The nation is witnessing the implosion of the Republican Party, as their leaders in Congress, Speaker of the House John Boehner and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, are being ripped apart by factional division in both houses!
When the Republican leadership in both houses of Congress is being torn apart by ideological and personal rivalries, that is a sign of the GOP falling apart, and indicates there could be an internal rebellion that forces both out of leadership roles in the present Congress, an unheard of idea historically!
In the House, the key battle has been over immigration reform, and in the Senate, it has been over filibuster reform.
In the House, the key opposition has been the Tea Party loonies, but in the Senate, it is the mainstream conservatives, who are “comparative moderates”, as somewhat rational and reasonable on the issue of avoiding changes in filibuster rules, by allowing President Obama his choice as the administrators of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Secretary of Labor. So it is John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Bob Corker, and Susan Collins who saw the virtues of some compromise arranged to avoid a permanent change in the filibuster rules.
There is no respect, no diplomacy, no tact any more in the Republican caucus in either house, and it is a danger sign that the party may be unable to overcome their internal divisions and operate as a responsible political party for the long term future!
Republican House and Senate leaders in action:
http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=me+and+mini+me&mid=D82B2DCA63BDB914C8F9D82B2DCA63BDB914C8F9&view=detail&FORM=VIRE4
Hello Professor,
Timely post and a subject I am promoting.
There are many moderates within the Republican Party who realize the Party has become nothing but a collection of reactionary extremist.
This is not only bad for the Party but the country as a whole. This reactionary extremism would not have gained influence to the point they did if the economy had not been destroyed by the last four years of the Bush / Cheney adminstration, plus Republican controlled House and Senate at the time. This was the onset of uncontrolled and unbridled greed at its worst.
My thoughts of how history repeated itself; being very similar to the popular rise of the reactionary extremism in the 1920’s & 1930’s of Germany. When the population experiences economic downturn and depression, they will gravitate toward reactionary or radical.
Unfortunately in this last economic crash, the country saw the rise of the religious repressive mindset based on mythological superstitions, and the nihilistic hate, which is the litmus test for the Tea Party which has embedded itself within the Republican Party.
I find it to be an oxymoron that the results was the populous rewarded those who cause the economic crash in the first place.
Of course there is enough blame to go around because the Republican Party courted this reactionary extreme aspect as this demographics was a guarantee vote come election time. They just found out too late that they could not control them.
Yes, the nation is witnessing the implosion of the Republican Party and I am on the front lines of this action. A fact I take great pride in this. Like I have stated before of my 1 1/2 hour conversation with Jack Kemp on this subject. I had enough foresight to pass on that this crisis, dysfunctioning implosion day would come as a result of embracing and giving sanctuary acceptance to what was really nothing more than the Klan, American Nazi Party, and John Birch Society; marketing themselves as the Tea Party.
I would like to hear more continuations of your thoughts on this.
Wow, Engineer, what words of wisdom and brilliance! I will write further on this in the next few days, regarding the Christian Right which Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon argued against thirty years ago, astounding me that I actually agreed with both of them for a rare occasion! LOL
The GOP Is in a deep cancer situation, and it is clear that they will not survive as a major party, and the “heartland” may have land, but not the population, and they cannot be allowed to stop progress, including what I have just written about, the revival of the Equal Rights Amendment for women, which most Republicans supported, including Presidents Nixon and Gerald Ford and most members of Congress at the time forty years ago!
Summation:
I would rather see the total destruction and removal from existence of the Republican Party of which my family had a 150 legacy, than to see another day of influnance of the Tea Party reactionary extremism within the U.S Government.
I think of the party of Howard Baker, Bob Dole, Alan Simpson, and other rational conservatives, including Gerald Ford, and know they would not be accepted in today’s right wing extremist party that the GOP has become!