Not sure what the deal is with conservatives appearing at these "folksy" type settings, but Bush launched the media campaign for TARPalooza at a soda jerk in Texas, Bobby Jindal laid the southern accent really thick in his response to Obama's State of the Union, and now the GOP launched the Grassroots Caucus "National Council for a New America" at a goddamn pizza parlor. Perhaps they're trying to avoid the dreaded "elitist" label from Limbaugh or something.
These dog and pony shows are billed to "empower the American people to develop innovative solutions that meet the serious challenges confronting our country", and that sounds like DC speak for coming up with new bureaucracies with your tax dollars. Washington Times covered the event and the quotes they selected indicate this wingding had as much substance as Joaquin Phoenix on Valium:
Mr. Romney, a failed 2008 Republican presidential candidate, said his party has got to do a better job of listening. "Let's not underestimate the people of America; let's make sure and listen to the people of America ... listen to what they're feeling and get their ideas," he said.Wow, saying America is awesome, what a controversial political stance! The video for the National Council for a New America on Cantor's YouTube page is a similar montage of patriotic symbols typically reserved for 4th of July parades.
The Obama administration has essentially nationalized the auto-making industry and is putting us all on the path to debtor's prison, and these GOP bulwarks are wilting under criticism from the Dems that they are the "Party of No". Sounds like this GOP project is scheming up Ross Douthat-style programs of targeted tax credits to vote-buy suburban families to show how much they "care". Another group of politicians promising Americans that they will be able to live beyond their means while the economy goes tits up due to easy money, geez.
Update: Ed Morrisey concurs that because of the policies of excessive spending during Bush II: "The surprise isn’t that the GOP began losing elections in 2006. The surprise is that they didn’t start losing them earlier." In further developments on how to perpetually lose, the GOP is looking to Bush aides for advice.
See what the others have said:
11 comments:
Fuck, who's going to run this party in the next decade? It's not like Reagan came out of nowhere. Jindal doesn't have curve appeal. Palin's hot, but the press hates her. Romney needs to go away and Huckabee appeals to the religious right but not to the center. Name one, real GOP contender for 2012? I used to think it was Jindal but not after that crap speech a couple months ago.
You're right on with the GOP leaving their roots and going on a spending spree. I can understand Reagan building up the military in the 80's to bankrupt the USSR and get people working after the Carter years, but not this. At least we bought real shit with the Reagan money, like new subs, tanks, planes, with Obama we're buying social programs, thinning trees, and solar panels on the Seattle DOT paint shop.
If we're lucky the GOP will go under and it will make way for other small parties to make their way to the top. This country didn't always used to be a 2 party country. I'd really enjoy seeing more parties on the ballot, and maybe if the GOP get their fat bloated asses out of the way we can see some fresh ideas.
I'm with LLocked: we need more viable parties, We need someone to represent the middle class, without which the country is lost.
I don't agree that the country will be lost, although the middle class is underrepresented it's not absent of representation in DC.
I don't disagree that we need diversity of political parties. I don't feel like I'm represented well by the GOP myself. My political leanings are more Libertarian than Republican, but until a third, fourth or fifth party is able to present a candidate that gets more than the .4% of the popular vote that Barr or the .15 that Baldwin got two parties are what we have.
I not a fan of instant-runoff voting as a solution to that problem, because really sometimes everyone on the ballot sucks.
Ross Perot demonstrated a third party could show, with 19% of the vote.
he might well have had more, but when I canvassed for him the resounding comment was, "I'd really like to vote for him, if he had a chance of winning"! I would say, "He does, if you would vote for him," but everyone is so conditioned by the two-party system.
I would think any reasonable Republican would be ashamed of their party by now, a party which has truly betrayed the average conservative citizen. They need options, as do we all.
How great would it be to have an honest politician who says what he means, but I guess that is an oxymoron.
Subrookie,
I hope you're having it on with us when you say "with Obama we're buying social programs and solar panels."
God forbid we actually try to help our nation. "Reagan bought subs, tanks and planes". . . how's that working out for you?
Lisa,
Not putting you on. I work in environmental planning, I see the ridiculous hypocrisy of the liberal-green movement every day. All the so called "green spending" in the stimulus bill is wasteful government spending. Will it employ a few people sure.
Reagan spent a lot on defense but defense spending creates real jobs. He inherited defense budgets from Carter that were inadequate for the threats facing the nation. Although defense budgets do have a lot of waste, military spending is a clear responsibility of the federal government, whereas most other federal spending is not. Reagan also reduced entitlement spending which Obama wants to increase.
I voted for and have met Ross Perot. I do hope another 3rd party candidate will someday do as well as he did. Had he not temporarily dropped out of the race in '92 because of some "photos" he could have won the election.
^----best comment left so far.
Spending money in Iraq on infrastructure (even when building are made of spit, dirt and chickenwire) is vital to defeat the TEAR-OH-WRISTS, building in the good ole USofA is Communism or Marxism or Islamo-Obamaism....
SR,
Sorry I had to delete that awesome spam comment.
Lisa,
You were a Perot person? No shit.
Gene,
What infrastructure are we building with our billions of debt? Making sure bankers are able to pay off their bonuses instead of renegotiating contracts under Chapter 11 bankruptcy? Ensuring public service unions get their annual pay raise in California? I'm not seeing a lot of ambitious plans being floated around to outfit America for 21st century. The stimulus bill just seemed like a way to pay off a host of political supporters. How the interstate system got built in the 50s, I'll never know, but I'm guessing it had to do with the allocation funds was less political in those days.
The only way we're going to get other parties with viable candidates is if we cap the spending budget on campaigns. Good God the amount of money that gets spent in one of them damned things; and we all wonder why we keep having rich assholes who have NO idea what it's like to be poor or even moderately below the moniker of "rich."
Cap the spending, and lots more parties could actually get a foot in the door.
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