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You are here: Home / Politics / Religion / Oh No She Didn’t

Oh No She Didn’t

by John Cole|  November 19, 20088:08 am| 113 Comments

This post is in: Religion, Republican Stupidity

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Get ready for a major hissy fit:

As Republicans sort out the reasons for their defeat, they likely will overlook or dismiss the gorilla in the pulpit.

Three little letters, great big problem: G-O-D.

I’m bathing in holy water as I type.

To be more specific, the evangelical, right-wing, oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP is what ails the erstwhile conservative party and will continue to afflict and marginalize its constituents if reckoning doesn’t soon cometh.

Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party. And, the truth — as long as we’re setting ourselves free — is that if one were to eavesdrop on private conversations among the party intelligentsia, one would hear precisely that.

Duck and cover, Mrs. Parker.

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Reader Interactions

113Comments

  1. 1.

    Steve

    November 19, 2008 at 8:11 am

    [claps hands excitedly]

  2. 2.

    pharniel

    November 19, 2008 at 8:13 am

    hope she’s got some good DR and some nettles in her bushes, because the 101CB has a full stack of doritos, thier rush mixed tape and all week to bang on the keyboard.

    but honestly, the amount of hypocracy and non-christian like behavior (in addition to random pissing on the constitution even as they hod it aloft) just needs to be exposed.

    but we knew all this.

  3. 3.

    Betty Cracker

    November 19, 2008 at 8:13 am

    I implore the aliens who replaced the real Parker with the pod-person who wrote that column and the previous ones on Palin to NOT return the original. The pod is a huge improvement.

  4. 4.

    The Grand Panjandrum

    November 19, 2008 at 8:15 am

    Larison has an interesting take on this piece:

    Of course, the war was a major reason why the GOP fell into disrepute, and Parker notably still has nothing to say about that. I am going to go out on a limb and guess that she has rarely, if ever, written a single word of serious criticism of the administration regarding the war. You cannot diagnoe what ails Republicans if you have no credibility on this most basic of policy questions, and there is no reason to think that Parker has any.

    It won’t change your point that a major hissy fit is about to occur, but I do think Larison makes some very good points.

  5. 5.

    linda

    November 19, 2008 at 8:17 am

    you reap what you sow, kathleen. you’ve been feeding the hate and overwhelming sense of victimhood of these elements for years, and you’re only surprised when their wrath is turned against you.

    enjoy. i know i will watching this play out.

  6. 6.

    Xanthippas

    November 19, 2008 at 8:25 am

    It won’t change your point that a major hissy fit is about to occur, but I do think Larison makes some very good points.

    I agree. The only thing Republicans seem capable of doing is blaming each other for the losses, and not actually trying to understand how anything they actually did (things that people like Parker championed) while in power might have soured most people on the GOP.

  7. 7.

    Josh Hueco

    November 19, 2008 at 8:27 am

    I see starbursts.

  8. 8.

    Ash Can

    November 19, 2008 at 8:31 am

    What strikes me as most interesting about Larison’s criticism of Parker is that it illustrates the fact that the Republicans, by turning themselves into the War, Religion, Lawlessness, and Ignorance Party over the last few decades, have produced a veritable smorgasbord for such critics, with each failing so glaring that any pundit with a working brain (or maybe just a working sense of integrity) hardly knows where to begin.

  9. 9.

    Tattoosydney

    November 19, 2008 at 8:33 am

    Surely there will be no hissy fits at the Corner… After all, just the other day K Lo said:

    National Review Online is determined to continue to be an essential forum for conservatism at this critical time. Where there are disagreements, we do not and will not hide from them or discourage debate.

    I am sure that we will get only reasoned, rational debate from the Corner…

    (rubs hands… grins and puts on some popcorn)

  10. 10.

    yam

    November 19, 2008 at 8:34 am

    (giggling)

    …the oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP…

    That’s friggin’ awesome. Ms. Parker should get a pony for that one.

  11. 11.

    Ku

    November 19, 2008 at 8:37 am

    From the Parker piece:

    Anyone watching the two conventions last summer can’t have missed the stark differences: One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.
    With the exception of Miss Alaska, of course.

  12. 12.

    Punchy

    November 19, 2008 at 8:39 am

    Isn’t this akin to suddenly finding Jesus while on your deathbed?

  13. 13.

    Nikki

    November 19, 2008 at 8:46 am

    Lord a’mercy, she’s about to be crucified. The party has started and Obama isn’t even in office yet!

  14. 14.

    Tattoosydney

    November 19, 2008 at 8:48 am

    @Tattoosydney:

    Mind you, K Lo is, as ever, a fucking idiot.

    And for some it was the pride she exuded in “this great country” that made her so appealing. Some will to this day compare her to Ronald Reagan. Why is this? It’s about her simple and clear patriotism, and, frankly, her forthright belief system compared to a now president-elect who was comfortable being friends with a domestic terrorist. I don’t question Obama’s patriotism, but to ignore the contrast would be a lie.

    … Many consider her a refreshing citizen-politician in the old mold, one that Thomas Jefferson would be proud to meet. Does that make her just like Obama? I do wonder what the campaign would have been like had they both been at the helm: He wouldn’t have had a monopoly on change, and she would have had her own staff and freedom to follow her instincts, and perhaps better advice than she was given as she ran for vice president.

    We’ll never know what could have been in a straight-on Obama vs. Palin contest. But what we do know is this: Palin, like Obama, energized people. And she did it in a heckuva lot less time than he had to do it, only coming onto the national scene and the GOP ticket Labor Day weekend. It’s still a free country. Media outlets still can do as they please (save for those who choose to hand over their editorial direction to one party or another). But Time would make a mistake if it ignored the Palin phenom this year just because the ticket didn’t win in the end.

    Obama would be wise to agree.

    Is anyone else sensing that Kathryn Jean Lopez wants to make the beat with two backs with Governor Palin?

  15. 15.

    J.

    November 19, 2008 at 8:48 am

    Oh. My. God. The Lord certainly does work in strange and mysterious ways. Are you sure that’s Holy Water you’re bathing in, Ms. Parker, or could it be gin?

