Quo Vadis, Party of Lincoln?
by Primo Encarnación
Whither the GOP?
A past of sub rosa bigotry masquerading as pandering to “values” voters has led to a future of subfusc outlook for the Republican Party. Unable to compete in the marketplace of ideas, especially as it pertains to supply-side economics, the GOP has embarked on a race to the electoral bottom, convincing “real” Americans that all their “worser” angels are, in fact, patriots on their right shoulder. The path that got us here is clear and unambiguous. And while a certain amount of schadenfreude has accompanied the current discomfiture of the Republican elite, now that their darker chickens have come home to roost, I actually view with alarm the impending explosion of the Republican Party.
The concept of America functions best when competing ideologies bring solutions for issues to the table and then work out a compromise that leaves no one satisfied but everyone moving forward in roughly the same direction. This concept results in a fits-and-starts progress which, when it works, is maddeningly slow and unsatisfactory.
But it’s better than the alternative, which is what we now face: entrenched ideological opposition to anything but total victory, with legislators living in fear of being found insufficiently radical. So the Jacobins ousted John Boehner and his lieutenants, going so far as to primary Eric Cantor, merely for appearing to compromise. They stood these fellows against the wall, “pour encourager les autres.”
So what comes next? Here is a phrase I have trouble uttering: I don’t know. I have been trying for weeks to put myself into the tasseled loafers of the GOP elite and figure a way out of this mess. All I’ve come up with is that Reince Priebus has to go. His whole raison d’etre – President Scott Walker – is back licking his wounds under a Wisconsin rock. His singular achievement was a report after the last electoral beat down they took investigating why people don’t like the GOP candidates, because they’re all such nice old white guys. This waaahmbulance was promptly ignored, and the nightmare clown-car scenario it sought to avoid now stalks the earth, fanged and frothing.
So that’s all I’ve got. Reince has to go, and needs to be replaced by someone strong but not crazy, with an impeccable Republican resume and the cojones to match, who can call this whole pack of candidates baying at the moon to heel, and build a successful, loyal opposition invested in governing in harness with the next Democratic president for the next 8 years. Who is this avatar of center-rectitude?
I have no idea. Almost anyone of note that you could name is either too old, too weak, or too tainted by radical pandering and/or dark money and/or being in a Bush Administration. Who does that leave? Seriously, I open this discussion up to you folks; I haven’t got a clue how to save them from themselves.
Assuming we want to.
What needs to happen is for the Democrats the get (and I hate this word) proactive. They need to make sure minorities know how very important it is for them to get out and vote. I don’t think there has been a more dangerous time in history for them when they also had the power to save themselves. They need to be shown that their votes matter and will help determine their (and all of our) fates for at least the next 4 years. The extreme importance of non-presidential elections should also be emphasized, as was show during the last round that stalled Obamas presidency before it could get started.
My fear is that we can’t win either way. If the R-Klan’s win, I believe they will fix it where they cannot be beaten again. If they don’t win, they have already shown what they can do at the national, state, and local levels to enforce their corruption. Additionally, they will have whipped their base into such a fervor that a loss will probably end violently, as they have basically created a army of zombies. When they don’t get their way, they send them out to “take back America”.
As for what to do, make sure there are enough votes that they cannot steal the election again. A decisive win is all that will work, but in the White House and the House of Reps.
1I proudly display a bumper sticker I bought from zazzle.com — It’s red, white, and blue, with an upside down Republican icon and the words “Do Not Resuscitate” in white on a blue background. The Republicans happily dug the hole they’re in and jumped in with great fanfare. They haven’t figured out that the first thing they need to do is stop digging. They are well on their way to becoming a third tier local party, and I refuse to lift a finger to slow their progress.
2This 40 year Republican, who “got wise” during the Cheney/Bush presidency debacle agrees. The Republican Party I voted for has left me behind. They do not in any way represent what I want to happen in America.
3Why would anyone,gawd included,want to save this cluster-**** from itself?
4Okay,seriously may I suggest iowa freshman sinator and former KGB agent-Ivanna Kuturnutzov? She is clairvoyant and far-sighted. She congratulated iowa Hawkeyes for winning the Big !0 football championship last Saturday night even though my beloved Hawks lost in the final half minute. And the way she brays when she laughs would slay Dems at a 1000 yards.All she’d have to do is threaten to laugh and both sides would capitulate.
5This country is made for a two party system. A new more moderate Republican party will arise just as a new more conservative Democratic Party arose after George McGovern and Eugene McCarthy.
