The newer, friendlier, nicer Republican party (if they manage to rebrand)
So, we've got the nutters doubling-down on the old strategy (god, guns, capitalism, brown people are scary!) and alleged party moderates trying to say "Hold on, now, we're going to have to reform."
Don't trust them.
It's not like we're talking about an aesthetic question like whether folk should remain acoustic or go electric, it's not like a professional preferring a certain toolset for a number of years and finally coming around to seeing the wisdom of the new-fangled way of doing things, coming onboard. It's not like someone growing up in a bigoted environment and giving up those beliefs due to life experience and coming to see the error of his ways. These people were drinking the kool-aid the week before.
Not to go all Godwin but this is like denazification after WWII. Party membership was required. I'm not going to fault the police chief for wearing the armband and shouting the slogans. I am going to fault him for going along with rounding up the Jews. I'm not going to fault the factory worker for taking part in the war machine but I will fault the industrialist who helped put Hitler in power in the first place, those who enthusiastically cooperated with the Reich and reaped the benefits.
You can at least respect the consistency of a fanatical true believer, the brutal honesty. Of course, the only good thing you can find to say about them is also the reason why they need killing, because they will never surrender, will never see reason, will use their dying breath to spit at you. You can't even say that much about the converts. These assholes were willing to follow the party line set by the true believers, the hardliners, the fanatics, but the moment the winds change they're willing to pretend they've come to reason. If they had any reason, if they had any principle, they never would have sided with such monsters. And we're talking America, not Nazi Germany. You might risk your political career telling Grover Norquist to go fuck himself but you won't be risking your life.
So, Jindal, you're willing to admit your party is full of shit? Fine. Leave public life in shame. Hughes, you knew the kind of misogynists you were getting in bed with from the start, don't act so surprised and outraged by all the rape talk. Frum, you cut your ties far enough back and have taken enough shit from them, at least you've shown you have some integrity. You're welcomed back to humanity on a probational basis.