  16. 16.

    Ed Marshall

    November 19, 2008 at 8:50 am

    Do you remember four years ago when democrats needed to get really religious and learn a new political language if they were ever going to come back? The "values" voter?

  17. 17.

    Tymannosourus

    November 19, 2008 at 8:51 am

    Annnnnnnd we’re off!

  18. 18.

    gbear

    November 19, 2008 at 8:52 am

    ‘Armband Religion’ is such a great phrase. I’m glad it was conservative-on-conservative friendly fire. If Obama had said it, he’d be halfway to impeachment by now.

  19. 19.

    Napoleon

    November 19, 2008 at 8:53 am

    Parker hits on the exact reason I would love to see Palin be the Rep nominee in ’12, to tie the Rep even more to that wing of the party. I am convinced that the media did not even scratch the surface of how Palin is a completely whacked out fundamentalist. She now claims to not be a member of any particular church, but up to right before she ran for Governor she was a member of wacko fundamentalist church. Then there was the book banning, the rape kit thing and her failure to answer Brian Williams question of whether abortion clinic bombers where terrorist in an interview. Palin is a complete fundy wackjob and 80% of the American public will be repulsed by it if a bright light is shined on her background.

    If Palin is the nominee in ’12 the Democrats can hang the Republicans with that wing of the party like the Republicans hung the Dems with the DFH for a 40 year period, and future Republican candidates will not be able to escape the stench. And its not like the Reps can just kick them out of the party. They will truly be screwed.

  20. 20.

    Jeff

    November 19, 2008 at 8:53 am

    @J.: She was drinking with the original wonkette last night.

  21. 21.

    Tattoosydney

    November 19, 2008 at 8:54 am

    Short break as writer ties blindfold and smokes her last cigarette.

    While I enjoyed reading Parker’s article very very much, and the anticipation of what is to come even more, Parker seems well aware of the shitstorm that she is creating for herself, but has correctly calculated that being attacked by wingnuts is a good career move at this point in the cycle, and that it’s time to get out of the tent before everyone starts pissing into it.

    That doesn’t necessarily mean she’s very clever, because a broken dildo could work that out…

  22. 22.

    T.Scheisskopf

    November 19, 2008 at 8:55 am

    "Let’s do pray that God shows Alaska’s governor the door."

    Are there any of those old Snark-O-Licious Comment of the Day award certificates around anywhere? Could the boisterous lads over at Sadly, No! have some? We need to get one out to Ms. Parker post-haste and forthwith, with all due speed and alacrity.

    That there is some pretty deft snark, administered with a scalpel blade mounted on a mace.

    Of course, the remaining, terminally hemorrhoidal types on the right will be desperately attempting to rent porta-potties over this. The outrage will probably crash the Trash 80 server at FweepeeVille. For the 12th time this week.

  23. 23.

    Face

    November 19, 2008 at 8:57 am

    Is anyone else sensing that Kathryn Jean Lopez wants to make the beat with two backs with Governor Palin?

    Can I get an Australian-to-US translation on this?

  24. 24.

    Tattoosydney

    November 19, 2008 at 8:59 am

    @Face:

    Hmmm… "Beat" should be "Beast"…

    Ref: Shakespeare.

    (It’s late here dammit, and I should be in bed)

  25. 25.

    Tattoosydney

    November 19, 2008 at 9:02 am

    @Tattoosydney:

    Ugh. As I was typing that I had a metal flash of K LO/Palin girl on girl action, and had to go outside and breathe slowly to make the nausea go away.

  26. 26.

    ksmiami

    November 19, 2008 at 9:15 am

    But what are her countertops made of? Michelle – get on this ASAP. Actually, now that the election is over, I would like to give my list of why the GOP SUCKS SUCKS SUCKS…

    !. Authoritarian Dogma
    2. Greed
    3. Corruption
    4. Moralism and the God Squad
    5. Bad fashion sense
    6. A tie between Rush Limbaugh and Sarah Palin
    7. Obsession with sex and wetsuits
    8. KILL KILL KILL – wierd blood lust
    9. Grover Norquist
    10. Bad music as evidenced Ted Nugent

    Anyone want to add anything?

  27. 27.

    low-tech cyclist

    November 19, 2008 at 9:19 am

    The problem Parker describes (as far as I’m concerned, it’s no problem at all!) is even deeper than the reality that the GOP’s voting base is heavily evangelical and/or culturally in the same milieu, and if you couldn’t win elections with ’em, how are you going to win elections without ’em?

    The real problem is that the true base, the money base, of the GOP is, and always has been, rich people and the business community. But since that group, all by itself, doesn’t have many votes, they’ve always needed to sucker some significant bloc of voters to vote their interests.

    If the GOP loses the evangelicals, what group do they pick up in their stead, and how do they sucker them into voting pro-business?

  28. 28.

    The Moar You Know

    November 19, 2008 at 9:20 am

    "Armband religion"

    Hope she’s ready. That completely truthful analogy of the religious wingnut to a member of the Nazi party is going to get her a cross or two burned on her lawn.

    Seems to me she’s having a "John Cole" moment. All it takes is one crack in the whole structure of lies, and if you’re a person of any intellect or integrity, the whole thing falls apart, as it did for Mr. Cole.

    I applaud her for this. Even if she doesn’t leave the conservative fold, it takes some courage to admit your mistakes.

  29. 29.

    Xenos

    November 19, 2008 at 9:21 am

    ‘Beast with two backs" is from Rabelais’ "Gargantua and Pantagruel", published in 1534 — Part I, Chapter iii, to wit:

    In the vigour of his age he married Gargamelle, daughter to the King of the Parpaillons, a jolly pug, and well-mouthed wench. These two did oftentimes do the two-backed beast together, joyfully rubbing and frotting their bacon ‘gainst one another, in so far, that at last she became great with child of a fair son, and went with him unto the eleventh month; for so long, yea longer, may a woman carry her great belly, especially when it is some masterpiece of nature, and a person predestinated to the performance, in his due time, of great exploits.

