The Republican Death Spiral

[babylonsister]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/22756

The Republican Death Spiral
by Bob Burnett | July 10, 2009


Out here on the left coast, we're not big fans of the Republican Party. So we've taken a perverse delight in the events of recent weeks - the sordid Sanford/Ensign affairs and the awkward resignation of Sarah Palin. To these jaundiced eyes, it appears the Grand Old Party is locked in a death spiral, gathering speed as it plummets downward.

Perhaps the entire Party has followed their leader, Rush Limbaugh, and developed a nasty drug habit. That would explain the bizarre behavior of Senator Ensign, Governors Palin and Sanford, and RNC Chair Michael Steele. If that's the case, our recommendation is to "just say no" and dial 1-812-473-7729.

Perhaps it's Karmic retribution and, after eight years of George W. Bush, the universe is finally moving back into balance. Indeed, Dubya, the man once touted as the Party leader, whose election was to signal thirty years of Republican supremacy, has become the symbol of everything wrong with the GOP. When Bush failed - when the Iraq "mission" wasn't easily accomplished, the Neo Con dream of "empire" evaporated, and the economy went in the toilet - Americans woke up, realized the emperor had no clothes, and got pissed off at Bush and the GOP in general.

It turned out that Republicans had no bench. Who would have thought that Dubya was the best they had to offer? They fielded a woeful slate of 2008 presidential candidates. And their nominee, John McCain, started his campaign with an acknowledgement that he didn't know much about the economy and then picked a running mate, Palin, who knew even less than he did, about everything.

Perhaps Americans have figured out that Republicans don't have an ideology - other than opposition to whatever Democrats propose. The GOP pretends it wants small government, but Bush oversaw one of the largest expansions of the Federal government in history. They claim they want to reduce our taxes, but most Americans now understand the GOP only cares about the taxes of the rich and powerful. Republicans acknowledge they are the Party of the business elite and assert that qualifies to manage the Federal bureaucracy, but Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the other principals in the Bush White House had questionable credentials as corporate executives and did a terrible job managing the Federal government - it's hard to imagine that the economy could have been more poorly handled than it was under Dubya.

snip//

The 2009 Republican Party is dead, a walking talking corpse that has no brain, heart, or soul. Instead of ideology the GOP offers dogmatic negativity. In place of rectitude they feature sleaze and hypocrisy. Rather than mature leadership they provide vicious incompetence. Republicans aren't an alternative, they're a travesty.

Of course in politics anything can happen. We may yet see the resurrection of the GOP. Meanwhile, it feels so good to gloat, you finally got what you deserved, you rotten scoundrels.

[Xipe Totec]

1. Pyhrric victory

We can now sit on the smoldering rubble and gloat.

[bemildred]

2. Yeah, what is the "Democratic leadership" going to do without tool opposition to blame things on? nt

[babylonsister]

8. I don't know about you (well, I guess I do with your comments), but

I'm a lot happier with Obama than I ever was with idiot son. Did he ever do anything for citizens, anything? He promoted a war and got lots of people killed, all the while lying to Congress and everyone else.

I'll take Obama and the Dems, warts and all, thank you very much.

[Xipe Totec]

13. We have decades of damage to repair

I'm not happy about that.

I get the feeling you think I would have prefered McCain/Palin in the White House.

If so, you are mistaken.

[DJ13]

3. An extinct GOP is both good and bad for the Democrats

Good for the obvious reasons (like little opposition from them), but its bad because who will Reid blame for not being able to get progressive bills passed without them?

[BobRossi]

4. And what are the Dems doing with this great victory?

Behaving like the repubs did when they had absolute power. Doing nothing.

[Seldona]

5. K&R

I agree with everything but one. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and the other principals in the Bush White House did not fail in THEIR objectives. They did exactly what they wanted to do, if looked at in terms of the Straussian education many of the neoconservatives received.

Divide and conquer. Make 'liberal' a dirty word. Hijack religion, whether they believe it or not, to form their base.

Though they screwed the pooch in every way imaginable, they managed to walk away and dump it in the lap of the Democratic Party. Or so it has seemed to go. So far at least. There are glimmers of a backbone in our party.

To see a cursory look at Leon Strauss's affects American politics, and beyond, even today check out "The Power Of Nightmares." It does a pretty good job explaining how this ideology has infected our government at its highest levels, over many administrations.

Part 1: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2798679275960015727

Part 2: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4602171665328041876

Part 3: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2081592330319789254

[Enthusiast]

11. And their friends were enriched

for their loyalty.

[Seldona]

14. Indeed.

George Bush's base, the Haves and the Have Mores.

[AdHocSolver]

16. Strauss' economic theories never caused the problems. They were merely justification for...

greed and corruption.

The real problem is the public's almost total ignorance about economics, and the public acquiescence in accepting nonsensical crap theory spouted by self-serving ignoramuses and so-called "experts".

Economics is not rocket science. Economics is not social science. Economics is a rationale used by the powers that be to explain why they have no choice but to cheat you out of your hard-earned money for your own good.

