching incoherence, the most effective cure is a good, long spell in the wilderness. Americans should help Republicans out by sending them home to get their act together.
Lurching incoherence really does sum it all up.
RememberNovember
yup. Makes the paranoid crazy in me wonder if this wasn’t Bin Laden’s plan all along- turn America into Afghanistan.
Atanarjuat
Yes, send the Republican Party into the wilderness, because that will oh-so-conveniently allow the party of Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Obama Bin Lyin’, and Bill Ayers to dominate and implement their Marxist ideology without any meaningful opposition. The Democrat Party Uber Alles is the Final Solution — but of course!
It’s just fantastic how well-meaning and helpful Eugene Robinson is being with his unsolicited advice. A terrorist-loving leftist wishing magic ponies and rainbow lollipops for people he’s rather see rounded up in boxcars and sent to socialist "re-education" camps.
Unfortunately, you America Last traitors, neither John McCain nor Sarah Palin are down for the count, despite your most fevered fantasies to the contrary.
Country First.
J.
The Republicans do have a platform: no new taxes (for the very rich) and be afraid. I think they have excelled at the latter. Remember voters, if you want to be scared shitless for the next four years, vote Republican.
TheFountainHead
Wow, Mr. Robinson, talk about hitting the nail on the head…
Adrienne
to poster #1:
You don’t have to wonder about that. Bin Laden, for his part, made it perfectly clear what his goal was. I’d say the man is a tactical, though evil and maniacal, genius. We did exactly what he wanted us to do and Republicans led the way.
TheFountainHead
As much as I love your spoof trolling, I have to say, it’s a little early in the morning for me to be reading it.
Ash Can
#2: Yep, that pretty well covers the crazy du jour.
Napoleon
Robinson nails it.
OT, but did anyone see where it looks like maybe Palin had her house built, in whole or in part, by public contractors a la Ted Stevens?
Does the first dude really know how to swing a hammer?
Or is the fact that her cities ice rink was built at the same time as her house more then a coincidence?
NonyNony
I wonder if the Republicans spell in the wilderness will be as long as the Dems has been. I think it’s going to depend on how bad the infighting among the factions is after this election – especially the theo-con faction. Who comes out "on top" will probably determine how long their spell in the wilderness lasts.
Well that, and the inevitable cycle of corruption that all parties succumb to. Eventually the Dems are going to need to be kicked out and when that happens it won’t matter if the Republicans have reformed themselves or not. If they’re the only game in town when the next "throw the bums out" cycle comes around they’ll benefit. I really hope they return to sanity sometime soon. Or that the activists in the Dem Party hold their members’ feet to the fire more than the GOPers have and root out corruption themselves by running good primary challenges against folks who need to get removed. That sort of "pruning" can’t eliminate the need for a "throw the bums out" cycle eventually, but it can kick the can down the road a little farther and give the Republicans more time to return to sanity. Or at least grow up.
Napoleon
Look at the Democratic waive they have created in the population cohort that is currently under 30. If the past predicts the future they will continue to vote that way the rest of their lifes (its a myth that the young tend to be more liberal and get more conservative as they get older, in fact my voting cohort, which is currently 47 years old is the most Republican voting cohort in the country and they started voting that way the year I could first vote and have never looked back). And if Obama happens to work out as a popular president he will extend that Democratic wave as more people pass 18 years old, making it even tougher for the Republicans to regain control.
Hawise
I’ve been saying for the last week that the current crop of Republicans appear to have been raised by wolves and so sending them into the wilderness would be a definite plus.
dmsilev
That’s an insult to the parenting abilities of wolves.
-dms
Dennis - SGMM
Robinson’s phrase, "lurching incoherence" defines the McCain campaign as well. Does McCain represent the last gasp of lurching incoherence? If so, what will the Republicans do next? Seems as though they’ve become so accustomed to talking one game while playing another that it will be impossible for them in the near term to do anything else.
Atanarjuat
Adrienne said:
Read this shameless admission again, everyone. This is what I meant by liberals embracing and expressing admiration for terrorists. The Democrat Party and BJ commentators are the enthusiastic, sign-waving cheering section of Bill Ayers and those like him, and all of your tepid denials are not fooling anyone.
Country First.
Kathy
Starting with the idiot in Mark Foley’s district that has a sex problem himself. I mean, how stupid can you get. If the people are going to act like this, you are going to bring the Republicans back pretty quickly and that would be a tragedy.
