Schism

This morning two prominent Republicans went on Sunday shows and dismissed the small tent philosphy embraced by both Rush Limbaugh and Dick Cheney. Colin Powell and Tom Ridge, both military veterans, calmly and thoughtfully put forth their case for their visions of the Republican Party going forward. Now seeing as how neither man is in office or running for office they could speak their mind without having to carry water for the wingnut base. Now they didn't present the exact same case, but one thing was for certain with both of them. Neither man believed the Republican Party can make a comeback if they listen to people like Rush Limbaugh. Now here is the thing, Rush Limbaugh is one of the most polarizing people in America let alone inside the Republican Party. But right now the GOP is not just trying to shore up its base, its also trying to reach out to independents and people in the middle. That is a fight that normally they would be fighting against the Democrats but it turns out that it seem clear now that they will also be fighting for them within the party.

I believe that today is a watershed moment. There are now two totally conflicting views of the party and sooner or later people are going to have to chose. The reason for this is that the Rush Limbaugh wing of the party wants to expel the Colin Powell/Tom Ridge wing. But they aren't going anywhere and while they would never say publicly that Rushbo needs to haul his fat ass, I am sure privately they think HE is the one that needs to go. So who will the majority of Republicans back? Who will those independents who lean Republican line up behind? The truth is it doesn't matter what the numbers end up being. What matter is I think what we are seeing now are two irreconcilable wings of one party. So unless there is some kind of miraculous kum by yah moment it would seem that it is now the destiny of the Republican Party to fracture off into at least two separate entities. I don't know how soon the public split will happen but it would seem that the private split is already in play. I do believe that we need at least two viable political parties in this country as a form of checks and balances, but until the Republicans or Republican lites get their shit together, they won't have the capacity to fulfill that role. If I could hazard a guess I am betting when the moderate wing of the Republican Party emerges as something else, Colin Powell may just be their standard bearer.



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D'oh

Greg Sargent makes a very astute observation about Michael Steele's bad timing.

This is some unfortunate timing: RNC chair Michael Steele will launch a new effort today to proclaim that the GOP is making a comeback — less than 24 hours after newly released polling revealed in fresh detail that the Republican Party is in extraordinarily dire straits.

Steele will make a big speech today to RNC officials which focuses the party on “winning the future.” He has an accompanying Op ed in The Politico that proclaims that the “Republican Party has turned a corner.”

But unfortunately for Steele, this bold assertion comes right at the moment when the political classes are digesting new Gallup polling that finds the number of people self-identifying as Republicans has plunged among almost all demographic subgroups.

Other optimistic noises coming from Steele today are similarly challenged by polling data. Steele’s Op ed claims that the GOP represents the “concerns of a majority of Americans.” But a recent New York Times poll found that only 20% trust Congressional Republicans to make the right decisions about the economy, and only 27% trust them to make good decisions about keeping us safe.

The problem for Steele of course is that he is hamstrung by his own party. Right now the inmates are running the asylum so any true attempt at outreach will be seen as weakness and met with scorn and derision. The GOP has convinced itself that it is the voice of the American people. And no matter how many times the American people shout from the hills in elections and polls that they don't agree with the GOP, Republicans still aren't trying to hear it. Recently the talking point I have heard is that the American people just haven't caught up to the GOP way of thinking yet, but supposedly this will all change soon. Yeah, good luck with that. I don't hold Michael Steele in high regard at all but right now he is in a no win situation. You can't have the party pushing to purify itself and expect to bring people into the fold. So while Steele is going to get fired eventually and some of it will be his fault, the truth is the problems the GOP is having are fundamental and not likely to change anytime soon no matter who is leading them.

GOPosaurs

How long before they go the way of the dinosaurs?