The message from Republican voters is getting louder and it’s basically a giant ‘I don’t give a shit.’ They don’t care about actually winning elections, although they are bound to win plenty of them. They want fresh faces. Apparently, they really hate the Republicans they have in office right now and they hate anyone who the Republican power structure cares to recommend to them. If you have a closed primary where only registered Republicans can vote, it doesn’t matter if it is Alaska or Delaware, Colorado or Pennsylvania, the GOP’s base is voting for the most rock-ribbed staunch conservative available.
I’m not even sure ‘conservative’ is the correct term. ‘Fringe’ ‘batty’ and ‘loony’ are all strong alternatives. Maybe it was the economic collapse in September 2008. Maybe it was the selection of Sarah Palin as John McCain’s running-mate at the beginning of that month. Maybe it was the epic failure on every level of the Bush-Cheney regime. Maybe it was seeing a black man from Hawaii elected president. But, whatever it was, or whatever combination of factors came together, at some point the Ron Paul-fringe of the Republican Party became ascendent and merged with the more extreme elements of the social conservative movement to give us a toxic brew.
Politically, things in this country are totally fucked up. A lot of Democrats are celebrating tonight because they think our losses will be slightly less than expected in November now that teabaggers have swept the evening. I’m here to tell you to curb your enthusiasm. We may be gaining some slight political advantage, but we’re losing one of the only two viable political parties in this country. This is serious business. I get criticized for going easy on the Obama administration. I don’t want to go easy on them. But look at the alternative. Someday soon, most progressives will wake up and realize that I was a bellweather. But I won’t be gloating. All I did was tell you what was coming and where our energy should be placed.
I don’t like to use well-worn and loaded terms like ‘fascist.’ People get the idea that I’m accusing the other side of wanting to commit genocide or something. But we need terms to describe just how radical the Republican Party has become. They’re so racist at this point that people on their own side are beginning to talk openly about it. They have no respect for the principle of freedom of religion. Newt Gingrich is suggesting that we have no more freedom of religion than Saudi Arabians enjoy. I don’t even want to document the crazy beliefs of recent Republican primary victors. It’s too depressing. But if you are a fan of desegregated lunch counters and masturbation, you should be concerned.
I’m not celebrating tonight’s election returns. For me, they just confirm what I’ve been saying forever. We are in trouble, and we still don’t have our eyes on the ball.