You can use the phoenix metaphor or the pendulum metaphor, but I prefer the evolution metaphor. Some people tend to forget that in the evolutionary process there are a lot of mistakes but the only part we see are the successes. The current Republican party is just a dead branch on our evolutionary tree.
6The R-Klan cannot be saved from themselves. What I see happening is a Democratic discourse between progressives and centrists as more and more voters come to their senses and vote for their best interests instead of the 1%. Bernie, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary, John Kerry, Kirsten Gillibrand just to name a few excellent legislators and statesmen.
7Wither the GOP.
8i think the moderate republican you seek is here, and her name is Hillary Clinton.
one way or another, her presidency may well revive the republican party. we’ll see in 6 or 8 years.
9@Ralph
10I think the two party system is the problem. What good does it do to pit the country against itself every 4 years? It has basically become a civil war fought in the media and voting booths. We need government that was actually voted in by the people to serve them, at no gain to itself and to the detriment of none. No politicians to buy and no lobbyists to pay for them.
I think you’ve got it right Ralph. Susan Collins may be a reasonable enough person to do the trick. I’m having trouble thinking of anyone else in the R-party that is even sane? Cornyn is terrified (and rightly so!) of being primaried; Ryan is not sane, he’s a tea partier; McConnell might be able to do it if he followed Mrs McConnell’s instructions explicitly, but he’s none too secure; McCarthy is out, he couldn’t even be speaker! Are there any rational R Governors left? I’m having a hard time coming up with any attm!
11Nicest thing Richard Milhouse Nixon ever did for the Democratic Party was to siphon off the Dixiecrats. I shudder to think that Strom Thurmond was a Democrat. Could be why most of my family are registered Independents; we only ‘declare’ for important primaries, then re-register. Best thing President Obama has done for the Democratic Party was shipping old Max Baucus off to China. C’mon Obi-Wan Kenobi you still have time to send a few more DINOs on one way trips. Please, sir.
As for the snacilbupR party, would someone please name the last decent Republicon. And please do not list Eisenhower. Operation ***back disqualifies him. Bob Dole, maybe? Anyway, pick one. Then anyone to the right of them becomes play toys for Senators McCain and Graham to send to Iraq, Syria, Somalia or anyplace they want to play war. BTW They cannot carry the US flag; may the redneck rag be their guidon.
Oh. OOPS. Fix the Republicons was the assignment. On that I vote with e platypus onion. Let “iowa freshman sinator and former KGB agent-Ivanna Kuturnutzov” do the job she claimed she would do in Dee Cee. Neuter enough of them and maybe the rest will grab a clue.
12Dick Cheney for Chairman of the RNC.
Yes, I said Dick Cheney. Yes he is evil. Yes, he is a war criminal. Yes, he and his spawn Lunatic Liz make you want to bang your head against a wall until you fall into a coma. And yes I’m pretty sure there is a fiery level of hell just for him—But this is the republican party we’re talking about. The only way to deal with them is to have the man who probably snacked on Fiddle Faddle while watching torture videos smack ’em upside the head— because it is now possible they are even crazier than him.
And that even scares the Dark Lord Cheney.
13But in the meantime let’s spend every day talking about the nutjobs instead of talking about the serious problem solvers. Be really careful when you point fingers. There are always some pointing back at you.
14And Primo? It’s not my job… or yours… to fix the Republican party. They can fix themselves… assuming they even want to.
15PKM, I can name several. Now, bear in mind that they are snacilbupeR, and so had their many flaws, but I will say that Christine Todd Whitman tops my list.
John McCain pre-SCPrimary, 2000 – I have met him a couple of times and have come away charmed – after that, though, he got the fever, and sold his soul.
True also of the late Henry Hyde, whom I was delighted to spend some time with near the end of his time in Congress, a gentleman, but OH! with a roving eye! I’ve also known his successor, Roskam: a complete reptile, now among so-called House leadership – cowardly but shifty.
Libby Dole springs to mind. I remarked to friends in ’96 that the wrong Clinton AND the wrong Dole were running.
16Angela – interesting: Liz Cheney was someone who I considered!
JAK: I know! It’s just an intellectual exercise that, as a former political operative, I find fascinating: a mindwalk thru a minefield, as it were.
17I grew up being told that ‘politics is the art of compromise”. Now I see bloggers calling for the complete destruction of the GOP, on the grounds that their refusal to compromise is the complete antithesis of what politics is all about. They’re not politicians any more, just lobbyists.
I can’t say I disagree. On the other hand, I have zero respect for the Dems since they stopped ‘walking the walk’ on behalf of unions and the poor. When they quit being willing to stand on the picket lines – and get their heads busted – they lost the respect of an entire class of people, including me.
