Byron Williams: A good shellacking in November might bring GOP back to reality

[demosincebirth]

Oakland Tribune contributing columnist
© Copyright 2011, Bay Area News Groupcontracostatimes.com


In December I opined in this column that perhaps the best thing that could happen to the Republican Party is to sustain a good shellacking in the November election.

A number of readers took umbrage, choosing to dismiss it as liberal bias rather than to examine the merits of the argument.

Last week, two scholars -- Thomas Mann from the liberal Brookings Institute and Norman Ornstein from the more conservative American Enterprise Institute -- reached a similar conclusion.

They state unequivocally that the blame for the current dysfunction in Washington lies at the feet of the Republican Party.

In an opinion piece in the Washington Post last week they wrote:

"In our past writings, we have criticized both parties when we believed it was warranted. Today, however, we have no choice but to acknowledge that the core of the problem lies with the Republican Party."

"We cannot negotiate with those who say, 'What's mine is mine and what's yours is negotiable.' "

More:

http://www.insidebayarea.com/columns/ci_20546231/byron-williams-good-shellacking-november-might-bring-gop

[Sherman A1]

1. It would cause some changes to be sure, but back to reality?

This crowd has a different reality than so many of us. I just don't think it would bring them to anything like the one that we experience on a day to day basis.

[quaker bill]

2. Much depends on the size of the defeat

Just losing a close one will not get it done. Losing big (bigger than 2008) and seeing President Obama take the oath and Speaker Pelosi take back the gavel, might get a good portion of the job done.

[Rittermeister]

3. If you could gag Rush and Glenn

and somehow convince conservatives that Barack Obama is not, in fact, out to nationalize industry and burn churches, it would help.

[treestar]

28. Exactly. That is their reality.

They repeat it over and over and over.

Obama is trying to destroy America and hand it over to a muslim communist one world government. These people work hard to try to believe that sort of thing.

[jmowreader]

25. I don't want Pelosi to take back the gavel

I have nothing against Pelosi, but we need someone who is more liberal than Pelosi is AND who the Repukes just fucking hate to be House majority leader. Keith Ellison and Dennis Kucinich come to mind.

[quaker bill]

34. DK would need a seat in Congress

and he is not getting one. Speaker Pelosi is proposed as an object lesson to the right, as she seemed roughly equal to President Obama on the RW hate scale.

[jmowreader]

37. You're right about Kucinich, sorry...

Barney Frank would have been entertaining (he would have made an excellent Speaker, plus the Republicans hate him for more than just being a Democrat) but he's retiring.

The thing is, ANY Democrat in the Speaker's chair would have been as loathed as President Obama--simply because he or she was not a Republican.

[quaker bill]

39. Yes, but the first woman made it a little more special. N/T

[Proud Liberal Dem]

4. I don't know if anything can bring the GOP back to "reality"

Them being marginalized would, of course, be a good thing for everybody but they'll still have the ability to create mischief and they'll probably have another meeting before President Obama's second inauguration about how they can continue to throw sand in the gears and keep him from doing anything substantial. It may take a few more elections to fully be able to relegate them to more or less permanent minority status, which will happen at any rate if they don't purge the extremists from their party and broaden their demographic appeal beyond their current "base".

[demosincebirth]

8. I agree. but bigoty (big problem with some gop'ers) is inbred and some will never change no matter

what. i hope sensible minds will prevail in the end. Of course, I will never take that bet.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

10. Not much we can do with some of the big time bigots

They will inevitably be marginalized as more and more of them leave this mortal coil and the younger, more progressive generation, assume leadership. The question is what we can do in the meantime to minimize the damage caused by the last bastions of prejudice and bigotry? The only solution is just to work hard at the ballot box to ensure that fewer and fewer of them are elected to public office.

[Cosmocat]

12. Nope

They have come to truly believe the BS they spew.

Reality and what they think have LONG separated.

[Flatpicker]

5. I doubt it

If anything, they will purge the rest of the moderates in some kind of purity drive.
The party is self destructing at a faster rate than expected and the fundies are too entrenched to be removed without killing the patient.

[MatthewStLouis]

6. It has to be a major loss for them...on the flipside, if they somehow win the presidency and

hold the house: we have to hold their feet to the fire and force them to stay true to their trickle down theory. All of it. They pretend they are for supply side economics, then get into office and spend like drunken sailors (on their pet projects, military toys, and...infrastructure) and democrats allow them to do it. Let them eat their damned austerity, even if they take us into a deeper depression than the Bush one! (Sorry, I am feeling kind of scorched earthy today!)

[Flatpicker]

7. Can't do it

too many innocents would suffer.
The kids dont have a choice.

[WI_DEM]

9. They are growing, older, whiter, and in 20 years the GOP could be a distinct minority party

[Cosmocat]

13. Nope

I thought that about 5 years ago.

They were SO bad from 2000 to 2006 it created the biggest democratic margin in decades in DC.

And, there was NO reason for this country to give the ANY power.

But, by 2010, they had ginned up a resurgence that saw them make MASSIVE gains at the state level (in time for redictricting), gain a very large majority in the House and have functional control of the senate.

I get the demographics, but what the last three years (and witnessing what has happened since the early 90s) has taught me is that their go to moves work - fear, lying, projecting onto the democrats what they are and what they do. They scream louder, they are tougher and have no issue with gaming the system, and most importantly ...

They OWN the media.

Their messaging/packaging is so in tune with the vulnerable aspects of group think AND the media is VERY willing to project the world that they create.

They are going nowhere.

[demosincebirth]

24. The main problem is that only 50 percent (max) vote. The majority of those are 18-25 year olds

who have no interest in politics and think all politicians are the same - republican and democrats. That is what we, Dem's, have to change. A virtual up hill battle that will take at least one generation...if we're lucky.

