dilemma

It looks like Dove World Outreach Center is in for some financial turmoil:

The controversial Florida pastor who threatened to burn Korans on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks is expected to be billed at least $200,000 by the city of Gainesville for costs associated with the stunt.

Pastor Terry Jones, who got international attention with his on-again, off-again plan to burn 200 copies of Islam's holiest book, said the costs would essentially bankrupt his 50-member church, the Dove World Outreach Center.

"That would be impossible for us to pay," Jones said. "That would bankrupt us, of course."

It will be interesting to see how some of Jones’ supporters on the right defend him now. Will they back Jones or the city of Gainesville? Talk about a wingnut dilemma!

Perhaps that is a saying that should be echoed through the offices of the RNC and the Republican leadership. From the latest example of this practice, let’s look at the ongoing battle Michael Steele is waging with his own members in Senate:

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME), a pro-stimulus Republican who will be up for re-election in 2012, told Roll Call that she approached Steele about his comments and asked him bluntly: "You didn't really mean that, did you?" She said that Steele has agreed to set up a meeting with the three pro-stimulus GOPers to discuss this.

Snowe pointed out that the loss of GOP moderates, and the view that they don't belong in the party, has contributed to the party's overall decrease. "When we were in the majority, there were more of us. Now that we're in the minority, there are less of us," Snowe explained, also adding: "If that's what they want to be, well that's their choice."

Snowe is referring to Steele’s threat of not giving RNC money for the re-election of the Senators who voted for the stimulus. This is the practice of “accept our entire agenda or get out” that has helped push the Republicans into their current dilemma. Sadly the RNC is also rich when it comes to egos, so they don’t see any wrong in this.

And they don't care. That is obvious considering they won't attend debates held by black or Hispanic moderators. Cornell West (who I am a big fan of) has this to say about the current GOP dilemma:

The GOP debate in Baltimore at Morgan State University, led and moderated by Tavis Smiley, and currently being snubbed by the leading candidates, is a pivotal moment in this election. It is a litmus test for a Republican Party that, in the past, has run away from black voters and only selectively interacted with Hispanic citizens.

At this moment in American history, it is clear that either the Republican Party wisely embraces people of color, or it chooses to be a losing political party in the future. The courage and vision of Tavis Smiley, and his often overlooked but historic Covenant movement, has put the limelight on this dilemma of the Republican Party.

We shall see which choice the Republican Party makes in regard to people of color in particular, but most importantly to their future as a party in the American democratic experiment.