It doesn’t really matter as much as we’d like to think. IMHO the situation is broken beyond the ability of politics to fix. I just make a bowl of popcorn and watch the cartoons.
18A vector I know, but a short story..
Due to the requirements of my day job I attended a golf match this morning. I was in a group of 4, one of whom was a nacilbupeR. And of course a T partier. He was also a s-l-o-w player. Finally with 18 in site and a sub-100 round in the bag, I heard him say as he teed up “I can hit this ball 300 yards on this hole.” Coupla less than admirable thoughts shot through my head a nano-second later: numero uno, “Dude you have averaged 80yard drives up to now. What makes you think you can pull a manly 300yards out of your @$$ here?” Numero two-oh, “So you think you can a golf ball 300 yards? I betcha I can hit your golf ball at 300 yards.” With appropriate optics of course.
Thank goodness the tournament ended shortly thereafter. I departed asap. As you can imagine…
19DaChipster: Sorry. But I’d rather spend my brain time somewhwere else.
20Well, if they don’t fail, God help us all.
I think Rafael is waiting for T-Rump to fail or bail on Republicans and the remains will be his.
21He scares me more then T-Rump.
“President Scott Walker – is back licking his wounds under a Wisconsin rock.”
I don’t know why you would – – but if you find the need to track him down you might start by looking under chunks of red granite. It’s the state rock.
22daChipster, I can agree with “John McCain pre-SCPrimary, 2000.” As a kid I had several phone conversations with his staff during that time frame and was afforded an opportunity to meet the Senator. He was was very gracious to our family.
Joel, don’t know that I would classify the “Goldwater Girl” as a moderate Republican. She’s pretty much a neocon war-hawk. If Senator Sanders does not win the nomination, I may need a very stiff drink after pulling the lever for Hill. The only good thing about that is she would likely be a one term president and followed by VP Castro. Staying home or voting snacilbupeR are not options for me.
23Micr: due to the requirements of my first day job I often was required to attend golf matches: caddying! In fact, they were rather insistent on that point.
As for 300 yards and straight? My last eagle was a ten-foot putt on a 310-yard par four. Self-five! Lol. Of course, that was in ’08…..
24@daChipster
25From time to time either because my boss’s boss demands it or because I feel like screwing a perfectly good walk, I play a round of golf. My goal is to one day card a score equal to or better than my age. Of course that would require I stay physically active etc to about a 100.
Aggieland Liz – Charlie Baker of Massachusetts is the only one I can come up with. And the mainstream GOP would never accept him, because he’s a rational adult. Anyway, I think he has too much sense to want the job. (I voted against the man, by the way, and would do it again given the same candidates. But I don’t disagree with everything he says or does.)
26I have no idea if there are any sane Republicans who could command enough respect and leverage to steer the party out of the black hole they’ve thrown themselves into. I just wish that we had (at least) two parties who are both committed to governing the country. The GOP started going crazy in 1980 with Reagan’s “Government is the problem” lines, and they’ve been getting worse and farther right ever since. Now they’ve got a front-runner who gets cheered, and remains front-runner, when he says he wants to bar all Muslims from the country. It’s hard to feel sorry for them when they’re reaping the whirlwind of their own folly, but the country is suffering because of the serious governmental dysfunction they’ve caused. I want (at least) two functioning political parties ready to talk with each other, compromise, and govern the country.
And I want every politician who claims that climate change is a hoax to be roasted over a slow fire, because we have wasted decades on that fossil-fuel-backed BS and we don’t have time to bugger around any more.
27Speaking of golf, T-Rump had ambitions to build a couple of courses in Dubai. But due to his big mouth, his former participants in the venture who just happen to be Muslim are kicking him to the curb. Karma!
Golf. The one sport in which I can out dummy Donnie or say something as offensive as him. I see no purpose in chasing something across a field with a stick that I can’t take to bed.
Off to the jeweler and florist for that ‘joke’ in poor taste.
Rhea on behalf of the environment isn’t there some way we can sterilize them for plant food?
28DaChipster,
Several years ago, in the waning years of the GW Bush fiasco, I had a favorite quip I freely handed out to all my R friends. I would tell them, “Inside every thinking Republican is an Independent just waiting to be born.” Even I had no idea how true this was – many of them are now leaving the R party for the I party or just plain not voting anymore.
I agree with many of the sentiments expressed above, but lets face it – the two party system has a problem. No matter how rotten a given party is, all they have to do is wait awhile for the other guys to screw up and then they get elected as the “only” alternative. America needs to (1) REPEAL Citizens United and get the dirty money out of control of elections, and (2) elect Independents and other parties into power so that the R’s and the D’s have to earn the public’s trust instead of just waiting for the other guys to screw up.
