Republican Party

This tweet from Luke Russert seems to indicate so:

GOP aides telling me it was a mistake to allow cameras into Obama's QA with GOP members. Allowed BO to refute GOP for 1.5 hours on TV

It might have been a mistake politically for the GOP, but it was a big win for America. It’s time to stop hiding behind factually wrong talking points and start hearing some truth come out. The GOP got owned today and they know it.

Adding…Maybe the GOP thought Obama would fail without a teleprompter. They believe their own bullshit so much that I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s exactly what happened.

Michael Steele’s new book is being coined as a big mea culpa for the Republican party, but how can they admit their failures when they won’t even admit that they ever happened?

Let me take a few bullet points from the AP’s article on Steele’s book:

-President George H.W. Bush for raising taxes two years after President Ronald Reagan left office, though Steele ignores the fact that Reagan raised taxes too.

Right there the AP admits part of the problem – Steele ignored Reagan’s record also. As matter of fact, just try to tell a Republican that Reagan raised taxes and they will look at you like you just got caught raping a kitten. They refuse to accept history.

-President George W. Bush for not vetoing any spending bills during his first five years in office. He calls Bush and other Republicans "enablers for big government" and derides the Bush administration's Troubled Asset Relief Program as "a massive government slush fund."

Hindsight is good and all, but Steele was one of those people out there constantly supporting Bush policies. The Bush tax cuts alone were enough to put this country in financial ruins, yet Steele and other Republicans still champion them as the epitome of conservatism. Or how about the highly expensive and totally unnecessary Iraq War? Steele and Republicans never once say that we should have taken a pass on it.

As for the TARP fund, well I seem to remember the Republican candidate for President doing an unprecedented move of suspending his campaign to fight for TARP. Steele wasn’t out blasting that move then, and we are talking about something that happened only a little over a year ago. Redemption doesn’t happen that fast buddy.

-Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., the party's 2008 presidential nominee, for backing censorship of political speech through the McCain-Feingold campaign finance law. Steele says the GOP erred in allowing itself to be associated with "a national political speech code."

It’s amazing how you can equate finance reform with censorship. The costs to become a national political figure have become grotesque. It is the number one enabler of creating the new American caste system, where only those with obscene amounts of money can become contenders. Simply put, without McCain-Feingold we would see our system become more corrupt by the big money of special interests. It is a government BY the people FOR the people for a reason.

-Republican lawmakers in general, who allowed spending to rise from 2001 to 2004, went along with TARP and McCain-Feingold, and supported the Medicare Part D prescription drug benefit.

Again – not facing reality.The prescription drug benefit wasn’t “supported” by Republicans – it was created by them. That is just a technicality and let’s look past that. It was only a few months ago that Steele was out pushing his platform to “protect” Medicare. Every Republican sold this program as the silver bullet for saving Medicare. Back in 2006, when the program kicked in, Republicans even acted like nothing was wrong as seniors went without life saving medications.

Michael Steele’s points are all good, but I really hope that no one takes them as some sudden awakening. He misses out on many key points and is trying to sell that Pinto with racing stripes as the next Formula One racing car to the American people. It’s a lot easier for Steele to point fingers than to take responsibility, and that is exactly what he is doing.

Now we have Michael Steele taking on Sarah Palin and Rush Limbaugh – the true GOP leadership:

RNC Chairman Michael Steele endorsed moderate Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava (R-NY) in the NY-23 special election before national conservative leaders — like Dick Armey, Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and Sarah Palin — forced Scozzafava out in favor of right-wing candidate Doug Hoffman. Following Hoffman’s defeat, Steele struck back at firebrands within his party, telling reporters earlier today that the opinion of conservative outsiders “really doesn’t matter much”:

STEELE: If you don’t live in the district, don’t vote there, your opinion really doesn’t matter much.

Blitzer later asked about Limbaugh and Palin directly and Steele didn’t really back down much:

So should we start the countdown until Steele goes on Limbaugh’s show to apologize?