Napoleon
Good God, just look at the "fresh blood" that is likely to take over as Republican congressional leadership if they get their butts kicked in 3 weeks. Adam "Howdy Doodie" Putman, Cantor, Patrick Henry? They need a complete purge or get lucky and get some sane leadership (like say that guy from Va who wanted to rename French fries as freedom fries, but has since found sanity and come out against the war).
rh
Atanarjuat, you blew your cover the minute you selected that nickname.
demimondian
@Atanarjuat: Ok, Santa Claus, time to stop. Crossing the line into calling me a traitor isn’t funny, just horrific.
Rick Taylor
It seems for some of those Republicans who have enough integrity to admit their party has gone off track, the next step has been to say well Democrats are just as bad. Quelle surprise.
Via Digby, David Frum on Rachel Madow’s show uses her what he calls the sneering tone of her own show as an example of the negativity on both sides, comparable to people calling out traitor and kill him at Republican rallies. The funniest part is when he’s quoting Mahatma Gandhi saying we all have to be responsible for what our own side says and not use the evils of the other as an excuse, exactly as he’s attempting to water down his criticism of his own side by attacking Madow. What a jerk.
Expect to see lots more calls for civility in discourse now that the Democrats are in power.
Dennis - SGMM
@Rick Taylor:
Expect to see lots more calls for civility in discourse now that the Democrats are in power.
Oh yes. Remember the Republicans’ sudden love for bipartisanship after the Democrats won their slim Congressional majorities in ’06?
Atanarjuat
Dennis – SGMM said:
Considering that the Democrat Party now holds the whip hand (and relishes using it with savage joy), Republican Congressmen and Senators show the American public that principled calm and civility are preferrable (and will inevitably win out). Your comeuppance is in the works, leftists, so enjoy your reckless slim majority while you can.
Country First.
lethargytartare
I have to laugh every time these pundits try to draw a distinction between the "current GOP" and "Reagan’s GOP."
You’ve got all the same criminal actors, all the same criminal actions, all the same failed economic policies, all the same disdain for the constitution, all the same belligerance toward the outside world, all the same anti-intellectualism, et cetera ad nauseum, but somehow Reagan was a great man of integrity and vision.
Give me an effing break. The Bush 43 presidency is simply a continuation of the same old GOP that’s been slowly destroying anything this country ever stood for my entire life.
Cassidy
It doesn’t take a genius to predict the simplistic actions of simple people.
Awright, I looked it up. I don’t get it.
Conservatively Liberal
The number of Atanarjuat’s first post (#2) is indicative of the contents of all of his posts. I do get a chuckle out of reading the ineffectual screeds that Atanarjuat posts, and I have to wonder why they are posting here of all places.
It’s not like Atanarjuat is going to convince anyone about anything. Ok, maybe that Atanarjuat is a dipshit. I’ll concede that much.
Cassidy
Has to be spoof. Too coherent and too many talking points in short posts. And (I think) a subtle Dead Kennedy’s reference. But I still don’t get the name.
Joe Beese
I don’t know if bin Laden is any kind of evil genius.
But what seldom goes remarked is that he’s a handsome man.
Dennis - SGMM
Maybe it’s the fact that Atanarjuat’s handle comes from a movie that isn’t "Red Dawn" or "The Green Berets."
Xenos
Atanarjuat may safely be presumed to be a spoof. Can you imagine an authentic reichtard sitting through a three-hour foreign-language film dealing with Inuit political machinations?
Atanarjuat
Conservatively Liberal said:
Xenos said:
Above are two prime examples of liberal counter-arguments: ridicule the messenger, prance limp-wristedly around the message.
I guess the Ayers-stroking left have little choice in resorting to obvious ad hominems, though, now that Nobama’s ACORN voter fraud scam is collapsing at an accelerating rate and actual Americans are catching on to the scheme.
Country First.
boonagain
I’m thinking also that actually reading subtitles could also pose a problem for them also.
I could almost interpret that as a homophobic slur, but I’m too busy laughing at that second paragraph of his also.
Xenos
The message is non-existent. There is no proper argument being made, so there is no reason to respond to it. For example:
There is no argument in there. You assert we hold the whip hand… nice imagery, but obviously false, as Democrats have yet to win the presidency, much less be inaugurated. I sure wish Pelosi and Reid would rule their bodies with iron fists. The civility nonsense is a non-sequitor as well as absurd. The comeuppance being in the works is more of a threat than an argument, I don’t see how it requires any sort of response. Obviously unified government under any party will lead to problems and Democratic power will be curtailed in future years… this is a banal truism that hardly needs stating.