    Reportedly this is wittier in the original French.

  30. 30.

    greynoldsct00

    November 19, 2008 at 9:22 am

    One party was brimming with energy, youth and diversity; the other felt like an annual Depends sales meeting.

    I give that line a win. I liked what she had to say; now let’s let the tar and feathering begin. Hee!

  31. 31.

    Xenos

    November 19, 2008 at 9:24 am

    Rabelais, by the way, is a wonderful antidote to the wingnut religious nostalgia movement. But you all knew that already, I am sure.

  32. 32.

    Mr Furious

    November 19, 2008 at 9:28 am

    Oooo. Pass the pop—

    What’s way more "special occasion" than popcorn? Whatever it is, pass that shit over with a shovel! I’m cracking my finest brew to wash it down.

  33. 33.

    Krista

    November 19, 2008 at 9:29 am

    So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners

    Delightful.

    The heartening part is that most people in the comments are agreeing with her. The ones who disagree seem to have missed the point altogether, as they are claiming that she is attacking all Christians.

    "Oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP". That is so full of win.

  34. 34.

    Napoleon

    November 19, 2008 at 9:30 am

    It is hard to pick a favorite line out of the Parker piece, but I do like the "Howard Dean was right". How many Republicans 4 years ago would have called you nuts if you predicted that in 4 years they would think or say that?

  35. 35.

    KCinDC

    November 19, 2008 at 9:31 am

    I’m just wondering who this "party intelligentsia" are. Doesn’t the party of Dubya, Palin, and Joe the Plumber excommunicate anyone who even uses the word "intelligentsia", much less could be described by it? I seriously doubt that they care what these people are saying in their private conversations.

  36. 36.

    gnomedad

    November 19, 2008 at 9:37 am

    "Let’s do pray that God shows Alaska’s governor the door."

    lolz. Writing about reality does wonders for your prose style.

  37. 37.

    Gunner

    November 19, 2008 at 9:38 am

    Ms. Parker falls into the same trap others have, that the problems of their party are due to one particular aspect. For the GOP, the problem is systemic. Basically, the GOP has become good at one thing – making things not work. So for those of you threatening to "go John Galt" on us, please do so as soon as you can. For those of you waiting for the rapture, I implore your god to please take you all right now. The sooner you idiots leave, the sooner things get better.

  38. 38.

    4tehlulz

    November 19, 2008 at 9:43 am

    Ms. Parker just became a RINO that Mooselini will shoot from a helicopter in 2012. Also.

  39. 39.

    EdTheRed

    November 19, 2008 at 9:44 am

    @Xenos:

    In the vigour of his age he married Gargamelle, daughter to the King of the Parpaillons, a jolly pug, and well-mouthed wench. These two did oftentimes do the two-backed beast together, joyfully rubbing and frotting their bacon ‘gainst one another, in so far, that at last she became great with child of a fair son, and went with him unto the eleventh month; for so long, yea longer, may a woman carry her great belly, especially when it is some masterpiece of nature, and a person predestinated to the performance, in his due time, of great exploits.

    I am so disillusioned to learn that Gargamelle was really a woman…although perhaps that explains her bizarre obsession with wiping out the nearly all-male Smurfs. She wanted to be a man, and if she couldn’t be, well then, neither could those meddlesome little blue creatures.

  40. 40.

    dmsilev

    November 19, 2008 at 9:44 am

    @The Moar You Know:

    Hope she’s ready. That completely truthful analogy of the religious wingnut to a member of the Nazi party is going to get her a cross or two burned on her lawn.

    Fortunately, Focus on the Family is offering a great deal on prefab burning crosses right now.

    -dms

  41. 41.

    jakester

    November 19, 2008 at 9:45 am

    How can you write an entire article about how religious orthodoxy has corrupted the GOP and not mentioned Ronald Reagan, who pretty much started this whole damn thing?

  42. 42.

    gbear

    November 19, 2008 at 9:47 am

    @Napoleon:

    I am convinced that the media did not even scratch the surface of how Palin is a completely whacked out fundamentalist.

    Tina Fey came the closest when her Sarah Palin said that global warming was just a natural part of the end-of-days. It was said so disarmingly that it was easy to miss how perfectly she’d nailed the fundies.

  43. 43.

    demimondian

    November 19, 2008 at 9:50 am

    @Gunner: Actually, both Parker and Larison make the same mistake: she with her (correct) commentary on the central role of armband religiosity in the 2008 defeat, and he with his (equally correct) commentary on the central role of the Debacle by Da Tigris in the 2006 defeat.

    So…Daniel, Kathleen, I have a problem for you. What’s left for a demagogue to use if you take away war and religion?

  44. 44.

    Mr Furious

    November 19, 2008 at 9:51 am

    EdtheRed, A much better job with the Smurf joke than I would have done.

  45. 45.

    Marc

    November 19, 2008 at 9:51 am

    This may sound like hyperbole to some of you – after all this is "only" a newspaper op-ed – but I really do believe this is historic (IF it catches on inside the GOP and believe me it will, they aren’t all morons)

    No, seriously.

    Think about it. Since Reagan instrumentalized them, the Religious Right has steadily gained influence in the Republican party. Should the GOP finally decide to move back towards a more sensible Rockefeller/Eisenhower Republicanism (both of whom today’s "base" would define as R.I.N.O.s BTW) they might even manage to be an acceptable option again in, oh, maybe 15 or 20 years… :)

    I am only partly kidding. Voting Republican would be inconceivable to me now, but parties don’t matter to me, ideas/ideologies do. And America would benefit immensely from having two corrupt and ruthless but smart parties duke it out in the senate – which would be a significant improvement over the status quo which is one party of (mainly) spineless weasels and one of rapturous bloodthirsty demagogues…

  46. 46.