[Cosmocat]

27. Yep

end of the day, the Rs simply are better at the "game" than the Ds are.

They work hard at every margin, and have absolutely no care for anything but winning elections.

That "politicians are all the same" thing - a natural cynicism of government that people have inherently that the Rs play to. It is their number one go to move when they are totally exposed on something and there is no way they can talk their ways out of it. Ex.

Republicans put up brazen political bills for voter ID. Anyone who calls it for what it is gets the "well, the democrats do it, too" line.

The media is a VERY willing accomplice in this particular meme.

They ALWAYS do this "well, to be fair" crape.

Morning Joe yesterday was going off on Romney for saying he should get credit for the auto bailout. In this backhanded sarcastic way of deflecting it a bit, even Scarboro was noting it was indefensible. Harold Ford. the DEMOCRAT at the table, "well, to be fair ..."

This "they are all the same" thing is VERY calculated to keep the people you noted away from the polls, because more than 50% would vote for something other than clown republicans. The math is pretty clear - surpress the marginal voters because they are not as concret in their thinking, find a way to juice up people who are concrete in their thinking to vote on single issues.

[demosincebirth]

31. If the MSM was truly fair and balanced (telling the way it is) the democrats would always

have the winning score.

[Cosmocat]

32. Oh, it would a whole different game, for sure

nm

[southernyankeebelle]

11. Where ever there is a tea party republican running he/she must be defeated only then

will the republicans realize they have gone to far. But I don't know if it will happen this time around. They may think we just have the wrong person because he isn't conservative enough. It might take another cycle after this.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. From what I'm hearing in some corners

Santorum might be the next GOP candidate "on deck" for 2016

[southernyankeebelle]

16. Well in the republican party the runner up is usually the next one up at bat. I can't

see holy Ricky being annointed because of his religious extremes. He will lose the women vote.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

17. and hopefully

their relegation to minority status at the national level will be complete. I mean, how much further right can they move than Santorum?

[southernyankeebelle]

18. well how about off the cliff with any luck, LOL

[Proud Liberal Dem]

19. LOL

I'm actually kind of surprised they aren't already there.

[southernyankeebelle]

20. No I think they are trying to push democratics over the cliff. We are holding on.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

21. Either that

or they are trying to take us with them in their death throes.

[southernyankeebelle]

22. we certainly don't want to do that but I am willing to help push them over.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

23. I think that Batman (Batman Begins) said it best (paraphrased from memory):

"I'm not going to kill you, but I'm not going to save you either."

[southernyankeebelle]

29. Now that I could live with.

[jmowreader]

26. Rand Paul, Raul Labrador and Paul Ryan come to mind

Oh trust me: they have people who make Santorum look like he's to the left of Barney Frank.

If y'all want, I'd be MORE than happy to send you Phil Hart, the state legislator who's also a tax protester.

[Blue_Tires]

15. No chance...A shellacking would push the GOP into an alternate dimension of extremity

The GOP would move so far right that the current tea party would look like the Symbionese Liberation Army

[Cosmocat]

33. Yep

for going on three decades now, they somehow find a way to get more and more extreme.

[boxman15]

30. I hope he's right, but I have a feeling they'll end up blaming Romney and "moderates"

It may just push them even further to the right, if that's even possible.

[Alenne]

35. Not these republicans. They're batshit crazy.

They will blame it on moderates and become even more extreme.

[mabuhayp]

36. I hope the Republican party becomes extinct

It is my hope that we can motivate enough people to turn some "red" states "blue". I hope the 2012 election is so lop-sided that it de-moralize the Republican base. Do you think this is a possibility?

[marlakay]

38. I sincerely wish this was true

but there are so many people who vote for R in this country when it should be obvious what is happening I have to wonder about them.

Is it lack of education? Is that why they are relaxing the rules around education and creating larger and larger class sizes? Is that why in some states a teacher doesn't even have to have more than a two year degree?

Is it peer pressure? from family? friends? church? work?

I don't get it…

I don't get how someone could watch Fox news and think it is news! My daughters inlaws that are dems watch Fox for news at 10pm, I have no idea who is on then and they like it…ugh!!!!!!

[demosincebirth]

40. It's the main stream media to blame, they want to remain (so) unbiased its' sickening. If a guy is

lying, call 'em on it!

[Iceberg Louie]

41. It always comes back to one thing...

The CON-servatives remain the refuge of useful idiots. Why else would they work so tirelessly to make a virtue out of anti-intellectualism? The problem is that, due in large part to a widespread balking at birth control/abortion as well as a general lack of recreational discretion, these useful idiots are multiplying more exponentially then liberals, who tend to be more careful in areas of family planning. These offspring, raised in an environment of anti-intellectualism and intolerance, often combined with the absence of effective developmental guidance, grow to become the next generation of easily manipulated masses. And who's there to court their votes?

We've already seen this trend in conservative America over the course of the last fifty years, going from the dignified disagreeability of William F. Buckley Jr. to the Larry the Cable Guy quality of today's neoCON pundits. As the party of legitimately reining in government largesse became hijacked successively by the rabid-toothed fanaticism of the John Birch Society, the Moral Majority, and now the Teabaggers, while at the same time handing over the leadership to parasitic sociopaths like Lee Atwater, Karl Rove, and Newt Gingrich, their accolytes have been reproducing with wanton abandon, spitting out successive generations of useful idiots so necessary to the survival of the GOP.

Sorry for my cynicism, but I don't like to get too overly excited when common sense seeps into the MSM. It seems like the message may circulate, but I've learned the hard way not to underestimate the gullibility of the populace in this country. Unfortunately, the movie Idiocracy was far more foreboding than it was merely funny. No wonder Fox tried to bury it before it was released.