Paul Krugman:The Republican Rump

[cal04]

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/03/opinion/03krugman.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

Maybe the polls are wrong, and John McCain is about to pull off the biggest election upset in American history. But right now the Democrats seem poised both to win the White House and to greatly expand their majorities in both houses of Congress.

Most of the post-election discussion will presumably be about what the Democrats should and will do with their mandate. But let me ask a different question that will also be important for the nation’s future: What will defeat do to the Republicans?

You might think, perhaps hope, that Republicans will engage in some soul-searching, that they’ll ask themselves whether and how they lost touch with the national mainstream. But my prediction is that this won’t happen any time soon.

Instead, the Republican rump, the party that’s left after the election, will be the party that attends Sarah Palin’s rallies, where crowds chant “Vote McCain, not Hussein!” It will be the party of Saxby Chambliss, the senator from Georgia, who, observing large-scale early voting by African-Americans, warns his supporters that “the other folks are voting.” It will be the party that harbors menacing fantasies about Barack Obama’s Marxist — or was that Islamic? — roots.

Why will the G.O.P. become more, not less, extreme? For one thing, projections suggest that this election will drive many of the remaining Republican moderates out of Congress, while leaving the hard right in place.

[NRaleighLiberal]

1. Probably more extreme...and hopefully less of a pain for their diminished power!

[Eric J in MN]

2. "the U.S. Chamber of Congress has poured money into the campaigns of Senate Republicans..."

"...like Minnesota’s Norm Coleman."

I've seen a lot more TV ads by another business group, "Americans for Job Security."

[hvn_nbr_2]

7. "Americans for Job Security"

That's wingnut Republispeak for "American Corporations for Sending American Jobs Overseas."

[billyoc]

3. "...the party of Saxby Chambliss, the EX-senator from Georgia..."

If you don't mind, Paul. :)

[BrklynLiberal]

4. Since the Repuke party has left most of the Conservatives, perhap

they should form another party...or all join the Conservative Party. That could becme the party of what once was the
moderate Republicans.

The more parties the better, I believe.

The RW repukes can be left with such a small piece of the pie that they can accomplish nothing without trying to
make compromises with other groups.

While the Democrats are in power, hopefully they will enact changes that will prevent the RW wackos from ever stealing
another election.

[MannyGoldstein]

5. The Extreme Right Is Waiting To Eviscerate Us If We Fail

Let's not screw this up.

[depakid]

6. My bet is that Krugman's right: it's going to be uglier than the Clinton years

[ItsTheMediaStupid]

9. Obama isn't Clinton - There won't be any bimbo eruptions

We won't let them have a special prosecutor over a fake scandal. We won't lie down for Faux News to step on us.

[NeoConsSuck]

10. I have to agree

Clinton was only a white womanizer. To the knuckle draggers, Obama is an uppity black socialist/terrorist sympathizer.

It's going to get very ugly, very fast.

[Hawkowl]

13. But Obama will have vastly more power

The power of the presidency along with the super majority in congress, will really minimize the amount of damage the wing nut remnants of the rethuglican will be be able to do. He will be able to investigate and prosecute on one hand, and completely deny funding to any representative or Senator's pet project. This is well worn tactic in Chicago, where Obama learned his politics. I really wouldn't worry about a Clinton type redux.

Coupled with the changing demographics in the US, i.e; whites decreasing to less than 50% of the population, we could see the complete destruction of the rethuglican party. They could go the way of the Whigs and the Federalists. All parties come to an end.

It will be our job to take the democrats to the progressive left and not allow moderate rethuglican refugees to remake the democratic party into the republican party of the 1950's. THIS is the real danger to the Democratic party, being morphed into republican light.

[roamer65]

8. We can't stop attacking the flying monkey right on November 5th.

We need to triple our attacks on these "crazies in the basement". Krugman is definitely warning us not to let up on them.

[Kansas Wyatt]

11. As long as they are given a "time-out" in the Capital basement

And they are immediately told to sit down and shut the fuck up about their nonsense screeching.

Seriously, you bat-shit loony republicans, if you cannot grow up, then take your asses and get the Hell out. The country does not have time for your bullshit tantrums anymore.

[eppur_se_muova]

12. The party of narrow minds and hard hearts ... something to be proud of. nt