Dede Scozzafava is a Republican candidate for NY-23. Last night she held a dinner and afterwards someone from her campaign called the police on John McCormack from the Weekly Standard. Here’s what he says about it:

I spotted Scozzafava later as she was walking to the parking lot, and asked her: " Assemblywoman, do you believe that the health-care bill should exclude coverage for abortion?" She didn't reply. I asked her twice more. Silence.

After she got into her car, I went to my car and fired up my laptop to report the evening's events.

Minutes later a police car drove into the parking lot with its lights flashing. Officer Grolman informed me that she was called because "there was a little bit of an uncomfortable situation" and then took down my name, date of birth, and address.

"Maybe we do things a little differently here, but you know, persistence in that area, you scared the candidate a little bit," Officer Grolman told me.

This sounds like a misunderstanding is all, but let’s look at how Malkin responds to this:

Radical leftist Dede Scozzafava can’t stand the heat

I just read through Scozzafava’s issues page on her campaign site, and nothing strikes me as her being a “radical leftist”. As matter of fact items like these speak the speak the opposite:

Those are two cornerstone conservative points. Yet since Scozzafava is apparently pro-choice that’s enough for Malkin to label her a “radical leftist” and is why people like Malkin are a cancer for the Republican Party. They can’t be honest about the reasons they disagree with the people they like. Instead they believe that if you disagree with them on any one issue then you must be from the other side. If the Republican Party wants to become the party of Steppford, where everyone is the same, then so be it, but they must also plan to remain a diminishing minority until such time that they change this position.

America is a bunch of clones. It’s a country full of unique individuals with different ideas. That’s why the Republican Party is in such dire straits right now. They fail to recognize that and the constant actions by them or their supporters reaffirms this position. Given the lack of choice we have when it comes to parties in this country that leaves those actual Republicans and Conservatives who might disagree on a single issue or two to either give up their voices really being heard or become Democrats.

If the Republicans want to regain power then they need to denounce people like Malkin, Beck, Limbaugh and the rest of the others who are intolerable of any ideal that might not coincide with their own.

The Democrats are starting to seize on the Republican’s cheering against America:

Many Democrats saw the outbursts following the IOC decision – the merry Tweets, videos of cheering conservatives and chest-thumping by party leaders like Newt Gingrich — as part of larger pattern that includes the flirtation of right-wing Texans like Gov. Rick Perry with secession and the caustic tone of right-wing talk radio, embodied by Rush Limbaugh’s “I want him to fail” comment about Obama in January.

“Some of these people are starting to put politics first and country second,” said Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), the head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, taking particular issue with Limbaugh and Glenn Beck.

“The American people are starting to wonder if they are rooting against America,” he added.

If Chicago would have won the bid then we would have seen work stat this week for preparations. Not only would venues be built for the Olympics, but hotels would be upgraded. The economic boom that comes with hosting the Olympics would not have been limited to Chicago, but would have spread out to neighboring states like Wisconsin, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri and even as far as Ohio. All of these states are in hard times and could have used a little good news for their future, but the Republicans didn’t want that.

I believe this gives us a great new campaign tool for 2010 and 2012 – the Republicans rooting against America. The Republicans used it successfully in the early part of the decade, so now its our turn. We should start questioning not only their loyalty to our country, but their patriotism overall. Why would anyone cheer against their own country in a time of economic turmoil? Well as Chris Van Hollen said – they are putting party above country. That kind of makes John McCain’s campaign slogan of ‘country first’ a moot point while reinforcing Rush Limbaugh’s continued wishes for President Obama to fail.

Keep the pressure on the GOP over this latest example of party first and the Democrats could have a decent mid-term next year.

It looks like there is some bigger troubles brewing inside the Republican ranks:

GOP leaders, in a private meeting last month, delivered a blunt and at times heated message to RNC Chairman Michael Steele: quit meddling in policy.