    Daryl Cobranchi

    November 19, 2008 at 9:52 am

    I think she may read the General:

    [L]et’s see what someone outside the Senate, Gov. Sarah Palin, has to say:

    It’s witchcraft. Your suit is bewitched. Pray with me, Norm. pray with me now. Gabba gabba hey. Ooo eee, ooo ah ah ting tang. Walla walla, bing bang. Shoobie dowah doo wah. Awop bop a loobop, a lop-bam boo! Handaree rangaree chingaree chong. Rama lama ding dong. Pompitous of love.

  47. 47.

    chopper

    November 19, 2008 at 9:54 am

    But what are her countertops made of?

    children’s tears.

  48. 48.

    greynoldsct00

    November 19, 2008 at 9:54 am

    Did anyone wade into some of the almost 400 comments? There’s a beaut about a "devil" having been in the white house and now the wife of that devil might get appointed… I don’t think it was snark…oogedy-boogedy

  49. 49.

    Napoleon

    November 19, 2008 at 9:55 am

    @gbear:

    I forgot about the global warming thing. IMO it is one of the biggest Achilles Heels of the Republican Party. A majority of their base thinks it is false, yet a majority of Americans think it is true, and because it is in fact true evidence of it continues to pile up. Having a nut like her holding a position like that is pure gold for the Dems and helps tar all the other wingnut extreme positions they hold.

  50. 50.

    Rick Taylor

    November 19, 2008 at 9:55 am

    While they don’t help, I don’t agree that evangelicals are the major problem with the Republican party. The major problem, as John as said before, is they have no vision beyond win in Iraq, liberals are gonna tax you!, eliminate the capital gains tax, and stop gay people from getting married. And this is in the midst of an economic meltdown. Still, it’s fun to see the infighting on the Republican side for a change.

  51. 51.

    Joe Beese

    November 19, 2008 at 10:02 am

    Parker has already been excommunicated for the sin of noticing that Palin is a twit. She’s got nothing to lose – and much to gain – by kicking the right-wing while it’s down.

    She’s as gross an opportunist as Lieberman. And just as trustworthy.

  52. 52.

    Juan del Llano

    November 19, 2008 at 10:08 am

    Simply put: Armband religion is killing the Republican Party.

    I didn’t think I would ever see this day. Glory hallelujah! The absolute scourge of my childhood and the inexplicable ball & chain of modern Republican politics called out for what it is in a major newspaper.

    The Xian "right" has always gotten traction through intimidation, just as the idiot preachers of my youth coerced entire communities with nothing more than the assumption that a mere human being could speak for All That Is, a wretchedly illogical assumption, no matter what. If we are on the threshhold of breaking THIS link, the entire world may be on the brink of an unimaginable revolution.

  53. 53.

    ksmiami

    November 19, 2008 at 10:08 am

    There is a great line that says, if you want to live like a republican, vote for a democrat or something like that. I guess the wierd thing is that the wheels of liberty and justice ARE progressive, not regressive and the right has been fighting on the losing side of the culture wars for years now, but they don’t see it at all. I mean sure the Prop 8 thing won (narrowly), but now the courts will tie it up under the equal protection laws and ultimately, sane people will look at wars and economic concerns as more important than whether sam and sam want to spend tons of money renting Disney Hall and buying Italian suits for their wedding… Hopefully the favors will be tasty treats from Joan’s on Third… But I digress, The GOP has failed because they don’t believe in good, decent governance and so why the fuck should they get the keys to the kingdom?

  54. 54.

    TheFountainHead

    November 19, 2008 at 10:11 am

    This is a great read, and undoubtedly evangelicals are part of the GOPs problem, but Parker has all the intellectual integrity of a crack dealer (and roughly the same job description) so it’s just as likely that next week she’ll be the one telling her base why Obama, is–in fact–the true son of the Devil.

  55. 55.

    Joshua Norton

    November 19, 2008 at 10:12 am

    The sum of the Republican complaint has always been that Democrats try to do too much good, at their expense, so their solution is to be its exact converse – doing too much evil. That plays into the phony Republican association with religion (and borderline fascism) – or rather the Far Right’s perversion of religion. Deep down in their tiny little hearts, most top-dog Republicans are more than a little anti-Christian.

    Christ clearly ordered us to do unto others. Even the old testament God thundered – not just ordered, but thundered! – that you shall take care of widows and orphans!

    But it is the right wing version of "politically correct" to appear to be Christian.

    I’m sure many Republicans feel that they’re good Christians. Christ would not.

    They are ignorant of Christian principles. The problem is that they pay their preachers and ministers to tell them not the truth but only what they want to hear.

    A little hint to the bible thumpers and snake handlers – read the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7) for the core and basis of Christianity, and be surprised. You will discover how your ministers and priests are false to you – for example, Christ specifically denounces public prayer, and he specifically denounces repetition of prayers. He specifically denounces wealth, saying you cannot serve two masters, God and mammon. Period. No if’s or but’s. All this is the direct opposite of the Republican character and ideology.

    Fine, if they don’t want to follow Christ. But don’t try to pass themselves off as Christian – they’ve perverted and corrupted His teaching. If they believe any part of what they preach, they know that they’ll surely burn twice as hot.

  56. 56.

    TheFountainHead

    November 19, 2008 at 10:14 am

    whether sam and sam want to spend tons of money renting Disney Hall and buying Italian suits for their wedding…

    You must not be familiar with the Disney Empire.

  57. 57.

    Zifnab

    November 19, 2008 at 10:15 am

    @jakester:

    How can you write an entire article about how religious orthodoxy has corrupted the GOP and not mentioned Ronald Reagan, who pretty much started this whole damn thing?

    I’m just amazed she managed to form a complete paragraph without using Ronnie’s name half a dozen times as some form of punctuation. Reagen. Also.

  58. 58.

    Leo

    November 19, 2008 at 10:16 am

    @Xenos: That’s an interesting quote, but isn’t the clear reference of that phrase among modern English speakers Othello (Act I, Scene I):

    Iago: I am one, sir, that comes to tell you your daughter
    and the Moor are now making the beast with two backs.

    I realize Othello is the later text, but it’s orders of magnitude more influential in the English-speaking world.

  59. 59.

