GOP Intra-Party Sitzkrieg Ends
In the last couple of days, we’ve seen the Republican nominee for President of the United States go to war with his own party, including the Republican currently two heartbeats from the Presidency, Speaker of the House Paul Ryan.
The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Enemy
Ryan has distanced himself from Donald Trump’s election efforts, explicitly to try and save the downballot races and, by extension, his own Speakership. Even if they manage to install a Republican majority in the House, the uneasy coalition between the genuinely evil nutjob wing and the merely amoral centrist Republicans that gave him his seat is unlikely to hold, given the open war between those factions.
For his part, Trump seeks to exploit the dichotomy between the two to settle scores with anyone he’s ever perceived as giving him anything less than full-throated, bay-at-the-moon support, starting with the Republicans who initially withheld that support for reasons of conscience, politics or disdain – Republicans like Ryan and John McCain.
The pause between the early wins of the Nazi Wehrmacht in 1939, and the eventual invasion and capitulation of France in 1940 has been called the “Sitzkrieg.” There had been a similar suspension of all-out GOP civil war after the Reich wing of the party defeated Eric Cantor, then ran off Speaker John Boehner and his next obvious successor, Kevin McCarthy. The uneasy truce reached to install former VP candidate Ryan as the new Speaker produced and enduring Sitzkrieg – until Trump began to unravel.
Ryan has consistently tried to appear to strike a thoughtful, balanced pose in order to hold his fragile coalition together. It’s been a constant struggle for him to appear judicious, sufficiently partisan, and serious, all while fending the Teabaggers off with a whip and the Chair. But Trump has posed him with an insoluble puzzle: how to maintain a viable Republican majority now that the Teabaggers are driving the electoral bus.
Like a man caught between two stools, Ryan has tried to keep the stool to his left engaged and voting, while simultaneously trying to keep the stool sample on his right from becoming a cesspool of Donarrhea by, for example, still endorsing Trump.
Paul Ryan failed. History will not be kind.
Now an “unshackled” Trump is going to wreak vengeance on anyone and everyone that he perceives as having slighted him, from Alicia Machado and the Khans, to Hillary and Bill Clinton, to Paul Ryan and John McCain. His ego, as puffed up and insubstantial as cotton candy, will allow nothing less than burning down the entire electoral process in America, simply because it failed to genuflect and capitulate to his magnificent awfulness.
At this moment, with the Party Formerly Known as Republican going to war with itself and everyone else, it is impossible to foretell exactly what the outcome of November 8 will be, except to reiterate that it was exactly Trump being Trump that made Hillary a mortal lock 5 months ago. It seems likely, but by no means certain, that the Senate will turn blue. It seems possible, but still a little unlikely, that the House could, too. But right now, more than ever before, it is impossible to tell who is a “likely voter” or, if a Republican is a likely voter, whom they are likely to vote for.
Which makes it EVEN MORE IMPORTANT that Democrats get out and vote. The Republican implosion alone will not guarantee that President Hillary Clinton will have the Congress we need in order to start returning this country’s government to some semblance of normalcy. It is imperative that we inoculate the Senate AND the House, both, against the rotaviral shitstorm that is the Republican Civil War.
To save us all from the crazy: VOTE!
V.O.T.E. Small word. Big meaning.
1“The rotaviral s**tstorm that is the Republican Civil War”. I think only those who have had a child with rotavirus will get how apt that comparison actually is. I’m using that, Primo. And I’ll go ahead and pronounce it without the asterisks, what with mama not being around.
2Look who’s in the gutter?
http://wizardvarnish.com/wv/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/555u3QbAB1r75glho1_540.jpg
3“Sitzkrieg” Good word for what is happening with the Donnie wingnuts of the snacilbupeR party, formerly known as the Tea Baggers with a few more euphemistic renditions of rebranding themselves with new names. Trumpanzees seems to be the latest version.
Some silly pundit insulted millennials by inferring we wouldn’t know who Al Gore is. He’s the old guy who actually comprehends global warming. 😀 Hey pundits, remember us? Just a few months ago we were awakened by a young fella, a self-described socialist with many messages of what is needed to correct the course from the lingering funk of Dubya and snacilbupeR. Bernie was one giant step for mankind, while Hilz is baby steps of incremental change. But she is at least headed in the correct direction despite the baggage she carries. Donnie? Hilz had that right – he’s a basket of deplorable.
More importantly, former VP Gore was well received by his audience. Hey Reince, THAT is what outreach should be.