The plea was made during what was supposed to be a routine discussion about polling matters and other priorities in House Minority Leader John Boehner’s office. But the session devolved into a heated discussion about the roles of congressional leadership and Steele, according to multiple people familiar with the meeting.

The congressional leaders were particularly miffed that Steele had in late August unveiled a seniors’ “health care bill of rights” without consulting with them. The statement of health care principles, outlined in a Washington Post op-ed, began with a robust defense of Medicare that puzzled some in a party not known for its attachment to entitlements.

This just highlights the problem the RNC has had – no clear leadership. On one hand some want to jump up and act like the savior, while on the other hand - who would want to be seen piloting the sinking ship? Sure the media wants you to think that the Democratic party is the sinking ship right now, and while their numbers are going down, so are the Republican numbers. When was the last time that the opposition party had approval ratings so low?

For months David Frum has been outspoken when it comes to denouncing the craziness on the right. Here is part of an article in today’s L.A. Times:

They are "wild accusations and the paranoid delusions coming from the fever swamps," said David Frum, a conservative author and speechwriter for President George W. Bush who is among the more vocal critics of the party base and of the conservative talk show hosts helping to fan the unrest.

"Like all conservatives, I am concerned about this administration's accumulation of economic power," Frum said. "Still, you have to be aware that there's a line where legitimate concerns begin to collapse into paranoid fantasy."

The article goes on to say that even more conservatives are becoming vocal on the issue. We saw this last week when Newt Gingrich came out defending President Obama’s speech to school children.

But the article goes on to talk about something I didn’t know – a possible coalition between the RNC and WorldNetDaily:

Some are pressuring the Republican National Committee and other mainstream GOP groups to cut ties with WorldNetDaily.com, which reports some of the allegations. Its articles are cited by websites and pundits on the right. More than any other group, critics say, WorldNetDaily sets the conservative fringe agenda.

Critics charge that the RNC has paid WorldNetDaily for access to its mailing list, estimated to number in the hundreds of thousands, and that the RNC is therefore subsidizing the website's anti-Obama writings.

RNC spokeswoman Gail Gitcho did not respond to questions on the matter.

Could you imagine the outcry if the DNC gave its mailing list to a group like MoveOn? It would be a death blow to the Democratic Party.

The article does echo a sentiment I have heard from numerous longtime Republicans. They feel like the days of common sense and sanity are coming to an end, and a lot blame people like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck, who really don’t care that much about the Republicans as they do their ratings.

Of course all of this is to be expected. When the Democrats became a very small minority in the early 2000s, it seemed like we became a party of truthers. Those of us who were Democrats and didn’t accept the whole “9/11 was an inside job” crazy talk didn’t associate with them. The Democrats did something though that the Republicans are failing to – they distanced themselves from the craziness. The Republicans are embracing it, and if somehow this craziness spreads into giving the GOP a majority then the future of our nation is very dark indeed.

Yesterday there was a pro-secession rally in Texas, or as I like to call it “the Rick Perry fan club”. One of the chants they were yelling - “we hate the United States”. Could you imagine that being yelled by people on the left during the Bush years? Welcome to the no-fly list, being intercepted by NSA and followed by the Pentagon.

But this doesn’t seem to be a problem confined to Texas. At the tea rallies and townhalls the right exhibiting more and more hatred to our nation. When we have people proudly declare they are “right wing terrorists” and Republican congressmen offering them support, then the problem becomes symbolic with the Republican Party.

It’s amazing that the party of Lincoln is so damn set on tearing this nation apart. Could you imagine if he was alive today to see this? Hell – could you imagine if Reagan was alive today to see this? The Republican Party has become a party of whackos and until it finds true leadership the membership will continue to deteriorate.

I can’t say I am sad to see my one Senator leave office, but I do like how he decided to unleash on the southern Republicans:

The GOP’s biggest problem? “We got too many Jim DeMints (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburns (R-Ok.). It’s the southerners. They get on TV and go 'errrr, errrrr.' People hear them and say, ‘These people, they’re southerners. The party’s being taken over by southerners. What they hell they got to do with Ohio?’ ”

This very thing could be seen in last year’s election when the Republicans lost all New England seats. It’s also the epitome of the shrinking tent syndrome plaguing today’s GOP.