    Scott H

    November 19, 2008 at 10:17 am

    "[O]ogedy-boogedy branch" may not have the sibilant alliteration of my own "shimmy-shake shamanism," but "armband religion" is the Ace of trumps.

    The rift in the GOP is starting to look like a geologic event. Pass the popcorn, please.

  60. 60.

    Original Lee

    November 19, 2008 at 10:17 am

    So much popcorn is being consumed on this thread that I’m recommending this website.

    If you order a case, shipping is free.

  61. 61.

    Comrade Stuck

    November 19, 2008 at 10:19 am

    @Marc:

    This may sound like hyperbole to some of you – after all this is "only" a newspaper op-ed – but I really do believe this is historic (IF it catches on inside the GOP and believe me it will, they aren’t all morons)

    It is historic, at least within the past 30 years or so. It is a clear sign that the naturally disparate factions of the GOP Reagan Revolution are moving from periodically slinging feces at one another into deep bunker building for the coming protracted civil war. During which, democrats have the opportunity to dance on the shallow grave of the Conservative Movement and change America to our liking.

  62. 62.

    kay

    November 19, 2008 at 10:23 am

    @jakester:

    I date actively seeking the support of religious to get elected to Carter.

    I date actively seeking the support of religious as a political tool to achieve a broad range of conservative policy goals to Reagan.

  63. 63.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    November 19, 2008 at 10:24 am

    @Rick Taylor:

    The major problem, as John as said before, is they have no vision beyond win in Iraq, liberals are gonna tax you!, eliminate the capital gains tax, and stop gay people from getting married.

    It’s even more basic than that. All the GOP cares about is beating the Democrats. Anything that might allow them to cast the Democrats as villains immediately becomes a sacred cause to the Republicans. That’s why the platform is just a random collection of mutually contradictory planks. Everything is viewed through that specific political filter, which is great for winning elections (at least in the short term), but doesn’t really lend itself to effective government.

  64. 64.

    Shinobi

    November 19, 2008 at 10:25 am

    ::makes kettle corn and curls up with blanket to watch::

  65. 65.

    Zifnab

    November 19, 2008 at 10:25 am

    @Comrade Stuck:

    During which, democrats have the opportunity to dance on the shallow grave of the Conservative Movement and change America to our liking fuck up again, per usual.

    Seriously, you haven’t been paying attention to the political comedy of errors for the last 60 years, have you?

  66. 66.

    Jon H

    November 19, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Moar wrote: " That completely truthful analogy of the religious wingnut to a member of the Nazi party"

    I don’t think that’s what she was doing. Nazis aren’t the only armband wearers. What comes to mind is old movies with military police wearing "MP" armbands, or the black armbands worn as a protest.

    She’s basically just saying "people who wear their religion on their sleeve and expect others to do so too (so the non-conformers can be excluded)".

  67. 67.

    Tim Fuller

    November 19, 2008 at 10:31 am

    Good luck ousting them from the party. They are, at present, the only identifiable organized faction within what used to be the conservative party. What’s the gameplan?

    Enjoy.

  68. 68.

    Comrade Stuck

    November 19, 2008 at 10:32 am

    @Zifnab:

    Clearly I said democrats had the "opportunity" to change America, not that they would make the best out of that opportunity and not fuck it up (please read what I write). And the past 60 years have not all been about a dem "comedy of errors" unless you choose to just focus on the bad stuff dems have done. Glass half full.

  69. 69.

    South of I-10

    November 19, 2008 at 10:34 am

    When did Kathleen grow the iron clad ovaries? I am sure she will be excommunicated by noon.

  70. 70.

    Kirk

    November 19, 2008 at 10:35 am

    @Leo: read the dates.
    Othello was released circa 1603, while Gargantua and Pantagruel was published in 1534. I suspect the phrase is older than that, even, but Othello isn’t the first.

  71. 71.

    The Other Steve

    November 19, 2008 at 10:37 am

    Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents, including other people of faith (those who prefer a more private approach to worship), as well as secularists and conservative-leaning Democrats who otherwise might be tempted to cross the aisle.

    Really? So she thinks Presbyterians like myself might just be a whee turned off by public flogging of others as a way to show you are more moral?

    How come it took them this long?

  72. 72.

    jrg

    November 19, 2008 at 10:41 am

    The big problem with the "oogedy-boogedy branch of the GOP", as Parker put it, is the fact that they are not going to give up on the culture wars. They do not have the interests of the GOP at heart, they just want raw theocratic Christianism.

    Unfortunately for the GOP, raw theocratic Christianism is not popular with the majority of Americans, and even some GOPers.

    But the rubes really do take culture wars seriously, and are not smart enough to figure out when a battle is lost. We’ll still be watching holdouts from the culture wars for years, long after sane Republicans realize that capitulation is required.

    As a result, we’ll still have years worth of strawmen, sarcasm, sockpuppets, and ratf*cking at our disposal, long after mainstream GOP candidates realize that harping on stem cells does not play well outside of Hazard County.

    I do find it amazing that Parker has a job writing about obvious crap like this. Every other moderate I know reached the same conclusion around the time of the Schiavo incident.

  73. 73.

    Brian J

    November 19, 2008 at 10:42 am

    I heard yesterday that this column was supposed to be something. I guess it’s living up to the hype.

  74. 74.

    South of I-10

    November 19, 2008 at 10:43 am

    Jonah Goldberg fires the first shot back at Kathleen?

  75. 75.

    Ned Raggett

    November 19, 2008 at 10:44 am

    @South of I-10: Hey, it’s annoyed Jonah Goldberg, so there you go.

  76. 76.

    Ned Raggett

    November 19, 2008 at 10:45 am

    Hahah, crosspost! Sorry, South of I-10, wasn’t ignoring you there.

  77. 77.

    Karmakin

    November 19, 2008 at 10:48 am

    @Grumpy Code Monkey: And that fits if you look at their viewpoint through the filter of them believing that everybody to the left of Lieberman is a proto-communist.

