The Death of the Republican Party

8 Random Items for 1/29/2009 #4

I repeat my favorite line about the Republican Party in 2009.

I have one word for the Republican Party. Whigs.

Read this and enjoy. The only thing standing between the implosion of the Rush Limbaugh led Republican Party is the lack of a killer instinct by the Democratic Party.

Bugging Me

8 Random Items for 1/29/2009 #1

I say again, why in all hell would Barack Obama or any Democrat give a rat's ass about a single opinion held by any Republican? They were overwhelmingly voted out of office the past two cycles, and here we are diluting the stimulus package to accommodate the stupid and the evil all so we can claim the stimulus package is "bi-partisan".

So, here's the Republican game plan. The Democrats water down the stimulus package hoping to get Republicans on board, but Republicans refuse to vote for it anyway. (The number in the house vote was ZERO.) Because it has been watered down, it doesn't work as intended. In 2010, the Republicans run against the failure of the "Democratic" stimulus package.

Every Republican in the entire country, liberal, moderate or conservative, should be frozen out of decision making by the President and by Congress. Otherwise, the mess will get work.

Update: I'll have much more on the stimulus in today's final post.

Consequences

8 Random Items for 1/14/2009 #1

Yes, elections do have consequences. In this case, here are a few in the Senate where we will enjoy a 59 - 41 advantage over the bad guys once Norm Coleman is laughed out of court:

• We will have a four seat advantage on the Appropriations committee.
  
• We will have a four seat advantage on the Armed Services committee.
  
• We will have a three seat advantage on the other committee where there is no mandated committee makeup. (The intelligence committee is always +1 and the Joint Economic Committee is always +2.)
  

Congratulations to Harry Reid for negotiating these advantages. This gives the Democratic party a leg up on helping the American people by allowing us to get our legislation through the committee and to the Senate floor.

The Stakes

8 Random Items for 1/13/2009 #4

Now is when you will see the true test of the Republican party. You see, they love to talk "America First", but they are, and always have been, party first. They decry partisanship, but no party is more adept at playing partisan games. We, the Democrats, keep trying to be bipartisan because we're suckers. The problem with the Republicans isn't the way they do things, the way they say things, or their partisanship. It is the side of the partisan divide on which they stand that is the problem. We keep seeking that "higher ground" and the Republicans keep fighting us. It's time for us to get dirty, because you know they are.

Will the Republicans fight Obama led proposals that will help the American people through this financial crisis? Of course they will. Will the Republicans fight Obama led proposals that will end this financial crisis? Of course they will. Their survival is at stake.

As Digby said ...

If Obama were to succeed in fixing the economy, re-regulating the financial system, enacting health care and a modern environmental and energy policy, the right would be discredited for a couple of generations --- and the wealthy would lose many of their unfair advantages under a fair and equitable system. They not only do not want to take that chance, they also see this crisis as an opportunity to bury liberal economics and end the government programs that ensure a stable and prosperous society with a vast middle class. The stakes are huge for both sides.

Obama doesn't get to be a typical President. He doesn't get to take office at a normal point in history. Only Washington, Lincoln, FDR and Truman faced more daunting challenges when taking office. We need greatness from Barack Obama. We need greatness from the Democratic Party. Anything less will be disaster for our party, will be a disaster for the poor, will be a disaster for the middle class, and will be a disaster for America.