The GOP is reacting to its disastrous performance on November 7th in such a way as to guarantee that it will suffer even greater losses in 2008, 2010 and beyond.
In the immediate aftermath of the election, Republicans across the media spectrum began arguing that the loss of its congressional majority was not, in fact, a rejection of conservatism. No, they argued, the results were actually a validation of conservatism.
Exhibit A is an astonishing quote from soon-to-be former head of the RNC, Ken Mehlman.
On Wednsday morning, the New York Times reports, Mehlman met with a group of conservative policy wonks to discuss the previous night's bloodbath and to assess what it meant for their party and their movement.
The election, he told the crowd at the headquarters of Americans for Tax Reform, was not a repudiation of conservatism. It was a mandate to “recommit ourselves to being reform conservatives,” he said, telling them that the president would not flinch from arguing for ideas like privatizing Social Security.Um... why would that be, Ken? Because it went so well the first time?
Does Mehlman literally not remember what happened in 2005, as George W. Bush squandered his political capital on an effort to privatize Social Security?
This confirms my long-standing belief that Republicanism is a form of mental illness. No sane person could look at the results of the 2006 midterm elections and see a mandate for the policies of the Bush administration and his GOP-controlled congress. The Republicans' loss of their congressional majority was a complete and unambiguous repudiation of their approach to governing.
I genuinely hope that they are serious about this, though. I hope that they hew so far to the right that they try once again to privatize Social Security. I hope they pull out the wingnut wish list and try to get every item on it, from top to bottom.
I hope they try again to get a federal marriage amendment. I hope they try again to outlaw abortion in every instance, including the health and life of the mother.I hope they try to get congressional authorization for an invasion of Iran. I hope they nominate Rick Santorum for president.
There's the cliff, Ken. Full speed ahead.
2 comments:
One thing has not changed since the election. Those at the far ends of the spectrum are setting the agenda. The same groups who have been most influential in terms of supporting the Republican Party are not going to change their positions any time soon.
My concern is, now that the Democratic Party is in a position to change the course of the country...will they do the same thing as the Republicans.
It has been a belief system that guided our government's actions throughout the reign of George W. Bush...ignoring what should have been application of knowledge. Why form commissions and study groups when you are going to ignore findings and recommendations?
That's all for now; likely too much already. I found numerous posts on which I could have offered comments. That's not something people necessarily appreciate. Some consider it 'littering'.
I did want to let you know I am including you in the newest installment of A Hitchhiker's Guide To The Blogosphere. Should you wish to go forward with a link exchange, we can do that as well.
Cheers!
From France, all the papers and a lot of people are very happy because we never understood Bush's foreign politic.
I "hope"...american people continues to "valid the conservatism" like that.
Salut.
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