In this latest installment of our new ongoing series, “They Just Don’t Get It,” the Republicans and the conservative base…well…they just don’t get it. Immediately following the election, there was talk of perhaps “softening the vitriolic rhetoric,” and “welcoming new and more diverse constituencies,” and “distancing from far-right extremists,” and even…dare I say it…”appealing to a more educated and worldly audience.”
Well…that talk is gone. After two whole months of bouncing these new and revolutionary ideas around they’ve decided to stick with the classics:
1) Aggressive, partisan, and hypocritical accusations and threats
2) Allowing far-right media flacks to serve as party mouthpieces and heralds
3) Fearmongering and xenophobia…often both at the same time.
4) Denial of all wrongdoing or mistakes, even after it is exposed
and the new strategy, developed during the 2008 campaign…
5) The overtly political and cynical selection of non-”old, white males” as candidates for high profile positions, regardless of the individual’s experience, ethics, or sanity…simply because they are not “old, white males”…in order to confuse people who don’t realize it’s still the party of “old, white males.”
And…a few recent examples…
1) Aggressive, partisan, and hypocritical accusations and threats:
- Recently elected RNC chair, Michael Steele has decided to set aside even the illusion of bipartisanship in favor of smack-talk and Kool Moe Dee quotations: “It’s going to be an honor to spar with [Obama]…’How ya like me now?’” Later he applauded the complete refusal of House Republicans to vote in favor of the Stimulus Bill: “The goose egg you laid on the president’s desk was just beautiful.“
- John McCain, continuing his regular appearances on FOX to bash the Stimulus Bill and Obama’s appointees (perhaps he’s already forgotten that the American people decided he wasn’t really the person to look to regarding the economy), had this to say: “There was an announcement that was made that we would do things differently here in Washington as far as lobbying was concerned and ethics reform and we have seen major appointments that contradict the very impressive rhetoric…I just think that Mr. Geithner is suspect, not only because of his tax problems but also that he was a major adviser in the implementation of the $350 billion bailout package which I think was badly mismanaged… so we need to maybe restart the engines here.” He also referred to the bill as a “rotting corpse.” Unfortunately John “Captain Ethics” McCain did not go on to explain why some of his “selectees” during his campaign were corrupt lobbyists (here, here, and here), investment scam artists (here), and tax evaders (yup…Sarah Palin TWICE (here and here)…and don’t forget Joe).
- Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN) has let out the call: “We are urging our Senate colleagues to join every House Republican in opposing this bill.” Apparently, according to Pence, House Republicans don’t have any specific objections to parts of the bill, but rather, they reject everything in it. Wow…that’s some bipartisan negotiating position, Mike.
- Conservative bloggers are having a field day with the withdrawal of Daschle and Lillefer for tax problems, many insisting that this somehow invalidates Obama’s message of “change.” Maureen Dowd even found a way to compare Daschle’s fall to 9/11 (no, really). Ok…for all you neocons: trying to make changes, and picking people who had skeletons in their closets that you didn’t know about…is STILL BETTER than having KNOWN tax evaders, pedophiles, adulterers (especially the anti-gay congressmen having gay affairs), and spousal abusers among your Republican ranks and DOING NOTHING TO TRY TO CHANGE ANYTHING. Pot…please meet kettle.
2) Allowing far-right media flacks to serve as party mouthpieces and heralds:
- Ann Coulter’s exposure is WAY up, with appearances on Good Morning America, the Today Show, and CNN’s Your World Today…despite STILL having nothing reasonable or civil to add to any conversation on any topic.
- Rush Limbaugh, purveyor of fact-free news and opinion and tortured logic, has had so much love and support from Republican Congressmen that some are asking, “is Rush the de facto leader of the party?” Go ahead, Google it…
- Joe the Plumber, despite have been exposed as not being an actual plumber (he has no license and in his city it is illegal to do plumbing without one)…not making the income he stated…being a tax evader…he was invited to speak his pearls of wisdom at a breakfast for Republican Congressional Staffers. Not surprisingly, he’s against the Stimulus Bill…and he offered the following gems: “It’s not politically incorrect to say you’re Republican or conservative,” and also, “I don’t believe there’s two sides to every story. It’s black and white. There’s right and wrong,” and my favorite, “I don’t know if the American public deserve me.” We don’t deserve you, Joe…but not in the way you think.
3) Fearmongering and xenophobia:
- Dick Cheney reared his head just long enough the other day to remind us all that, since we elected President Obama, chances are good that we will be hit with a devastating and horrific terrorist attack. And he also wants us to know that those people we’ve been illegally detaining and torturing at Gitmo for years? He promises that they will kill us all. Oh, but the illegal detention and torture that is now forcing us to release these people, or be in continued violation of international treaties and OUR OWN LAWS…Dick says that there is absolutely nothing wrong with that…and we should all be really grateful that through their efforts (trivial violations to civil rights and selective use of Due Process) protected us against A LARGE NUMBER of horrible attacks that…were, well…never planned…or executed…but that could hypothetically have happened…and so on a completely hypothetical level he could be perceived as having “saved us” from these hypothetical attacks.
4) Denial of all wrongdoing or mistakes, even after it is exposed:
- Former Alberto Gonzales picked up where Cheney left off in his interview with CNN’s Campbell Brown, by choosing to label the politicization of hiring and firing within the Justice Department, the production of documents declaring that torture/warrantless wiretaps/secret detention were TOTALLY CONSTITUTIONAL, and the pursuit of a distinctly Republican agenda when choosing which cases to pursue: “little negatives.” He said: “Well, I hope history will reflect the fact that during my tenure both at the White House and at the Department of Justice we did a tremendous job in protecting our country and also as attorney general we focused on protecting our kids from sexual predators, we focused on making our neighborhoods safe from guns and drugs. The level of prosecutions with respect to public corruption far exceeded what the previous administration did and so many people are focused on the little negatives that occurred.” Surprisingly…Campbell Brown took issue with this characterization.
5) The overtly political and cynical selection of non-”old, white males” as candidates for high profile positions, regardless of the individual’s experience, ethics, or sanity…simply because they are not “old, white males”…in order to confuse people who don’t realize it’s still the party of “old, white males.”:
- Sarah Palin – Despite numerous scandals (mostly ethics-related: abuse of power, misuse of funds, using public office for political purposes) and a natural gift for exposing her own lack of experience and knowledge in front of cameras, the majority of Republicans think the rest of the party should follow her lead.
- Michael Steele – Also scandal prone (see previous post)…likely to make inane statements in front of cameras…so of course he’s now head of the RNC.
You know…the more they do…the more I think about it…perhaps I should be hoping that they continue on this path. Sure – we’d have to put up with listening to all of their bile and hypocrisy. BUT…it will virtually guarantee that they will continue to lose supporters, lose states, and lose elections. Seems a fair trade to me…