Even looking at many of the posts here on DU, I am amazed at the misinformation that is provided by posters that is totally off the wall from an economic standpoint. Most of the posts here about the economy show that most people, even on DU, subscribe to "supply side" economics, also known as "trickle down" economics.

Most of the commentary found in the media and on DU can only make sense if traced back to an assumed premise of supply side economics. For example, bailing out the stock market only makes sense if you believe that the stock market drives the economy. Give lots of money to the rich people and they will give you JOBS. That was the logic behind the bailouts. Did the banks create jobs? Last I heard they used that money to by other banks and give their executives big bonuses for being so clever.

For the record, all economies are "demand" driven. Demand is buyers having money to spend and wanting to spend it. When people have no jobs, or have poorly paying jobs, they can't spend money and so the economy goes into recession. That is why the economy is tanking. People are losing income and not spending money. The stimulus packages and tax rebates won't do any good if the money people spend all goes to China because that is where almost everything we buy is made.

The misnamed term "free trade" is a catch phrase that is similarly a supply side talking point that is meaningless in economic terms. There is NO "free trade". NAFTA, the WTO, the IMF, the World Bank, are all corporate cartel agreements designed to stifle competition. For any economy to be viable, at least 80 percent of its "trade", that is its purchases and sales, must be made within the country. Buying everything from foreign countries so that Americans produce nothing (have no jobs) is economic suicide.

The Federal Reserve is a cartel of the biggest financial institutions designed to ensure their profitability by swindling the public. The Fed is the mechanism behind the booms and busts in the economy. In other words, it is the premier mechanism behind the Ponzi schemes played in the stock market.

[CanonRay]

6. GNOP (Pronounced: "Nope")

[C_U_L8R]

7. Snake eating its own tail...

fortunately for us, there's ultimately no more snake

[snake in the grass]

12. I beg to differ.

I will always be here.

-Snake

;-)

[burning rain]

9. They're so screwed.

Things are looking hopeless for them in 2012 with all their top players keeling over on the Appalachian Trail. They might as well nominate Alex Jones and David Icke and be entertaining, since the GOP is dominated by batshit crazy losers already.

[Enthusiast]

10. Well said Sister! nt

[AdHocSolver]

15. While you are busy gloating, big insurance and big pharma are buying Democrats.

It makes no difference to the people whether Republicans or Democrats in government are screwing us.

When some democrats in Congress are talking about keeping the "public option" off the table, that shows that the real enemies of the people are paying attention to the "big picture" while we spend our time gloating.

[RBInMaine]

18. MOST Dems are for public option. We need to put heat on those not. BUT, BE FAIR ! MANY more Dems

support it as compared to R's. Our party is MUCH more progressive on the who than theirs. Again, BE FAIR.

[HughMoran]

20. Public option is being promoted by most Dems

You're out of touch so your post is meaningless.

[RBInMaine]

17. Let's BURY these ASSHOLES once and for all !!

[scentopine]

19. Not so fast...

The right wing extremists are still the standard bearers of American policy. Why else would Obama spend such an enormous amount of time and energy consulting with them? Recall that one of his first actions as president was to convene a right wing pundit pow-wow. Even with democratic majority, forward progress with more liberal policy has been hard to measure. We have amnesty for wall street, amnesty for wiretapping, amnesty for torture, and now the health care industry is licking their chops over another big money grab from the treasury. Important issues on mountain top clearing, credit card abuse have all tilted toward corporate America.

The "neo-democrat" is actually frighteningly similar to (but not exactly the same as) the early neo-con. Obama and congress have faith in the invisible magic of free market capitalism and prove it by liberally fertilizing huge corporations with your tax money. With the well articulated protection of the CIA and new spying initiatives announced (look for "Cyber Security Agency" or "Cyber Security Initiative") Obama is simply being the republican president that people expected Bush to be when they voted for him.

Hannity, Limbaugh, Coulter and all have completely and utterly killed the American liberal. They are still winning the battle and dragging democrats along to the right wing. There is no denying this. Republicans still control the policy debate. Democrats are not strong enough nor unified enough to be effective long term against republicans who have mastered the art of fear and pandering. They still have their own very popular television network.

Once it becomes apparent that all this "bi-partisan" prejudice toward the slave-state republicans has done nothing more than interfere with critical public policy needs, the republicans will run a moderate candidate and all those "new democrats" Obama picked up will return to their republican roots.

Grass roots democrats will be so discouraged and demoralized that we will not fight and work and struggle to get the next democrat elected. So the right hasn't moved left, the left has moved right to fill in the vacuum as Limbaugh and others go off the cliff. However, to their credit, they have made right wing extremists popular and "credible".

Limbaugh and Coulter have no value if they simply join the mush-middle of right wing democrats. Their value and net worth is tied to being on the extreme. Now Glenn Beck is trying to out-extreme the extremists. Having this much influence on the extreme right will always tilt the policy debate to the right wing. There is no liberal democratic equivalent. Democrats are simply too weak to matter much.

I'm not happy about this. Pelosi and Reid have allowed this to happen under their leadership. When Obama announces "We reached an agreement with hospitals and insurance companies on health care plan" its like Chamberlain announcing "Peace in our time..." after meeting with the fascists.