Chris Cillizza thinks we could be seeing the emergence of a new Republican Leader in Lindsey Graham:

Graham, who spent the 2008 election cycle as Sen. John McCain's loyal sidekick, appeared alongside former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney, the GOP frontrunner in advance of 2012, and managed to stand out.

Why? Because unlike other Republicans who seem to be so fixated on scoring political points on President Obama, Graham was willing to point out where his own party had strayed while also making a reasonable argument for GOP ideals.

Asked about Gov. Mark Sanford's extramarital affair, Graham, who is close to the governor, said that he was "disappointed" in his friend's behavior and praised Obama as "one of the better role models in the entire country for the idea of being a good parent, a good father."

Graham is playing the good guy right now, but that isn’t what the higher-ups in the GOP want. Instead they want attack dogs; people who will viciously attack anything President Obama does. That will prevent someone like Graham from becoming a de facto leader, and will help keep the GOP in the minority for some time to come.

There is no argument that when it comes to our politicians and their little sexcapades we have a double standard in this nation – a standard clearly divided amongst party lines.

Take John Edwards, Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer or Jim McGreevey. These four Democrats suffered severely for their extramarital affairs. One was impeached, two were force out of office and the other has no political future.

But when we switch to the Republican side and look at Mark Sanford, John Ensign, David Vitter and Larry Craig, they were able to continue. Craig of course decided not to run again, but that was his choice. Mark Sanford and John Ensign have vowed to stay in office even though the hypocrisy now triumphs over any good they can do. These were men who adamantly yelled for Bill Clinton to be impeached. Now that they are swimming in the same pool, impeachment isn’t an option.

So why is this? I can only assume that Democrats are held to a higher standard by the public and their own beliefs. This really puts a damper on the Republican Party being the party of values, since every value they claim to believe they end up ignoring.

Republicans have a major problem moving forward. Not only are they viewed poorly on every issue across the board, but the one issue they always did have is now gone. That issue is family values. People like Tony Perkins try to hold on to yesteryear and thinking the Republicans are the superior moral beings, but the people have realized that Republican superiority is now synonymous with hypocrisy.

And no I’m not talking about the Tom Cruise flick.

Washington Post’s Dan Balz has a very interesting article up today about the shifting demographics in our nation and how it is really putting the hurt on Republicans, to the point they are facing a permanent minority status:

For the past few months, political analysts and demographers have been poring over the results of the 2008 election and comparing them with presidential results from the past two decades. From whatever angle of their approach -- age, race, economic status, geography -- they have come to a remarkably similar conclusion. Almost all indicators are pressing the Republicans into minority status.

Republicans are still capable of winning individual elections, but until they find a way to reverse, or at least minimize, these broader changes in the country, their chances of returning to majority status will be severely reduced.

This is something many of us have felt for a long time. The inside the beltway thinkers try to sell this meme that we are a “right leaning” nation. There is some truth to that considering even our liberals are actually more right than the global norm, but in terms of American politics we are a left leaning nation. Here is one major indicator to validate this theory:

Democrats have won the popular vote in four of the past five elections, though in one case (2000) they did not end up in the White House. In years in which they have also won the electoral vote, Democrats have racked up sizable margins. Obama bested John McCain by 365 to 173, and Bill Clinton's two victories were in the same range. George W. Bush's two electoral-college victories were narrow; he won 271 votes in the disputed election of 2000 and 286 in his 2004 reelection.

Republicans love to try and rewrite history. I can’t count how many times I have heard them talk about Bush’s victories as though they were some major referendum, when in fact they were some of the closest elections this country has ever seen.

Some might take this as great news for the Democrats, but in fact it is bad news for our nation. I have blogged countless times about the need for a strong minority party. Its a crucial part of the checks and balances needed to keep our government on the right track.