  78. 78.

    gex

    November 19, 2008 at 10:50 am

    @jakester: Yeah, she was pretty cowardly. From the article: "So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so…"

    Not sure any of the base can figure that clue out though.

  79. 79.

    Brian J

    November 19, 2008 at 10:52 am

    @Tattoosydney:

    I refuse to give The Corner traffic, but from that passage that you cited, it’s clear that the right is still inventing its own reality. People can disagree about whether Obama’s relationship with Ayers means much, but is it even remotely accurate to call them friends? Not wanting to hate someone so loudly doesn’t make you their friend.

    If nothing else, perhaps the first step to get the Republicans back on track is to help them find a way to stop making shit up.

  80. 80.

    Jen R

    November 19, 2008 at 10:54 am

    This is quite a change from the Kathleen Parker who used the occasion of the September 11 attacks to put us nonbelievers in our place.

  81. 81.

    Bill In OH

    November 19, 2008 at 10:57 am

    I seem to recall a mere four years ago hearing almost non-stop that the Evangelicals were a huuuuuuge constituency that had to be wooed and OMG what are the Dems gonna doooooooooooo? Better start moving to the right heave the gays and abortion rights overboard, or we’ll never win another election EVAR!! What a difference a disastrous war and a major economic meltdown make, eh?

  82. 82.

    Napoleon

    November 19, 2008 at 11:00 am

    @Jen R:

    Interesting. It just occured to me, could Parker’s suddenly wandering from the party line which she has long towed be related to the position that maybe opening up at the NY Times?

  83. 83.

    Garrigus Carraig

    November 19, 2008 at 11:11 am

    [Jonah Goldberg:] I don’t know what’s more grating, the quasi-bigotry that has you calling religious Christians low brows, gorillas and oogedy-boogedy types

    I usually avoid reading Jonah Goldberg, but that was interesting. Kathleen didn’t call religious Christians low brows, as she made specific reference to religious Christians alienated by the current Republican approach. She also didn’t call anyone a gorilla; rather she used a variant of the phrase "800-lb. gorilla in the room". And Jonah’s (willful?) misunderstanding of that recalls the whole "lipstick on a pig" kerfuffle from the campaign.

    The sort of errors one makes in speaking Jonah’s making in writing. And I’m guessing he won’t correct them. Anyway, it’s much more subtly stupid than more frequently linked-to pieces of his.

  84. 84.

    Bob

    November 19, 2008 at 11:15 am

    Parker:

    ..And shifting demographics suggest that the Republican Party — and conservatism with it — eventually will die out unless religion is returned to the privacy of one’s heart where it belongs.

    I have been saying this to my Republican friends for awhile, but I think is way broader than religion. I thought McCain could have won this election, but in the long run demogaphics will kill the Republican Party as we know it.

    You cannot alienate every minority and expect to continue to govern. It wasn’t long ago that many Arab Americans were Republican. Not anymore.

    They run against non-Christians
    They run against Arab Americans and Muslims
    They run against Willie Horton and "Welfare Queens"
    They run against gays
    Their run against immigrants

    Who is left as a consituency in a country where the minority is about to become the majority?

  85. 85.

    bedlam UK

    November 19, 2008 at 11:15 am

    I think he referenced the dates Kirk, but opinioned that Shakespeare was the more ‘known’ or influencial of the sources.

  86. 86.

    DrDave

    November 19, 2008 at 11:17 am

    @Napoleon:

    Parker hits on the exact reason I would love to see Palin be the Rep nominee in ‘12, to tie the Rep even more to that wing of the party.

    Mo Dowd snarkily said as much on TV last week: "Well, Sarah Palin told Greta Van Susteren last night that she has been praying about 2012 and I have been praying that Sarah Palin gets back here as quickly as possible."

  87. 87.

    Tsulagi

    November 19, 2008 at 11:22 am

    Excellent column by Parker and completely spot on. I think someone is going to rise to an upper spot on that Operation Leper enemies list.

    For the saner, more thinking Republicans I know, they don’t much care for the door-kicking version of Jesus brought by the Party of Bush. Stuff like trying to forcibly resurrect Terri and kill stem cell research in the name of My Jesus uber Thee didn’t bring warm fuzzies.

  88. 88.

    Joshua Norton

    November 19, 2008 at 11:29 am

    Excellent column by Parker and completely spot on. I think someone is going to rise to an upper spot on that Operation Leper enemies list.

    The problem with "mavericks" is that tomorrow she’ll probably revert to type.

    We have a local columnist at the SF Chronicle, Debra Saunders who’s about the same ilk as Parker. One day she’ll write a column that makes sense using her socially moderate side of her brain and the next it looks like she just cut and pasted something from an RNC mailer.

  89. 89.

    gwangung

    November 19, 2008 at 11:30 am

    You cannot alienate every minority and expect to continue to govern.

    You know, I mentioned to someone that a decade ago, the emerging Asian American generation were leaning Republican. But they are now voting Democratic. And that someone replied that of course they did; the Democrats controlled everything in the states where there were Asian Americans like NY and CA.

    Did it ever dawn on them that if you don’t cultivate these emerging voters and THEIR needs, they won’t stay with you? And the states they’re in will STAY Democratic?

  90. 90.

    Brian J

    November 19, 2008 at 11:34 am

    nteresting. It just occured to me, could Parker’s suddenly wandering from the party line which she has long towed be related to the position that maybe opening up at the NY Times?

    I guess this might be a better question for the thread that appeared yesterday, but why would Parker want to ditch The Post for The Times? Is a spot at The Times that much more valuable, compared to The Post?

  91. 91.

    Leo

    November 19, 2008 at 11:35 am

    @Kirk:

    I realize Othello is the later text, but it’s orders of magnitude more influential in the English-speaking world.

    People aren’t referencing what they’ve never read or heard. Shakespeare stole tons of stuff. Doesn’t change the fact that he was the one that put most of it on the cultural map.

    Anyway, this is way off topic. Sorry.

    Uhhh . . . Kathleen Parker, mumble . . . er . . . How about those Iraqis? What a bunch of ingrates, amirite?

  92. 92.

