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Hello, World…Is This GOP Mic On?

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E. Nigma. Anoymous, yes. But without merit? No way.

When I started to think about asking my friends to guest blog I made a firm decision to let them write what they know best. Sure, I may have made a suggestion, but I knew that I wouldn’t edit their thoughts in any way. Even if I disagreed. Or maybe it is especially if I didn’t agree.

What I am learning is that my friends are even more diverse than I realized and that is okay. Take, for example, Mr. Nigma. He’s sharp. Funny. Well-read and well-traveled. And yet, he’s Republican-friendly. Kidding! I kid. No, really. Here’s someone I agree with on most everything, but we split on this one issue and it’s totally cool. We’re still friends. I wish more people could see the danger in ‘u’s vs. ‘them’ because you never know what enigmatic person you might actually like if you listened to their reasoning. Well, when they are being reasonable.

Who knows, this guy may just agree to be the “He” in the “He said, She said: Politics 2012″ series coming up. There’s no pay involved but oh, the discourse. The Discourse!

And now…E. Nigma. Just in time for the South Carolina Primaries.

January 21, 2012

It’s heart-wrenching to watch your good friend slip further and further into maniacal delusion.  The friend you used to be able to count on.  The one who always inspired you and always acted with the discerning judgment you came to expect.  To watch this friend become a raving maniac makes you feel like the ground you walk on isn’t reliable anymore.  You find yourself questioning why you became friends in the first place.

This is where I am with the Republican party.  I used to count on the Republican party to be the sober one at the party – questioning the effectiveness of federal programs, holding governmental agencies accountable to demonstrable results, making the tough calls on allocating the federal budget across myriad programs to address public needs.  The Republican party was the older brother who loved you, but always told you straight when you needed to shape up.  Where have you gone?

Now you’re the madman on the corner shouting about global warming conspiracies, secret plans to turn us all into homosexuals, theories that our current President is simultaneously Marxist and Fascist, with an agenda to undermine the democratic underpinnings of our great Republic.  I don’t know who you are anymore.  Sadly, I can no longer call you my friend.

Look at yourself, you snub your nose at Jon Huntsman, the one candidate who embodies true conservative ideals.  Your ranting scares away reality-based Republicans like Chris Christie, Jeb Bush and Mitch Daniels.  You’re alienating the people who used to be your biggest fans.  I want to help you, but, you won’t listen to reason anymore.

It is a strange time for the Republican party.  Since the 60s, it has been a tenuous coalition of disparate ideas – social conservatism, Austrian school economics, war hawkism, crony capitalism, strict constitutionalism, and so on.  Until the 80s, these groups unified and rallied around a central idea – the Democrats were rudderless, spending federal dollars like a drunken sailor, and compounding our nation’s problems, not solving them.

Times were good until the 90s.  Then, Democrats got the message about fiscal responsibility.  Once this unifying theme was taken away, it exposed just how tenuous this coalition called the Republican party is.  Since that time, the party has moved to the extremes in each of these ideas.  If you don’t believe that the US is a Christian nation, that taxes are evil, that the Federal government (save the DoD) should be abolished, and that corporations are not only people, but divine, you are a Socialist.  If you would even consider diplomatic solutions with a Middle East country, you aren’t proud to be an American.  Today, even Reagan would be dismissed as a RINO.

I think it’s time to break up the tenuous coalition.  We need someone who can emerge with great ideas to move this party forward, someone who can marginalize the extreme views.  I thought Jon Huntsman could be that person.  But, now I am left waiting until at least 2016, which leaves me feeling abandoned and betrayed – feeling like I have truly lost a good friend.

 

**Photo Caption: Comedian Stephen Colbert holds a rally with former GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain at the College of Charleston on Jan. 20, 2012 in Charleston, S.C. (Richard Ellis/Getty Images)

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bubblesdeux

  • Chris p

    The Republican party has become an entity that in no way resembles what their party was 20 years ago. They speak of lesser government yet created the Department of Homeland Security. Rather than fix problems in the system they added a massive layer and more debt. Not exactly practicing what they preach. The tenets of the party have gone from conservative to extreme and faces of moderation such as Jack Kemp , Arlen Spector and Orrin Hatch are most likely liberals in the parties current ideology . I believe in balance and competent individuals and in years past would vote for either party and base the decision on the better candidate but now you couldn’t pay me to vote for a Republican. They’ve allowed an extreme portion of their party to take control and those who affiliate themselves with the party have to pander to them and it cuts off people like Huntsman who may have a valuable voice to add to show more diversity in their party.

