Friday, May 08, 2009

GOP: Aiming For Mediocrity And Failing

via Taegan Goddard:
"Could the Republican Party have gotten off to a rougher start in the Obama era? It's hard to think so. Even with Bush and Cheney no longer heading the party, the GOP finds its favorability ratings at or near all-time lows. Despite their enthusiasm for their unified opposition to Obama (on the stimulus, the budget), they're blamed more for the lack of bipartisanship in DC. While starting out with all the advantages in NY-20, they still found a way to lose that race. Despite the initial positive reaction to his victory as RNC chair, Michael Steele's reign has been, shall we say, not good. And holding on to 41 votes in the Senate, they enabled a Republican who proved he could win in the increasingly blue state of Pennsylvania to switch parties, giving Dems the prospect of a filibuster-proof majority."

"Yes, Obama is popular right now. And, yes, the GOP is still paying for the sins of Bush and Cheney. But what has to disappoint Republicans right now is that most of their recent problems have been self-inflicted. And to top all of this off, an effort to re-brand the party ends up causing an internal fissure between one of the party's supposed rising stars, Eric Cantor, and many of the leading conservative voices, including Rush Limbaugh. Never mind the silly debate over whether Reagan should be used as an icon or not. The issue of Reagan reminds us of the Kennedy-obsession Democrats had for decades. One could argue it took the Democrats nearly 30 years to kick the Kennedy habit (maybe longer). So, this Reagan issue may take the Republicans another 10 years to get over."
It also took about 30 years to get the Neo-Cons assembled and in power, from the Ford Administration and the Cheney-Rumsfeld alliance, through PNAC and the stealing of the 2000 election by Rehnquist's Supreme Court.

America can stand to be without conservative rule for the next 30 years. Looks like this current batch of GOP "leaders" will help ensure that.

Source: First Read

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