Friday, June 28, 2013

The Republican Party is losing.

I am going to say it here and now:  The Republican Party is losing its Mojo.  It is on the long slide to oblivion.

Why, you ask?  I'm glad you did!

They are losing because since before the election, they've begun to act on what seems to be a realization that they cannot win without cheating.

  • Gerrymandering election districts.
  • Voter ID laws designed to restrict minority voters
  • Closing or moving election registration offices out of minority areas
  • Closing or moving Drivers Licensing offices out of minority areas
  • Halting or cutting back on early voting days
  • Halting early voting on Sundays to thwart minority churches busing to the polls
  • Refusal to negotiate with Democratic legislators over restrictive laws
  • Violation of legislatorial chamber rules by Republicans running those houses.
  • Violation of election laws
  • Violations of open meeting laws
  • Refusal to allow cameras in legislative chambers
  • I'm not even going to belabor their use of Fox News nationwide to lie and spread untruth and misrepresentation of the facts to fool their base into thinking black is white and white is black.
  • ...and last, but not least, altering of timestamps on house votes to try to legitimize a vote taken after a session's legal end has passed.

Now, I'll be the first to admit that the Democratic Party isn't exactly lily white on this issue.  Their hands are dirty, too, as they have been accused and shown to have used at least some of the above tactics in the past.

I'll smack them round if I catch them at it in the future, too!

But let's be honest - the Republicans have done these things almost constantly over the last few years, taking every chance they could to not only avoid dealing with the Democrats, but to simply shut them down completely.  Doing that to an opponent who has been effectively shut down in a legitimate election by the voters, honestly and above board is one thing - the voters DO and should have a say on who represents them.

But to use the tactics of the cheater is to admit you can't do it legitimately, and that is now the case with the Republicans.

I mean, look at Rick Perry.  No sooner did the SCOTUS shut down the Voting Rights Act than his Administration immediately began enforcing their previously declared unconstitutional voter ID law, specifically crafted to keep minority voters away from the polls!  They have announced their intention to reintroduce the precise gerrymandering redistricting law that got shut down once already, precisely to get rid of that brave but pesky lady that just killed their antiabortion law.

All because they can't do it legitimately.

Boehner has repeatedly refused to bring legislation to the floor or up for consideration that could be passed with a minority of the Republican Caucus and support of the Democrats.  Because that would bring legislation to possibly pass that would make Obama look good.  Legislation that his caucus would not have the votes to stop - using the legitimate rules the House usually operates under.

The common thread in all this is that Republicans can read the demographic tea leaves - Conservatives are a dying breed, and are already a minority of the country.  They cannot address or even pass their agenda of hatred, intolerance and bigotry without using the power of the States they control or illegal or unethical tactics and shenanigans to get their way and shut down their opponents unfairly.

They know that if the people of this country had a real, honest, unfettered choice, their agenda would get thrown out like old garbage.

This not to say that the path would then be open to a totally progressive agenda.  It would not, because Progressives are a minority, too.  There is a large percentage of Americans who live in the middle, politically, and there would be a definite dialog going on between those middle-of-the-roaders and the Progressives over just exactly how far left the MOTRs would let them go.

But at least the country could get moving again, and would no longer be stuck in this quagmire of bigotry and hatred over the US having a black President.

Face it, folks, it is hatred, bigotry, intolerance and stubborn intransigence that has this country at a standstill today.  It is NOT the fault of the Democrats, because while they HAVE made their share of mistakes, it is the deliberate and calculated refusal of the Republicans to help run this country that has put us where we are.

Yes, they'd rather see this country sink into economic chaos than allow the black guy to win.  It's like the abusive spouse who kills his wife rather than let her get a divorce.

"If I can't have her, nobody can!"

That attitude is wrong at the personal level, and it is wrong at the national level.

If the Republican Party cannot get its act together and get control over their Party to end this bigotry and intolerant bullshit, the country should throw the bums out.





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