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The Grand Schizophrenic Party
Author: BobR    Date: 12/05/2012 14:02:22

What happens when a "useful idiot" is no longer useful? Such is the dilemma in the Republican party. In the spring of 2009 in an obvious reaction to the inauguration of President Obama, the Tea Party rose up out of nothing (ok - from a FOX "News" cabal) to speak out against taxes (ostensibly). Grover Norquist was their mouthpiece, and they looked to be a shiny new alternative to a stodgy old GOP.

The movers and shakers in the party were initially threatened by the upstarts, but then figured they would glom onto them and rise to power... which sort of worked in 2010. They took control of the House and narrowed the gap in the Senate. The GOP immediately began focusing on... um... social issues, something the Tea Party didn't really have much of an opinion on (supposedly). The outlook for 2012 was rosy.

Except - 2012 didn't happen the way they predicted. President Obama was reelected. The Republicans lost seats in both the House and Senate. Apparently, being loud and the center of attention doesn't necessarily equate to popularity and/or votes. Americans looked at these Tea Party "darlings" and decided they were nuts. The Republicans embrace of the Tea Party initially helped, but now they appear to be a liability.

This leaves the GOP at a crossroads with two factions battling for control. There are the old-guard GOP members (some of whom are on their way out) and the young line-in-the-sand, my-way-or-the-highway fanatics. This is apparent in the current "fiscal cliff" battle, as Speaker Boehner tries to get fellow House members to agree to some tax increases. Tax increases are going to have to be part of the equation and everyone knows it. The grandstanding occurring now is just part of the process.

Another sad example is the vote yesterday on the UN disabilities treaty. It's been well covered, but essentially the UN created a treaty based on a U.S. law signed by President George H.W. Bush. This is already law in the U.S. Yet - the nutjob faction in the Republican party is so wedded to their ideology (in this case: the UN = Evil) that they brought shame upon the nation by using sham excuses to vote against it.

Columnist Bob Cesca wrote about this today:
In the wake of the election, there’s no doubt that the Republican Party leadership is capable of making some adjustments to re-brand itself. There are plenty of ways they can do it, but it’s obvious to anyone paying attention to what’s happening on the far-right that the base simply won’t allow the party to change.
[..]
The problem this creates, of course, is that the Republican Party has been consumed by misinformed idiots with no substantial connection to the real world, and the first post-election PPP poll only serves to amplify this conclusion.

Hell - roughly half of Republicans surveyed think that ACORN is still alive and stealing elections. There's a definite mindset among some Republicans that America wants their "solutions", even in the face of reality. Reality, though is starting to make inroads, as more and more Republicans are rejecting the Grover Norquist tax pledge.

There's also the most visible bellwhether of Republican politics: FOX "News". They must answer to ratings and advertisers, and as such they have to be tapped in to the zeitgiest of the American political news viewer. After seeing failed prognosticators Karl Rove and Dick Morris make fools of themselves, FOX has decided to send them down to Storage Room B. That should send a message to any and all Republican extremists that they are on the way to being marginalized.

And what of the "reasonable" Republicans, those with views differing from Democrats in some areas, but still willing to find common ground in the interest of all Americans? They may be out for now - hopefully some will run for reelection and help force out the nutjobs. In the meantime, one or two might find their way into President Obama's cabinet.

There are some within the Republican party that understand that to maintain this unholy alliance with the Tea Party extremists dooms them to permanent powerlessness. Whether those people can take back the reins remains to be seen.
 

82 comments (Latest Comment: 12/05/2012 23:14:57 by Will in Chicago)
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