4Y’all, this is great. For the first time, Carly Simon has allowed one of her top songs to be used in a political ad. Hint: the lyric was tweaked to “Your face it was apricot….”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKaiedK9SFc
5I am SooooooOOO loving this!
6I’m stealing that “Party formerly known as Republicans “
7Primo, what is your opinion, analysis, of what the 1% will play in the future, assuming nearly all of them are right-wingers into their own self interests vs the welfare of this or any country? What would it take, in your opinion, to sufficiently control their power now and into the future? Or do you think they are not the real power behind the throne? Or will they suffer some kind of setback should your scenario play out fully for the dems? If so, what’s to keep them setback if their source of power, money, is not curtailed, controlled, into the future?
8PKM, I replied to one of those silly pundits last week on twitter. Of course the younger generations know who Al Gore is, because we parents made them sit down and watch “An Inconvenient Truth” in junior high. Hell, our school district had a special showing at the local theater.
9Love the remake of You’re So Vain … putting it on FB to share!! LOL
10Fred, Donald Trump as Pennywise? Too right, mate!
11Carly’s “You’re So Vain” nails it, y’all! Watch the clip. It’s worth it!
Thanks, Rhea, for posting the link to the song! A winner!
Anybody else notice CNN cuttin’ off Al Gore mid-speech about climate change when he was campaigning with Hil on Tuesday? Y’all catch that? I don’t recall ’em ever cuttin’ off Trump…(lettin’ it sink in here)…but someone surely oughta!
12Oh, and by the by…when was the apricot ever shackled? Huh? Ever? He says the shackles are off…Man! They been off!
13daChipster, thank you. It’s good to know there are still great parents out there and that we are not totally at the mercy of of the selective ‘education’ in the propaganda text books the snacilbupeR favor. I was lucky being raised by two very liberal educated parents. When at the ripe old age of 11 I brought it to their attention that my history teacher was a moron they didn’t pull me out of that class nor demand that the teacher be fired. They didn’t encourage whining or sniveling. In addition to the regular school day, they treated me to extra tutoring by my great grandmother and grandmother; respectively FDR and Kennedy Democrats.
14Anybody who votes for Trump, Hates the USA.
15They don’t mind possibly destroying the rest of the world either.
Just so a Democrat is not elected. They are insane.
Rhea, that’s priceless. Thanks!
16I second that, Bettieann. If Dumbo was heretofore shackled, can’t wait to see what unshackling entails. Might it be nucular?
17However, if Democrats do not take advantage of the Republican chaos and turn out in historic numbers to take back the Senate and most of the House in addition to the White House, we will have lost our last best chance to get this country moving forward again.
I have always loved Carly Simon and her music. This version of “You’re So Vain” is really Tremendous! Gracias Rhea.
My biannual Election Anxiety has been greatly lessened by the orange-atang’s and s’nacilbupeR implosion. My hope is that the far right loonies, snacilbupeR, tea baggers and Christianists have exposed themselves in a way they don’t leer about – as soulless lunatics. Then they crawl back into their dank, dark corners and stay there. Wingnuttery needs to be over. Let the snacilbupeR be dominated again by functional moderates who support functional government. Amen.
18GOTV.
Here in Florida, registration ended today at 5 PM but there is still time to sign up for a vote-by-mail ballot. You’ve got till 11/1 to do that. And PLEASE DO. You can do it online.
Our Republican legislature and governor are more than happy to skimp on the number of voting machines made available in primarily Democratic districts — ensuring long lines which result in fewer votes.
Besides — this is Florida. Given its sordid history, hacking of those machines is not out of the question. An absentee vote is done with a paper ballot.
And, while you’re at it, remember to vote NO on Amendment 1.
19My wife and I have already mailed our ballots, so it’s too late to change our minds if we suddenly decided to vote for Trump. I guess we’re stuck with voting a straight Democratic ticket. Oh well, I can live with it. My first vote was in 1968, and I have not yet knowingly voted for a Republican candidate. I doubt I ever will.
20We’re having a problem with candidates not bothering to put their political affiliation on either their media ads or in their public meetings. Easy enough to figure out: just listen to their rhetoric.
21Maryelle, we Dems have screwed up before…lotsa times! This is a priceless chance not to blow an election. Still, we can never assume anything. Nevah!
Y’all be sure to vote on Nov. 8. Let the apricot vote on Nov. 28! He’ll have the voting booth to himself, which is likely the way he prefers it, especially if an attractive young bimbo is in there and can’t find her way out!
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