    The Moar You Know

    November 19, 2008 at 11:45 am

    @Bob: Don’t forget the largest "minority" of them all, Hispanics.

    Fifty years from now, Pete Wilson will be the guy who history points to as being responsible for putting a bullet in the head of the modern GOP. Hispanics were, by and large, a natural constituency for the Republican party, but Proposition 187 insured that they would be driven into the Democratic party for generations to come. Many, many other Goopers piled on with their wild hatred of anything brown.

    How they’re going to cull the Dominionists and racists from their party and remain viable is beyond me.

  93. 93.

    jenniebee

    November 19, 2008 at 12:38 pm

    @The Moar You Know:

    Anybody want to take bets that 50 years from now, this whole situation will be reversed and Democrats will be a pro-corporation party dominated by a Roman Catholic base, while the Republicans will be the progressive party of enlightenment and rational pragmatism?

    For the point spread, there will be absolutely zero change in either side’s "what we’ve always stood for" rhetoric at any point in the transformation. Republicans will always have been for Lincolnian individual liberty and self-determination, and Democrats will characterize themselves at every step as the party of diversity and social justice.

  94. 94.

    Church Lady

    November 19, 2008 at 1:01 pm

    As I read the comments here, celebrating Kathleen Parker’s newfound awareness, I think a stroll down memory lane just might be in order. If we look at the past eight years for examples of the culture wars, we can pick out three good issues where the "Religious Right" of the Republican party has weighed in. Let’s see what Ms. Parker’s position on those matters is, ok?

    Abortion: "I am reluctantly pro-choice," but she "favors stricter limits, beginning with ‘six weeks and times up’."
    She believes that even if Roe was overturned, abortion would still happen, though illegal and dangerous, but that stricter limits would reduce the number and thus be good.

    Terry Shiavo: She was against letting Terry Shiavo die. "The fact that the nation has become unhinged over these proceedings is some source of solace. We should find ‘letting die’ troublesome." Her idea of what was right was for Michael Shiavo to divorce Terry and let Terry’s parents care for her, given that she found Mr. Shiavo’s motives somewhat suspect.

    Gay Marriage: "By separating sex and procreation from marriage – and granting marriage ‘rights’ to anyone and everyone – we are curtailing the rights of children to their natural parents, as well as to protection from the strong arm of the state." While granting that, purely as a civil rights matter, same sex marriage would be the right thing to do, she is of the opinion that it would be detrimental to "the family".

    Kathleen Parker is not your compatriot and she does not share your views. Ms. Parker, who considers herself a member of the so-called "conservative intelligencia" has views that more or less line up with those sporting those awful "armbands" that she now pitiously decries. She is a rank opportunist who now sees some benefit (be it monetary or fame) in choosing to stand outside the tent and piss in. She took a stand on Sarah Palin (based not on religious views, but on readiness), pissed off her regular fan base, and is now trying to find someway to recover, albeit akwardly. I would hazard a guess that she might lose her column space in the "right" leaning publications (Jewish World Review, National Review, Townhall, etc.) that currently carry her, but I have a hard time envisioning the "left" embracing her, given her actual beliefs.

    Maybe she’s trying out for Kristol’s gig at the NYT.

  95. 95.

    Xecky Gilchrist

    November 19, 2008 at 1:04 pm

    @Jon H: I don’t think that’s what she was doing. Nazis aren’t the only armband wearers. What comes to mind is old movies with military police wearing "MP" armbands, or the black armbands worn as a protest.

    It made me think of the little plastic wrist bands they sell at the 7-11 counter for various causes. Admittedly, she probably would have called those "wrist bands" instead of armbands.

  96. 96.

    John PM

    November 19, 2008 at 1:05 pm

    @Joshua Norton: #54

    To take your point a step further, should the Rapture actually take place, I think that almost all of the Christianists will find themselves "left behind." Of course, given their ability to compartmentalize and rationalize, they will ignore all the signs and harden their hearts against the real Jesus Christ until the time comes for them to be tossed into the Lake of First for all eternity. I mean, honestly, can’t you see Palin as the Anti-Christ and William Kristol as the False Prophet?

  97. 97.

    passerby

    November 19, 2008 at 1:06 pm

    We’ll never know what could have been in a straight-on Obama vs. Palin contest. But what we do know is this: Palin, like Obama, energized people. And she did it in a heckuva lot less time than he had to do it, only coming onto the national scene and the GOP ticket Labor Day weekend.

    K-Lo fails to recognize that rabble rousing is much easier to do. Palin employed this intellectually lazy approach because it was easy, effective and it was appropriate for the mind set of GOP voters.

    In fact most of the speeches at the GOP convention took this approach: cast reason to the wind and get the herd riled up so they’ll be sure to turn out and vote.

    rabble [n] : A tumultuous crowd of vulgar, noisy people; a mob; a confused, disorderly throng.

    vulgar [adj]: Conspicuously and tastelessly indecent; common.

    Drill here.

  98. 98.

    Esther

    November 19, 2008 at 1:12 pm

    This is quite a change from the Kathleen Parker who used the occasion of the September 11 attacks to put us nonbelievers in our place.

    It was the 9-11 attacks that started my fall away from belief/religion altogether after all those preachers started yapping about god allowing the attacks as punishment for our nation being so immoral. I just couldn’t get past the fact that there were babies on those planes (this is not to minimize all the people who lost their lives on that terrible day but the pictures of the children who were on those planes just really got to me.) I just couldn’t conceive a god that would allow such attacks to happen.

  99. 99.

    D-Chance.

    November 19, 2008 at 1:20 pm

    From the post right below…

    John Cole: If you want a serious answer: Larison, Larison, Larison .

    Of course, the war was a major reason why the GOP fell into disrepute, and Parker notably still has nothing to say about that. I am going to go out on a limb and guess that she has rarely, if ever, written a single word of serious criticism of the administration regarding the war. You cannot diagnose what ails Republicans if you have no credibility on this most basic of policy questions, and there is no reason to think that Parker has any.