    There was a time where alot of the talk around subjects like deregulation seemed like it led to demagoguery , but what history has shown through 8 years of the Bush administration is that it actually wasn’t. The party sold itself out to a small group within it that invested their money well and stole the American Dream away from the country and now refuses to release the stranglehold it has on all our lives right now. Obama certainly hasn’t done a very good job himself but when you’re met at every turn by people who would hold up jobs programs for Oil pipelines how does anything move forward ??
    It’s interesting though how soon they forget that without the Tea Party the Republican party was on the verge of virtual extinction because of their failed policies in the past. now a more extreme element pushes their every move. They don’t seem to mind though and while Obama doesn’t have a ton to be proud of there’s not a single player in the field that has an actual chance against reality..not Obama..reality. All the Republican party will have left then is more of the same interference tactics in Congress and it’ll bring them yet another step closer to extinction again that they’re rightfully earning as the traitors to the American Dream they’ve become.
    I honestly don’t understand where the voices of reason have gone in the Republican Party . I suppose there’s a chance for things to change and return to what they espoused in the past but I sure don’t see any signs of it anywhere these days

    • http://www.bubblesdeux.com BubblesDeux

      Have you ever read ‘Tear down this myth’? It does a great job of breaking down the Reagan presidency which, as most people know, gets tagged as one of those’ enlightened’ years during the Republican heyday.

      If you were just struggling to hit the middle class in the 80s, you were out of luck, but oh well, a story is a story, right?

      The voices of reason have been drowned out, in many ways, but the realization that you can win elections by skewing the media and scaring people into believing there is a big bad wolf waiting to rob them or steal their kids.

  • E. Nigma

    Great points @Chris p. I think the GOP’s inability to reconcile its views to reality may prove to be its undoing. The 2012 general election may cause the party to do some deep soul searching. In many ways, I hope it does.

    • Chris p

      I honestly hope they do as well. This country needs balance and stability and while people think a 2 party government is restrictive I find it more organized than chaotic governments where a single party can drive an agenda with 30 percent support or even less from the general populace like alot of foreign countries experience.

      Moderates in both parties need to speak up more because the majority of this country is centrist. We’re all being held captive by extremists on both ends of the spectrum and the sooner the actual reasonable majority come together and do what’s best for the country as a whole the better.

  • http://www.iamindeed.blogspot.com Ceiladgh

    There is a polarization in this nation that has steadily grown worse in recent years. And, to be honest – I blame the GOP and their tacit ( if not blatant ) endorsement of those who serve only to foster dissent and dischord with sound bytes of little meaningful content beyond the “us v them” feeling.

    I can’t listen to the current crop – for I think they are all idiots. And have no memory of truly egregious stances, positions and speeches ( let alone actions ) they have given in the past. For Once – from any politician I would truly LOVE to hear the words – “I did think and say that, and it was wrong. First I was wrong in my conclusions – and didn’t do my research. But I have learned from that and now I see that ____*insert new conclusion here *__ “. Again, as I always say – I won’t hold my breath for the smurf look does not work well with my eye colouring.

    The first instinct is to deny, the second is to deflect, the third is to “blame it on your opposition”. Never once has any one of the candidates ever said – I was wrong. And you know what? I think that is one of the MOST important features in a president, senator, representative or Human Being. The ability to see, review, admit and take accountability for bad choices, decisions and actions.

    I agree – the voices of the centre have been lost. But I see the centre as the ones ( and the people ) who most want to make the differences that will help ALL … and if that means that compromise is more apt to make a change FOR the right direction than acting like a spoiled child and saying NO to all options … I’m in that centre too. I never could identify with the GOP – and now – I’m thankful that I can say that, after seeing what it has deteriorated to.

  • E. Nigma

    @Ceiladgh – I don’t blame the decline in discourse on the GOP per se, but I believe Rush Limbaugh and his ilk have established a new low. It’s time the GOP marginalized people like him.

  • Deirdre

    I’ve been having the same thoughts about the Libertarian Party, of which I’ve been a member since the first time I voted. Their rhetoric is sounding more & more like the Tea Party (and I’m not sure why they think they can simply claim Ron Paul as their own when he seems to think he’s a Republican). I’ve actually removed myself from some party mailing lists when they became vehicles for the conspiracy theories and hate speech that have replaced discourse. I find it heartbreaking, especially coming from the people who tout themselves as “The Party of Principle.” I’m not at all sure where – or if – I fit into all of this anymore.

