A Generation In The Wilderness?

By Ron Beasley

I think it's healthy to have two relevant political parties but the Republican party is anything but healthy now and there are few signs it's going to improve anytime soon.  Joe Gandelman reports that California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has some advice for his Republican party.

“I think the important thing for the Republican Party is now to also look at other issues that are very important for this country and not to get stuck in ideology,” the governor said in an interview broadcast on CNN this morning. “Let’s go and talk about healthcare reform. Let’s go and . . . fund programs if they’re necessary programs and not get stuck just on the fiscal responsibility.”

Schwarzenegger, a social moderate, long ago earned the enmity of many California Republicans, who believe he abandoned some of the fiscally conservative views he espoused when he ran for office five years ago and began proposing new spending. They cite, for instance, his failed plan to dramatically expand health insurance in the state. Last week, Schwarzenegger angered Republicans again by proposing a statewide sales tax increase to balance the budget.

But the governor has not so openly criticized the approach of the conservative bloc that dominates his party on the national level. He said he thought Republicans had “a very good party,” and he has no plans to leave it, because he agrees with their push to reduce restrictions on business and to remain strong on crime. Schwarzenegger said, however, that the GOP should support greater investment to build roads and fix schools and other “things that the American people want to have done.”

[....]

They should not “always just say, ‘This is spending. We can’t do that.’ No, don’t get stuck with that. We have heard that dialogue. Let’s move on.”

But the Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity Republicans have taken over the Republican Party and this is what we can  expect:

GOP leader: Rebuild party based on 'sanctity of marriage' 

The Republican brand is still alive and well, Rep. Mike Pence said on Fox News Sunday.

When asked by Chris Wallace what "conservative solutions" the GOP would bring to their current minority-party status, Pence said social issues like "the sanctity of marriage" will remain the backbone of the Republican platform.

"You build those conservative solutions, Chris, on the same time-honored principles of limited government, a belief in free markets, in the sanctity of life, the sanctity of marriage," Pence said.

Yes this is the leadership of the Republican Party.  Via John Cole we have this description of Mike Pence from Matt Yglesias:

And I can tell you this about Mike Pence: he has no idea what he’s talking about. The man is a fool, who deserves to be laughed at. He’s almost stupid enough to work in cable television.

Many of the moronic Republicans with a 16th century mindset have been defeated the last two election cycles but those who remain are still in charge of the Republican party.  My 79 year old uncle who had never voted for a Democrat before cast his vote for Barack Obama.  A party success is dependent on a base of the ignorant is destined to spend a long time in the wilderness. 

Comments

[Rita]

I hope that America can get universal health care soon. There are so many people in need.

Rita

[Ron's friend Bill]

I'm not sure that Mike Pence is entirely moronic. I suspect that Mike Pence and others of his ilk have noticed that the California gay-marriage ban was supported by large numbers of African American and Hispanic voters, notwithstanding the Republicans' hostility to immigrants, especially Spanish-speaking ones, and their barely concealed reliance on racial politics to hold their white southern base. He probably thinks that Republicans can attract these minority voters by using gay marriage as a wedge issue. I hope he's wrong.