It’s been a while since I’ve commented on the GOP implosion. Perhaps it’s so rapid and farcical, I’m having a hard time even digesting it. It’s as though all of the seediness, intellectual vacuity, and Randian selfish prickishness that so many of us have known about for so long is finally getting so obvious that even Joe the Plumber could figure it out. Well, maybe that’s stretching it a bit, as there’s no coloring book or distracting shiny objects involved yet.
One of those things that I’ve talked about before is the split between the big money/country club Republicans, and the batshit-insane crazy uncle of the party, the social conservative/Godidiot wing. Anyone paying attention well knows that the real “base” of the GOP (the hypercapitalists) have more or less used the Christian Taliban for electoral success, all the while loathing the flat-earth/dark-ages viewpoint that they’re so vocal about. You know the drill.. vote against the gays, but get a capital gains tax cut, vote to “save your guns”, get a corporate deregulation. It’s so freakin’ hilarious, simply because of the fact, that on their own, both factions at this point would be faring even worse than they are now. The Godsquad pretty much would be more at home with some fringe party like the Constitution Party or something, where they would pretty much drop off the radar. The GOP keeps playing these people for suckers, yet, being “faith” based, they keep coming back for more. It’s quite obvious the distaste from the country club wing for the Godsquad is quite high. Do you think they really give two shits about abortion, especially considering quite a few of ‘em have probably knocked up their fair share and had to take advantage of abortion, lest they hit a setback in their careers and pocketbooks? C’mon.
RNC head Michael Steele has been a hoot lately, saying crazy-ass things faster than I can keep track. First, the “are you crazy?” remark about the GOP being open to civil unions, then the Rush Limpballs apology, and now the GQ interview we’re all hearing about where he inadvertently let slip that he personally probably isn’t opposed to gay marriage or abortion. I can’t remember who I was reading yesterday, but it said that one really gets the impression that Steele basically says whatever he thinks the interviewer wants to hear. I can see that, although I really believe his comments in the GQ interview reveal the schism that I talked about above.
Vote-fraud enabler and GOP hack Ken Blackwell (the other prominent Republican black guy) had this to say:
“Chairman Steele needs to reread the Bible, the U.S. Constitution and the 2008 GOP Platform,” said Blackwell. “He then needs to get to work or get out of the way.”
See, that’s the GOP’s dilemma. A party who finds “reading the Bible” an important part of their schtick is in serious trouble, in regards to any long-term success, as the country grows ever more secular (and of course, one also has to put aside the achingly obvious conundrum of having a party that continuously boasts of being pro-life, yet seems to simultaneously fetishize war, torture and the death penalty). Most of the real leaders are really hamstrung by the Godsquad, they probably enjoy sex of all kinds almost as much as they love money and power, but have to toe the moralist hack line, and it’s killing ‘em. When are they gonna toss these crazies overboard? As the views of the religious right seem crazier and crazier to most normal Americans, what will be the tipping point when the GOP finally gives ‘em the old heave ho?