    • http://www.bubblesdeux.com BubblesDeux

      During the last few debates I’ve noticed that in many ways, Ron Paul is the only person actually saying things that you’d expect to come out of the mouth of a Republican.

      I’m not sure where I fit, sometimes, and believe that I’ve chosen the label ‘independent’ simply because.

      Am I happy with Obama? In many ways yes and in many ways no. I wanted him to take office and get to work, not waste as much time (in my opinion) trying to make ‘the other’ side listen to him. They didn’t want to then, and they don’t want to now. It’s almost like all politicians forget that they are their for our best interests, not their own.

  • http://bt.twistedpond.com Madison

    Wow, that was a nice read!

    I really think that the Internet and a lack of responsible reporting are partly the issue. It is too easy for one irresponsible statement to be made, then regurgitated among numerous “News” outlets via Internet and suddenly the statement becomes fact. It allows a sort of rampant extremism without logic. And then come the primaries, where so few participate that the messages of the few outweigh the logic of the mainstream. We see it horribly here in Utah. You’ve got to be a RADICAL republican in order to get elected. Here’s one an example of a quote from one of our esteemed legislatures arguing against a school funding bill (he recently retired due to health issues):

    (The bill’s sponsor compared the bill to the baby involved in the Biblical story of King Solomon), the Senator against the bill responded saying, “This baby is black, I’ll tell you. This is a dark, ugly thing.” He later stated that he felt folks were just too sensitive. This senator was overwhelmingly re-elected even though this is normal operating procedure for him. My point is that, here in Utah you have to be a radical Republican to get elected — racist, member of extreme religious right, or a bishop from the majority religion. I believe this radical thrust, along with the ease of disinformation, is now hitting on a national level. It’s been here in Utah for years.

    I’m an independent. Like many Utahns I’ve often registered as a Republican just to have SOME effect on the outcome of elections. (Nearly the entire legislature is Republican) Thus the Hunstman as Governor anomaly. That man did a wonderful job here as a balancing act against the nutcase legislature, but he didn’t stand a chance against the radical forces now driving the Republican primary scene.

    • http://www.bubblesdeux.com BubblesDeux

      It’s so amazing to me to see how people ‘forget’ what is said by the candidates from one debate to the next. It is even more amazing to see how much each candidate forgets and this is by no means an indictment of only the GOP. It seems to be part of the political process. It would be funny if it was an SNL skit but since it is real life, it’s hard to find the humor.

      I totally understand what you’re saying about the extremists. I grew up in San Diego and I seemed to remember that it was just the most liberal place, then I went back when I was in my 20s for my mother’s funeral and wondered when it became so racist. The answer I received was ‘it had always been like that’. So strange to me that we vote in extremists and yet we ‘say’ we want less government. Let me tell you, no group seems to want to limit individual freedoms more than far extremists groups.

  • http://www.ourdailygreenlife.blogspot.com FreshGreenKim

    While I tend to lean left, I really believe I’m closer to center, it’s just that the right has gotten so so so radical right. I always walk into the election season with an open mind, thinking, let’s see who is most closely aligned with the direction I want to see our nation move.

    But I don’t want to move towards a nation that is increasingly divided, progressively isolated, and less and less concerned with caring for our planet and people. I have not heard enough from the GOP that indicates that is a direction they want to move.

    I truly believe the “global warming myth” research is financed by big oil, but what I simply cannot understand is why that would be a reason NOT to conserve resources. It’s an arrogance that makes no sense. What do folks think that if global warming is not real they can use all the gasoline and oil they want? That’s just one example. Another one that lights my fire is increasing role religious issues play into our legislation. They don’t belong there.

    But really, there is common ground if you stop listening to extremists. Nobody wants to waste money, nobody wants to be sick, nobody wants to be without food or shelter. How we arrive at satisfying those needs is an entirely different matter.

    • http://www.bubblesdeux.com BubblesDeux

      I was reading the jobs report this morning and was sad to hear that the numbers show the national rate is down to 8.6%, which is terrible news for people who want to say that President sucks at creating jobs.

      What I can’t wrap my head around is how we allowed a present to have two terms when we knew he was both lying and incompetent in many ways. Yet, we have a president now who can run rings around most of us on an intellectual level and ‘this’ guy supposedly sucks?

      I also believe in a commonality between most of us, and to me, that’s what watching the Occupy movement has shown – there are more ‘have nots’ than ‘haves’ and it’s just a matter of time before we figure out our own powers in numbers.

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