We don't know when it happened, whether it was late in 2008, or if it was early in 2009, but one thing is certain. Conservatism is dead.Those reliable sources and lauded laureates of conservatism are either dead or irrelevant. William F. Buckley, Jr. died last year, and took with him some of the last shreds of legitimacy the movement had. Ben Stein is either hosting game shows or hocking eye care--the former voice of Nixon relegated to a sound clip played in an infinite loop for the amusement of a generation too young to know who the hell Bueller is.
The mavericks are either pandering to the fringes of the party or espousing ideas of sheer lunacy. Rudy Giuliani, long a champion of gay rights, now opposes same sex marriage in his state of New York. Dr. Ron Paul, the leader of the Revolution movement in 2008, says it's ok to talk about secession from the Union--a position only 18% of Texans hold.
Everywhere you look, we have been reduced to the fringe and the stupid. If it isn't tin-foil-hat-wearing tea baggers, it is Sarah Palin and Bobby Jindal, reducing the average IQ in the room by offering nothing of value to the converstation.
And when light does appear in the cracks of the veneer of the Republican Party, those who dare an open door are quickly shouted down and laughed out of the room. Meghan McCain offers and vision of the future of the party, which no longer relies on the shrinking base, but instead reaches out a hand to the growing tolerant majorities in this nation, and she is shunned by all.
The few moderate voices in the party are all but silent. A forceful challenge is underway to unseat Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Republican primary next year. And if he does manage to placate the Republican core, by opposing Employee Free Choice, he will alienate the moderates and Democrats who have supported him for years and will not survive the general election in 2010. Two last two Republican Senators in New England are now more in danger than a bull moose during hunting season in Maine. Snowe and Collins may not survive another election.
Like the last great days of the Roman Empire, the emperor Rush Limbaugh dances like a silverback gorilla before CPAC, while the rest of the nation laughs at his idiocy. Meanwhile anyone daring to challenge the great orca is forced to grovel and apologize, further ceding all control of the party to those who care nothing for her survival.
Miss California was just a symptom of the greater problem. Like the blond ditz, we will not win any more contests if we continue to spit in the faces of our judges: the voters. As long as we offer no solutions but only more of the same, we will continue to experience the same results.
The writing is on the wall, but as Republicans, we don't know how to read it, because we ridiculed education and tore down every alternative point of view.
God may have asked George W. Bush to be President, but it seems now He's pretty much decided that we should remain in the minority until we learn a lesson.
Well, this Republican has learned her lesson. And I'm ready for another chance.
Here's to Huckabee/Cheney 2012! Sphere: Related Content
6 comments:
Dayum, Blanca, I was takin' you seriously there until the last sentence. You had me goin'.
I'm with you but I'm afraid to be that optimistic. Let's stay vigilant.
It seems the MO of Liberals is to set up a straw man version of conservativism so they can feel superior to it and declare it dead. This childish and myopic approach may make you feel good (after all, feeling good is what is important), but it is a mistake. Kate Burton is the voice of reason here--if you oppose conservative beliefs, you best continue to work for your beliefs and learn about all sides of the issues rather than getting your rocks off watching videos of Tea Party protesters and declaring conservativism dead. Because, my friends, conservativism ain't dead, and it will only be helped by the hubris your side is showing. Good luck
Jim in Parma
Blanca DeBree, a homosexual, says conservatism is dead.
What she really means is that conservative ideas are false and its influence harmful.
There's not a dime's worth of difference between Democrats and Republicans. In the end the results are the same, regardless of who is in power.
John McCain is a RHINO. Obama won because there was no true conservative choice in this past election.
Looking back, I can now see that it is good that Barack Hussein Obama was elected, and Pelosi and Reid are in charge of the Congress. America now sees what will happen when liberals are have unchecked power.
Everything runs in cycles. The 2010 election will tell the tale.
Yes, there is no difference between Democrats and Republicans. I mean just look at how we are doing the same damn things today as we did for the last eight years. And as for runaway power, I am waiting to see what Americans think when they have a chance to see the country after six years of uncontrolled spending, power-grabbing, and cronyism.
The Republicans need to get their act together. I believe in a two party system and check and balances. If one party become marginalized that is not good. The Republicans will become marginalized if they go all crazy right-wing. I am from Illinois, and the Republicans completely folded here. We used to have a vibrant Illinois Republican party, but the party got taken over by the right and it was downhill after that. What did the Democrats do instead? They recruited moderate, even conservative Democrats to run in races in Republican districts. If the Republicans want victory again, they had better put winning ahead of ideological purity.
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