Maybe they’ve hoisted themselves with their own petards. And maybe that is the cure to the sickness.
For years, I’ve wondered how one turns the Republican Party back into the caring party it once was; inhabited by moderates who wanted to move the ball down the road, and, shudder to say, compromise to get there from here. For the last 20 or 30 years, the party has been moving steadily to the right including now when we see a minority of tea party types leading the party into the abyss.
I never thought to look into the “enemy” to see the solution. This time, over the budget and debt ceiling, they set a strategic trap and maybe caught themselves in it. Polls can’t go much lower than today when it comes to disapproval of the Republican Party. They are so low, in fact, I’m not sure the common sensical GOP members in the House are even approving of the job they’re doing.
Sen. Ted Cruz, with the aid of his barbs aimed at the White House, may just have opened the door to the defeat of his “no compromise” mates. His Cruz Missiles seem to have boomeranged.
We are seeing stories now that business groups who traditionally supported and FUNDED Republicans are rethinking their strategies. Now they are considering funding moderate Republicans against vulnerable tea party types. They see what these extremists are doing to the country. And maybe, just maybe, that is how we can turn the GOP around. Back in 1978 I worked on a gubernatorial campaign. We came up with a four-point program on aid to the disadvantaged and when we showed it to our senate minority leader he said, “We can’t do that. We’ll never get it passed.” I said, if we don’t do this, we’ll never get elected. You can’t govern if you can’t win.
Even the Koch brothers, who have funded the rightest of right-wing efforts, now seem to be backing away from the tea party types. If money is the blood that keeps politics alive, those who supply that blood are now rethinking their election strategies. Thank goodness.
Without a true leader to take lead us back from the abyss, we can’t get there. And who woulda thunk that the fellas who provide the money would be those leaders? I hope.
The budget mess seems to be on the road to solution. The government should be back at work soon and we should avoid defaulting on our debt. Note I said “should” because I’m not totally convinced yet but I do believe the sane have retaken the asylum over these issues and we’re on the road to compromise. Those who have been verbally assaulting Speaker Boehner, in the aftermath of the resolution, may begin to see why they are lucky to have him standing between financial default and resolution of the issue. As much as he has been attacked for "not having the guts" to stand up to his right flank, let's see if he gets the credit he will deserve for bringing us back to sanity.
I just hope that when this budget/debt crisis is resolved, we don’t forget who caused it and I hope the business groups follow through on their strategies to fight against the No Compromise Crowd.
For years, I’ve wondered how one turns the Republican Party back into the caring party it once was; inhabited by moderates who wanted to move the ball down the road, and, shudder to say, compromise to get there from here. For the last 20 or 30 years, the party has been moving steadily to the right including now when we see a minority of tea party types leading the party into the abyss.
I never thought to look into the “enemy” to see the solution. This time, over the budget and debt ceiling, they set a strategic trap and maybe caught themselves in it. Polls can’t go much lower than today when it comes to disapproval of the Republican Party. They are so low, in fact, I’m not sure the common sensical GOP members in the House are even approving of the job they’re doing.
Sen. Ted Cruz, with the aid of his barbs aimed at the White House, may just have opened the door to the defeat of his “no compromise” mates. His Cruz Missiles seem to have boomeranged.
We are seeing stories now that business groups who traditionally supported and FUNDED Republicans are rethinking their strategies. Now they are considering funding moderate Republicans against vulnerable tea party types. They see what these extremists are doing to the country. And maybe, just maybe, that is how we can turn the GOP around. Back in 1978 I worked on a gubernatorial campaign. We came up with a four-point program on aid to the disadvantaged and when we showed it to our senate minority leader he said, “We can’t do that. We’ll never get it passed.” I said, if we don’t do this, we’ll never get elected. You can’t govern if you can’t win.
Even the Koch brothers, who have funded the rightest of right-wing efforts, now seem to be backing away from the tea party types. If money is the blood that keeps politics alive, those who supply that blood are now rethinking their election strategies. Thank goodness.
Without a true leader to take lead us back from the abyss, we can’t get there. And who woulda thunk that the fellas who provide the money would be those leaders? I hope.
The budget mess seems to be on the road to solution. The government should be back at work soon and we should avoid defaulting on our debt. Note I said “should” because I’m not totally convinced yet but I do believe the sane have retaken the asylum over these issues and we’re on the road to compromise. Those who have been verbally assaulting Speaker Boehner, in the aftermath of the resolution, may begin to see why they are lucky to have him standing between financial default and resolution of the issue. As much as he has been attacked for "not having the guts" to stand up to his right flank, let's see if he gets the credit he will deserve for bringing us back to sanity.
I just hope that when this budget/debt crisis is resolved, we don’t forget who caused it and I hope the business groups follow through on their strategies to fight against the No Compromise Crowd.
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