IMHO.
29Nikki Haley seems pretty reasonable, no? For a Southern Republican?
30@PKM
You remind me of the commonality at all ages of men in romantic relationships. In my nightmares I can still hear by little bride at 19 yelling at me,
31“Get a job”
“Get off my sister.”
“Stop dealing in my house.”
Micr, thanks buddy. With your fine comments as an example, I might just escape with jewelry and flowers. Then again, to be safe I’m adding in a nice bottle of wine and fixing dinner.
Annabelle Lee, Nikki Haley: pretty yes; reasonable? Maybe.
Given that the Outlaw Jersey Whale, Governor Cartman made an attempt to ooze out of the mire a couple of weeks ago as “the reasonable one,” I’d say the snailbupeR are screwed. JEB(?) the next alternative; royally screwed.
As for Daffy Cruz, Jr., I do not fear that he will be the snacibupeR nominee. The Con establishment really hates him.
32I would almost have considered McCain only because Dole is too old, I think. I look back longingly when Steele was there, at the time I hated his guts to bad I started drinking.
33Blather, Reince, repeat.
34Micr: I bow to your Churchill remark and share with you my frustration: my father has been shooting his age for the past 10 years. He is now 85! 85 is a good day for me, anymore.
I have never been able to better him, golf-wise. I have caddied in two Western Opens, for Tony Cerda and Mark Lye. My dad has caddied for Snead and Hogan! Sam (expletive) Snead and Ben (deleted) Hogan! And Hogan won the tournament! Never had a hole in one. Dad has had five. Me, with the writing? That’s Dad with the golf. I’m not sure I wouldn’t trade him, straight up. But we’re all our fathers’ sons, eh?
35The Repubs are a nasty mess, but the Dems are not blameless. Now would be the perfect time for the Dems to show that the party actually has some core beliefs. I can name a dozen things that define the Republican party; the Dems are a vapid mess, with a few exceptions.
We need a party that is populist and the Dems could be that, but currently they aren’t. They aren’t even 100% for Social Security and Medicare, core middle class issues. Dem politicians mostly go along to get along instead of fighting for the people they are supposed to represent.
I hope that is changing.
36@daChipster
37The frustration of golf for me is that as my contemporaries and I have aged my game has worsened as theirs has improved. (I carried a very good handicap in HS and thought of trying for a tour card.) In our 60s when I return to my hometown I play a round with my HS buds. Three of them are in the high 80s. Not 85 but 87 or 9. My score is never below 100 there any more. Same course 40 years later from -3 to about +18 or so. A round of golf nearly destroys my remaining ego
Colin Powell. It could never be Haley! She’s a Woman for god’s sake!
Powell has a wide range of respect, is smart, reasonable, moderate and pragmatic. Teabaggers hate him and that’s a solid endorsement for all the rest of us.
A constitutional amendment tightly regulating government bribery, er, donations, at all levels is critical to the redevelopment of democracy in this nation. I don’t like living in an oligarchy.
BTW, today’s census report shows that, for the first time since 196?, the middle class is less than 50% of the American population. SnacilbupeR call that $ucce$$!
38Debbo, General Powell remains a Republican for his pure pleasure of annoying the he77 out of the snacilbupeR. Wish I could cite the source and General Powell’s exact words; but that is a close approximation.
Should he ever become serious about entering politics which is doubtful after his experience with Dubya and Darth Dickey, most likely he would be an Independent or a Democrat.
39@Larry from Colorado – Me too.
40I can’t remember why just at the moment, but Nikki Haley not on my list. And I was aghast and bitterly disappointed too, I thought she had some sense! Think it has to do with Planned Parenthood? Gotta go search…whatever did I do before teh Google?
41As any alcoholic knows you gotta admit there’s a problem first, most often right after hitting rock bottom. Took my son 20 years to get to now two years of bliss. Maybe 2016? Maybe 2020? I know quite a few Republicans who don’t like what’s going on but hate Dems more. Fair enough; I feel the same about them. Some day after sensible (for lack of a better word) Republicans get tired of being slapped around by the Freedom Caucus they’ll throw ’em out.
Unless they secretly like it.
42“Ooh, baby. Make me vote against my own best interest. I’ll do it for you.”
Sorry, but Colin Powell forever damaged his reputation for integrity by “selling” the invasion of Iraq with false information.
43He remains tainted by the Bush “weapons of mass destruction”
cabal, and as Secretary of State at the time, bears huge responsibility for that debacle.