Unless you mean some other sort of threat…
(OPh, and I left a comma splice in there to see if you can find it, fastrunner. Otherwise, why edit for the sake of a cretin?)
Notorious P.A.T.
Oh yes, David Frum calling people "unserious". The same man who created the phrase "Axis of evil", because after all it’s obvious that Sunni-ruled Iraq, Shiia-dominated Iran, and totally non-Muslim North Korea are working together for. . . well, something. Actually, I hear he had 2 countries in his "axis" but decided you need 3 for a proper axis, so he tossed North Korea in there for giggles. Serious man.
Jay C
@Atanarjuat:
Ummm… excuse me, but what, exactly, sort of "argument" do you imagine you’re making here?
Most of your posts (like #2 today) consist mainly of puerile insults ("terrorist-loving lefties") and the bandying around of terms like "Marxist" in a context which can only illustrate that you have little or no idea WTF you’re talking about.
Oh, and childish overheated similes ("boxcars to re-education camps") which read only like the bullshit they are.
You make a real "argument", Atanarjuat (OK, what’s with the handle?) it might get a real response. Otherwise, F. off, troll.
Gus
Atanarjuat is an amusing spoof, but he should keep it to one post per thread. More than one starts getting tedious.
Atanarjuat
Gus said:
The only thing that’s amusing is how you lefties here are loathe to countenance the reality outside of your pitiful Nobama sphere. Little wonder that cargo cult followers like boonagain, Xenos, and Jay C resort to smears and character assassination; it’s all they can manage since a substantive discussion of actual issues are to be avoided like a plague.
And yes, I’m proud to call myself a conservative and someone who loves his country. It’s too bad that makes you grind your teeth with contempt since our values are at opposite ends.
Country First.
Soylent Green
Atanarjuat, dude, we know you are a spoof. Please change your nickname and try again. Less proofreading and coherence would help make it more convincing.
PaulB
I dunno…. I think it might be valid. Reagan and his cohorts never bothered to actually live up to, or by, their rhetoric but at least their rhetoric was marginally consistent. I don’t think you can say the same thing about today’s Republican Party, particularly as exemplified by Bush and McCain.
binzinerator
I said years ago Bush was the best ally bin Laden could ever have. It’s been a mutually beneficial relationship between the goopers and bin Laden.
And after Tora Bora I knew bin Laden wouldn’t ever be captured or killed by the Bush administration because he was far too politically useful at home.
The attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were symbolic — in spite of the loss of life and the destruction the WTC and Pentagon were but mere symbols of the American economy and military. There was never an existential threat to either, nor to the nation. We never heard that fact, that calming reassurance from Bush. Or the GOP. We never heard that the only thing to fear is fear itself. We heard instead the opposite.
But after 7 years it is reasonable to ask who has caused the most death, who is responsible for the murder of the most innocents. Who has materially damaged the underpinnings of this democracy? Who has effectively reduced American power, security and influence? Who has toppled America from an unassailable position as a respected world leader among leaders?
Was it Osama bin Laden and his al Qaeda? Or George W. Bush and his GOP?
Of the two, bin Laden or Bush, who of them has stunningly succeeded at simultaneously weakening our economic might and and our military power?
Of course it was George Bush and the GOP.
And you must ask yourself of the motive, for terrorism is a means for a political or social end. You must ask yourself, did Bush and his goopers do all this to coerce people, to frighten people into accepting their political and social agenda?
Of course they did.
It was obvious to me by mid 2003. The chimera that was WMDs was the key, the key to understanding everything, the hint to where the most dangerous terrorists lurked. Cheney recognized it when Joe Wilson did. It should be obvious to everyone by now.
Bin Laden was never so effective, could never have been so effective at harming this country and its future without Bush and the Republicans taking up the fear, uncertainty and anger the WTC attacks created, and then amplifying, manipulating and using it for their own purposes.
The worst terrorists, the most harmful to America, are in White House. The biggest enemies of America are in the GOP.
Gump
Yeah because the Democrats are clearly less of a mess.
People act like they haven’t been the majority party for the last, what, 6 years?
I am so scared for a unified government under the democrats.
Kelly
Atanarjuat is an excellent satirist.
Kelly
Unified government under the Republicans was an unmitigated success. You make an excellent point Gump.
TenguPhule
The spoof is getting old.
This is why America lost, the idiots in charge thought the other side had appointed the same kind of idiots in charge.
TenguPhule
Because you have to hold it down and hit it until it gives up.