GOP follies
As Republicans ponder 2012 defeat, party’s philosophy hangs in the balance
Rant mode: On
Coulter is right, as usual. It's past time for the GOP to get serious and kick the goober-pandering wack-jobs overboard. The Tea Party's economic message has wide appeal, and it is compatible with and supportive of the less intrusive government agenda of the center-libertarians. A synergistic coalition. But it's all diluted, contradicted, and drowned out by the Back-to-the-Bible literalist ignoramuses who poison the whole campaign with their fundamentalist nonsense. That stuff belongs in the revival tents, far away from the national political arena. Every recent GOP national campaign has been ruined by these people -- as the media joyfully focus for days on their every lunatic outburst -- and the problem seems to be getting worse, not better.
The Democrats have their own screwball wing on the far left, of course, but they get a pass or a cover-up from the media. The GOP has no such luxury. It's time to clean house and stop chasing the know-nothing vote. Maybe the withdrawal of party funding from super-idiot Todd Akins in Missouri -- it took a rare form of reverse genius to not win that Senate seat from McCaskill, but Akins, who even looks like a nut, is gifted in that respect and was well up to the task -- is a sign of things to come, although I fear that's too much to hope for.
Many will disagree, but among the things I'd do if I could be King of the GOP for a day would be to (1) Explicitly recognize Roe v. Wade as a thoughtful, reasonable and defensible response to a very difficult issue; (2) Adopt Bill Clinton's position that the push on abortion should be to make it Safe, Legal, and Rare; (3) Advocate Bobby Jindal's proposal the birth control pills be sold OTC; and (4) Propose a study to see if there is any good reason why morning-after pills should not be sold in vending machines the same way condoms are. Not only do I think those are the correct policy positions, I think they'd attract many more votes from women and the young than they'd lose from the religious right.
Rant mode: Off
Byron
Rant mode: On
Coulter is right, as usual. It's past time for the GOP to get serious and kick the goober-pandering wack-jobs overboard. The Tea Party's economic message has wide appeal, and it is compatible with and supportive of the less intrusive government agenda of the center-libertarians. A synergistic coalition. But it's all diluted, contradicted, and drowned out by the Back-to-the-Bible literalist ignoramuses who poison the whole campaign with their fundamentalist nonsense. That stuff belongs in the revival tents, far away from the national political arena. Every recent GOP national campaign has been ruined by these people -- as the media joyfully focus for days on their every lunatic outburst -- and the problem seems to be getting worse, not better.
The Democrats have their own screwball wing on the far left, of course, but they get a pass or a cover-up from the media. The GOP has no such luxury. It's time to clean house and stop chasing the know-nothing vote. Maybe the withdrawal of party funding from super-idiot Todd Akins in Missouri -- it took a rare form of reverse genius to not win that Senate seat from McCaskill, but Akins, who even looks like a nut, is gifted in that respect and was well up to the task -- is a sign of things to come, although I fear that's too much to hope for.
Many will disagree, but among the things I'd do if I could be King of the GOP for a day would be to (1) Explicitly recognize Roe v. Wade as a thoughtful, reasonable and defensible response to a very difficult issue; (2) Adopt Bill Clinton's position that the push on abortion should be to make it Safe, Legal, and Rare; (3) Advocate Bobby Jindal's proposal the birth control pills be sold OTC; and (4) Propose a study to see if there is any good reason why morning-after pills should not be sold in vending machines the same way condoms are. Not only do I think those are the correct policy positions, I think they'd attract many more votes from women and the young than they'd lose from the religious right.
Rant mode: Off
Byron
posted by Byron | Sunday, December 16, 2012
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