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· “The Republicans’ sudden reversion to the solemn frugality of their forebears would be amusing were it not so dangerous. Having established a record over the past decade or so as the wildest wastrels in the nation’s history, they now present themselves as straight-laced accountants who simply cannot abide a misspent dime.”-- Joe Conason, journalist, 1/8/09
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Republicans must also suffer from some form of learning disability. For some reason, they can’t read the writing on the wall.
· “[In the last two Congressional elections] Republicans lost and Democrats gained 55 seats in the House of Representatives and 14 seats in the Senate... They turned a $200 billion budget surplus into a $1 trillion deficit. They caused the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. They started the stupidest, most unnecessary war in American history. ... Only 19 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of Republicans in Congress, down from 24 percent at the beginning of the year. In contrast, 68 percent of Americans give a favorable rating to President Obama.”--Bernie Horn, Campaign for America’s Future, 2/17/09
· “[A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll (3/3/09)] shows that 41% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction, ...up from 12% before the election. ...By a margin of more than 2-1, Americans trust the Democratic Party over the Republicans to get the country out of the recession. Views of the GOP are near an all-time low. And more than half of all adults say that Republicans in Congress have opposed Mr. Obama’s proposals more to gain political advantage, compared with 30% who say Republicans have done so because they are standing up for their principles.”--The Wall Street Journal, 3/5/09
...and how do the Republicans interpret these ominous numbers?
· “As Republicans, ...I think we have to admit what our sales job has been poor.”-- Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 1/29/09
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No. Absolutely not! The Republican Party’s decline is not the result of a poor sales job. The Republican Party’s problem is that it is selling the same warmed-over conservative crap that it’s been peddling for the past thirty years (at least). It didn’t work then--it won’t work now.
We don’t know if President Obama has the right answers or not; but we already know where the Republicans’ conservative policies lead. We are living through the mess they created right now.
The current crop of Republican lawmakers can offer no solutions to America’s problems because their under-active conservative brains cannot even perceive the problems--let alone respond to them. If moderate Republicans don’t regain control of their party; it is destined to become a regional party of southern conservatives, clinging to their guns and religion, and quarrelling over whether their next Presidential candidate should be Sara Palin or Joe the Plumber. Next stop: the dustbin of history--along with the Whigs and Tories.
It couldn’t happen to a more deserving party.
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