Keep Going, Republicans! You're Doing Great!

[depakid]

I have an important message for Michele Bachmann, Glenn Beck, Rush Limbaugh and the rest of the most visible Republicans on the national stage: Keep going! You're doing great! If this was video, you would see me standing an applauding. Maybe holding up a lighter for an encore.

The Republican Party is shriveling faster than Rush Limbaugh on a flight home from the Dominican Republic.

While I believe America only benefits from a robust two-party system, the Republicans aren't really filling their seats at the table. The insufferable centrist Democrats, for better or worse, are covering the power void in an unofficial interim capacity and it wouldn't shock me if there was eventually a replacement party built up around the conservative Democrats and some of the center-right moderate Republicans.

Another theory for another time.

But it's clear that there will either be a clean break in the current party dynamic, or the more moderate, reasonable faction of the Republican Party will begin to seriously assert itself against the wingnuts who are, simply put, cartoonish stereotypes of themselves.

It's this latter group that appears to be scaring away GOP moderates and whatever remains of "intellectual" Republicans like, say, David Frum, David Brooks and Christopher Buckley. Center-right voters are becoming increasingly embarrassed to call themselves Republicans, and party identification has dwindled to 20 percent. And it's not necessarily borne out of an ideological split as much as it has a massive character gap.

Modern "wingnut" Republicans still share many of the core values of classic conservatism, but they've abandoned the all-important character traits of reason, consistency and intellectual honesty. They've entirely navigated their crazy train off the rails, specifically in terms of how they talk about their conservative values.

Call it the Malkinization of the Republican Party.

Abandoning these traits frees them up to make the loudest noises possible without worrying about whether the noises actually make sense when assembled in the form of a sentence. The Glenn Beck strategy. If one guy stands on the sidewalk pleasantly handing out political leaflets, and another guy is positioned directly across the street shouting crazy gibberish, who's going to enjoy the most attention? Glenn Beck across the street of course, and it's not necessarily because he's making the most sense. He's just shouting gibberish.

But if polling is any indication, people don't want to be associated with a party that elevates crazy self-satirical wackaloons.

More: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/keep-going-republicans-yo_b_329160.html

[Contrary1]

1. Be sure to read the comments posted by former Republicans.

K & R

[depakid]

3. Two excellent ones:

The first is merely an accurate observation:

They take whatever reasonable response might be forthcoming from a reasonable, educated person, and think "How can I make this as completely loony sounding and utterly contrarian as possible" then spew that noise out their blow holes as loudly and often as possible, because they think it makes them look 'tough' and as if they are taking a 'stand'.

Confirmed downthread:

I'm one of those former Republicans... though I saw the death spiral back after '96 when Dole's defeat gave the loons, neocons, and thugs all the room they needed to "rejuvenate" the party and toss out anyone who actually made sense. Yeah, I realize the rot went all the way back to the people around Reagan and even Nixon... but the GOP was a lot more diverse with elements of Eisenhower­/Goldwater still in play. All that's left is the seriously inept, the ugly, the banal evil of selfish greed.

[LatteLibertine]

2. "The party of no is well on their way to becoming the party of nobody." Alan Grayson

[KharmaTrain]

4. 2012 - The Rupture

The GOOP remains in denial...and the pressure is starting to really build. Their lack of facing realities and accepting the responsibilities of their corrupt and inept "policies" opened the door to two major electoral loses and I still confidently predict another rebuke in a year from now. 30 years of "Raygunomics" and the excesses of the DeLay/boooosh years not only tore apart the country but their party.

You are so correct that they no longer are an opposition party as much as an obstructionist one...no different than the "know-nothings" Whigs of the 19th century...whose extinction led to the modern GOOP. There is a void of leadership and a "minor league" that is bare. All that's driving this party is hatred and denial...and most fueled by hate radio and faux noise who have no real skin in the game. This party's lurch to the far right has put it in a no-win situation as if party leaders no longer control the agenda. Today their game is "whose a "true" CONservative"...a game guaranteed to further tear the party. If and when the national leaders attempt to assert control again, they will alienate the freepers, dittoheads and paulbots.

We're getting a preview of future battles in the NY-23 Congressional race where the "regular" GOOPer is fighting more with the right wing "Club for greedgrowth" candidate. We'll see more of these challenges next spring and if the GOOP fails to make substantial gains next year, I can see the lid blowing...a full schism that won't be easily mended.

2012 we may not see one or two but several thrid parties begin to spring up filling the voids of what once was the rushpublican party. Libertarians one way, neo-cons another, fundies a third...leaving the GOOP with a handful of old faces...extinction could be inevitable.

[Ruby the Liberal]

5. This is why the NFL owners put the kibosh on Limbaugh

The money class is trying their best to distance themselves from the lunatic fringe while keeping enough arms reach to hope they keep voting against their own interests.

[Turborama]

6. K&R Exceelent stuff from Bob that needs to be read in its entirity.

"they continue to stomp their feet and hold their breath"



Thanks for posting.

[depakid]

7. "they continue to stomp their feet and hold their breath"

-adding nothing of merit to any discussion of the issue whatsoever.

They're irrational adherent's of a failed ideology- nothing more, nothing less.