Republicans can't let extremists be party's public face

[pampango]

Source: Chicago Sun Times

Are the likes of Rand Paul and Russell Pearce becoming the face of the Republican Party? Let's hope not.

Pearce, the Arizona legislator who sponsored the state's tough anti-illegal immigrant law, has now decided to target not only illegal immigrants but their U.S.-citizen children as well. Both men represent the soft underbelly of the populist movement that catapulted them to fame -- and a danger to the future of the Republican Party. Paul's comments on the Civil Rights Act, which he has tried to soften since he uttered them on the left-wing Rachel Maddow show on MSNBC, were no mere faux pas. His simple answer to Maddow's direct question, "Do you think that a private business has the right to say we don't serve black people?" was "Yes."

And the 14th Amendment appears to be the next target of Republican populists. Pearce, in an e-mail sent to supporters, recently said that he would offer legislation "that would refuse to accept or issue a birth certificate that recognizes citizenship to those born to illegal aliens, unless one parent is a citizen."

Pearce is a nasty piece of work. In the e-mail to supporters on citizenship, Pearce forwarded a supporter's view that the bill might be deemed sexist, but that "we need to target the mother. . . . Men don't drop anchor babies, illegal alien mothers do." Asked by a reporter what he thought of the language, Pearce said he didn't see anything wrong with it.

The Republican Party cannot allow extremists to become its public face. The party's history in promoting civil rights is an honorable one, from the time of its founding as the anti-slavery party to the passage of the very civil rights law Paul criticized. If not for Republicans, there would be no Civil Rights Act of 1964. A larger percentage of Republicans than Democrats, 82 percent to 66 percent, supported the bill in the key Senate vote, which led to its final passage. It's time the GOP got back to its roots and disavows these ugly sentiments.

Read more: http://www.suntimes.com/news/otherviews/2338124,CST-EDT-open01.article

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Interesting use of percentages regarding the Civil Rights Act of 1964 in terms of party votes. Of course, the Dixiecrat Democrats were the reason for the unusual percentages and they have all, by and large, become republicans today.

[Rosa Luxemburg]

1. as long as the Raving Loony Right party splits the GOP vote

[elias49]

2. Oh, please. Let the extremists control the message 'till November

What a lovely mid-term it would be!

[superconnected]

3. I had a republican friend tell me this weekend that he believes businesses should have a right to

refuse people because they are black.

He doesn't think he's racist. He thinks he's pro businesses not being told what to do.

[The_Commonist]

5. Then my business should have the right to refuse...

...people because they are Republicans, or because they are stupid, or because they are ugly, or because they are "christians", or because they are...

Where does it end?

[paparush]

12. Well, since all True Christians (tm) are

smart, beautiful, and white, you'll have no problem with this.

:sarcasm: x 10000000000

[Solly Mack]

4. Extremists have been the public face of the GOP for a long time now.

It's not as if this mentality hasn't been nurtured and cultivated by the GOP - because it has. To pretend now that, somehow, such thinking hasn't been promoted by the GOP is a big fat lie. The attempt to distance themselves from the "extremes" the GOP itself created, controlled, and embraced is laughable. Next they'll be claiming that Bush wasn't really one of them either or that his father was actually a secret liberal...oh wait...

I know...they can point to Rand as a extreme and not mainstream to the GOP thought and then they can point to Newt as the reasoned and rational republican.

Snort

[rocktivity]

6. Well, I'm all for it--for our sakes!

I say that the GOP should keep right on mortifying their moderates, embarrassing their evangelicals, and losing their loyalists! Go, GOP, go--RAH RAH RAH!


rocktivity

[Scuba]

7. More rope ! More rope !

[Doctor_J]

8. Yes they can

they're going to win massively in November, by doing just that. As long as Big Media remains unpunished, unchallenged, they can be as nutty as they want and still win.

[certainot]

9. they would have to disavow limbauhg and hannity because that is the real face

the teabagers are the face of limbaugh/hannity- nothing but dittoheads- the republican talk radio base- invisible to the left ( until they got called out for the health care town hall screaming) because they can't stand listening to it. meanwhile it has nearly destroyed the country because they dominate the country with 1000 radio stations laundering think tank talking points with coordinated uncontested repetition.

that's where the rand pauls come from- all they have to do is repeat the limbaugh hannity material, like most GOP pols winning primaries the last 20 years.

[GreenTea]

10. The republicans proved their ideology was absolute corporate fascism-8 years of Bush and 6 years of

absolute and complete unchecked power (The Presidency, Senate, Congress and the Supreme Court) led this country into corporate fascism, we are desperately, yet slowly trying to pull ourselves out from....

While the obstructionist (just say "NO") republican party is doing all they can to keep everything the same, status quo ....Now the republicans are just holding the course stopping everything they can, until the republicans can take back power by distortions, smears, lie, and of course the stealing of future elections they will be getting away with.

Corporations heads ran all the departments of government, deregulation of corporations, subsidies for corporations, tax cuts for the rich and their corporations, imperialistic wars for profit, environmental concerns non existent, gutting and destroying all social programs, ass republican ideology dictates those tax dollars should go to the rich, the corporations and their imperialistic military was the desired out come for the republicans.

Republicans have done everything they could to destroy unions, everything but outlaw them (and that certainly would of come if they were still in power).

Republicans & corporations, are one in the same always have been....Yes, they even buy off many democrats....but make no mistake about it the corporations, the CEOs & the rich elitist, are the republican party!

They simply despise workers, who are merely replaceable peasants, (they would much prefer slaves, who should have no rights nor any means to challenge the all-sacred, mighty corporations, the republicans own and profit from....although stealing elections is just politics & a republican necessity, just as long as the republicans are stealing them, and putting more republicans in office.

This is republican ideology....

Republicans have proved this, - If left unchecked with absolute power as the republicans had it's exactly what the republican party will have this country ultimately evolve into.

The republican agenda & philosophy has mostly gone unchecked now for thirty years, starting with Reagan - that "greed is good" philosophy -

And under Bush, with complete republican legislated rule & power for six year, the Reagan & Republican ideology was accelerated.

Republicans would like all to believe their party is a moderate party, they they aren't really racist, homophobic and anti-women rights, that maybe, perhaps, a few far right individuals have taken the republican party astray - But this is just more republican bullshit lies, distortions conniving to get people to believe that they are not that extreme, that they are not this greedy, hateful corporate run party - but their greedy corporate republican dictates it.

But six years of absolute powere show us all exactly what the republican will ultimely lead us to (and has) and what the really believe in , corporations over people, the rich, privilege, eleitist shouls run the country as they choose, corporations should run government and everything should be privatized for the - cut corners, neglect safety, ignore consumers need & rights - Corporations.

This has been the republican party's disguised platform and desire for tens of decades....The sick, elitist disgusting Republican ideology....that the

[nichomachus]

11. Republicans are either whack jobs, traitors, or completely demented

They don't have many other "faces" to put out there.

Whack job = Palin, Glen Beck

Traitors -- Grover Norquist, Rush Limpbutt and the others trying to bankrupt the country

Demented = The Teahadists and Foxaholics who watch the propaganda channels and swallow every shit sandwich served up -- whether it makes any sense at all.