So I hope Republicans read Dan’s article and take it to heart. They aren’t going to change the country or its people. They need to start changing. They need to expand their tent and become open to more ideas. At the same time they also need to distance themselves from the crazies that are right wing extremists. Stop grasping onto groups like the pro-lifers as some sort of massive demographic that will boost you back into majority status. They are not. Instead embrace a wide range of ideas and build from there. Then we might have a two party system capable of keeping the important balance of power in our nation.

When Arlen Specter switched parties last month the chairman of the Hamilton County Republican Party came under fire for posting a picture of a bald Specter and comparing him to Dr. Evil. Well the latest antics of Alex Triantafilou aren’t as derogatory, but could rather be chalked up as just idiotic ramblings:

Is the winner of American Idol a Republican? I watched about 60 minutes of that show all year, but it seems he was certainly the more conservative of the two finalists. The other finalist was very good and maybe more talented, but America voted for the more traditional person. On talent alone, I probably would've voted for the 2nd place finisher. Adam Lambert was very good. But, the winner, Kris Allen, was certainly more traditional and conservative in his approach.

Well he watched about 60 minutes more of American Idol than I did and I could careless if the winner was a Republican or Democrat. It just amazes me that this guy would even spend time on something like this. No wonder the Republican Party is in so much trouble.

It doesn’t matter what President Obama does. The only thing that matters to Republicans is to oppose it:

The National Republican Trust PAC, currently the best-funded and most aggressive independent Republican group, has dispatched a round of letters to Republican senators threatening to go after senators who back President Obama's judicial nominees.

"I encourage you to keep steadfast and stay true to your Republican conservative values and beliefs as you anticipate potential nominees put before you by this Administration," writes Scott Wheeler, the executive director of the PAC, which spent $7.5 million in 2008 -- most of it running ads featuring Jeremiah Wright in the closing days of the presidential campaign -- and another $1 million on attack ads in the recent New York special election.

The letter warns that constituents will "hold you accountable" for support of a nominee, and recalls the group's fierce attack on Arlen Specter when he voted for the stimulus package.

When you hear Republicans scream and cry about a lack of “bi-partisanship”, remember this news. They have absolutely no ambition to work with the President. Instead they want to be the party of no.

This brings me to my next point – it’s time to call their bluff.

Perhaps Obama should go out and nominate someone like John Yoo or some other neo-con lawyer to become the next justice. Let the Democrats vote the person down, but it would be fun to see what the children of the right do then. Will they oppose such a nominee just because Obama nominated him? It’s time to show America exactly how childish the Republicans truly are. Maybe then we can start focusing on having a strong minority party to help keep a level of checks and balances. Right now all we have is a joke in the minority.

Roll Call has blasted Eric Cantor and the GOP’s “rebranding effort” for their use of taxpayer dollars to foot the bill for this:

As believers in a strong two-party system, we support Republican efforts to “rebrand,” “reach out” to the public and develop new ideas.

But political work, such as that being done by the National Council for a New America created by House Minority Whip Eric Cantor (R-Va.), should be done with political money and not with resources paid for by taxpayers.

As Roll Call reported on Monday, Cantor staff and GOP ethics attorney Jan Baran have walked a very fine line to comply with House rules in funding, publicizing and staffing the new organization.

But we think that the whole endeavor ought to be paid for out of political contributions.

The NCNA’s original launch letter carefully — though disingenuously — declared “this is not a Republican-only forum.”

And Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said in one conference call that “this is a conversation with America. This is not a rebranding effort.”

Just think about this for a minute. The Republicans are using taxpayer funds to try and fix their own public image. How does this sit with conservatives? Should people have to pay taxes to help fix the Republican brand? Couldn’t this start the slippery slope to socialism?

I think the Republicans have a lot to answer for on this. If the conservative branch of their party is truly conservative then the harshest questions should be coming from those who say they champion for smaller government spending and a reduction of the abuse of taxpayer dollars.