    This, from the bestest, most intelligentest, conservative blogger on Algore’s Internet (at least, according to Cole himself).

  100. 100.

    Studly Pantload

    November 19, 2008 at 1:28 pm

    How they’re going to cull the Dominionists and racists from their party and remain viable is beyond me.

    Mrs. Pantload has a semi-relative (a half-sister of a half-sister) who is absolutely soiling herself right now at the prospect of all the damage terr’ist-elect Obama and his hadji-lovin’ coterie will bring too these United States of Jesus, and I have to say that the calls from some on the Right to become more inclusive for the good of the GOP gives me the giggles, being as said sad relative is such the quintessence of the base, and I can already tell how horrified she’d be if she found her self at a Republican rally standing next to a — *gulp!* — brown-ish skinned person.

    Fuck ’em. Fuck ’em all and feed ’em fish heads. They’re winging themselves into museum-display obscurity. I don’t know who’ll replace them — perhaps there is a Whig resurgence on the horizon?

  101. 101.

    Grumpy Code Monkey

    November 19, 2008 at 1:36 pm

    @Church Lady:

    Whether Kathleen is sincere or not, and whether she shares the values of most Balloonatics, is pretty much beside the point. What makes her last column so entertaining is that it throws the cracks in the Republican coalition into sharp relief. No doubt her next column will be all about Ayers, but for now it’s just fun to watch them throw rocks at each other.

    At least Cole was willing to call bullshit on the whole enterprise before the GOP started losing seats. That took some balls, and he has my respect for it. Parker and the rest of these jackasses are just looking to deflect blame after the fact. It wasn’t her fault, it was the religious nuts. No, it was the "bomb bomb bomb Iran" neocon whackjobs. No, it was the corporatarians who enabled the whole financial clusterfuck we’re currently enjoying. Und so weiter.

  102. 102.

    Jim

    November 19, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    Republicans are in a real quandary. They can’t win with the social conservative base, yet they can’t win without them. I find the original Doughy Pantload’s retort to Ms. Parker illuminating. He acknowledged her point that there was too much God in the GOP, but was still pissed at Ms. Parker for harping on it. It’s a real box the GOP has gotten itself into and the real fight is to find an intelligent way of extricating itself from that box.

  103. 103.

    Hyperion

    November 19, 2008 at 1:43 pm

    This may sound like hyperbole to some of you – after all this is "only" a newspaper op-ed – but I really do believe this is historic (IF it catches on inside the GOP and believe me it will, they aren’t all morons)

    it could be historic if the message she is sending were received by those it is intended for. but it will not be. look at the comments. there are 3 types of responses.
    1. dems who say "amen" and "finally"
    2. former repubs who say "amen" and "finally"
    3. the god crazies who live up to her description of them

    it’s not a matter of being a moron, it’s being a true believer. the god crazies refuse to engage reality. and the non-crazies still in the party are obviously still not keen to speak out. thus, the novelty of this column. what she says is not particularly surprising. that she says it is.

    protip: Denying reality is NOT a long term strategy for winning elections.

  104. 104.

    J.

    November 19, 2008 at 2:28 pm

    @ Jeff (#19):

    I rest my case! And with the original Wonkette, no less!

    Perhaps Ms. Parker’s deal with the Devil has run it’s course and now she is making amends?

  105. 105.

    eyeball

    November 19, 2008 at 2:37 pm

    She’s auditioning for the Times job soon to be vacated by Nepotism Billy. I like her, but I still think Niall Ferguson would be far better. We need a big-think rightist economist on stage to make some counter-arguments. Not that they’d would be correct, but they need to be in the mix. (He’d duke it out nicely with Krugman, too.) Kathleen has talent but she’d just go all Dowd on us in the end, and there’s plenty of snark out there already. We need big ideas, not GOP navel-scratching.

  106. 106.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    November 19, 2008 at 2:42 pm

    the amount of non-christian like behavior

    How would you define "Christian behaviour"?

  107. 107.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    November 19, 2008 at 2:51 pm

    Deep down in their tiny little hearts, most top-dog Republicans are more than a little anti-Christian.

    That’s funny.

    Even the old testament God thundered – not just ordered, but thundered! – that you shall take care of widows and orphans!

    When he wasn’t killing innocent Egyptian babies because he was angry at Pharaoh.

    They are ignorant of Christian principles.

    Right, because the Bible doesn’t say that homosexuality is wrong, or that wives should obey their husbands, or that slavery is alright, or that only Jesus can provide salvation. . .

  108. 108.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    November 19, 2008 at 2:54 pm

    @Tim Fuller:

    Good luck ousting them from the party.

    No doubt. It’s like saying "this zoo would be great if it weren’t for all the animals."

  109. 109.

    Calouste

    November 19, 2008 at 2:57 pm

    One of the ironic things about the Republicans is that they themselves have severly damaged what should be a reliable voter base for any conservative party anywhere in the world: small business owners.

    The big business wing of the GOP has made many small businesses shut up shop, and the social conservative and anti-immigrant wings have put off many of the immigrant small business owners.

  110. 110.

    Notorious P.A.T.

    November 19, 2008 at 3:01 pm

    Palin, like Obama, energized people. And she did it in a heckuva lot less time than he had to do it, only coming onto the national scene and the GOP ticket Labor Day weekend.

    Palin energized people who were already energized. Throwing a bone to a pack of rabid attack dogs and getting them to bark is no great accomplishment.

    Obama, on the other hand, energized and involved millions of people who don’t normally participate in the political process, as well as getting young people excited about politics to an unprecedented degree.

  111. 111.

    TheHatOnMyCat

    November 19, 2008 at 7:40 pm

    wrong thread

  112. 112.

    Pelikan

    November 19, 2008 at 7:56 pm

    frotting their bacon ‘gainst one another

    That’s the best thing I ever heard.

  113. 113.

    LiberalTarian

    November 19, 2008 at 10:05 pm

    The problem with the GOP isn’t the Christians … it’s the false prophets. But, that would be attacking the powerful, not the piddly, and Parker isn’t about to take on the big boys.

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