Tag Archives: GOP

For the past forty years, the American political scene has moved precipitously to the right. It has become a cliche to point out that Barry Goldwater, once the epitome of conservatism, would be unwelcome in today’s Republican party, dominated by the Christian Right. Indeed, even Worst-President-Ever Ronald Reagan might be shunned as an amnesty supporting, social-security saving, government-expanding RINO. Over nearly a half-century the Republican Party moved from the center to the right, and the Democratic Party from the left to the center. In the past five years, the movement has stopped. That is the lesson of 2006, that would have been the lesson of 2002 and 2004 were it not for the despicable lying and fear-mongering that duped America into embracing George Bush.

In an astounding display of self-delusion Republicans have themselves convinced that the solution to their woes is not to move back toward American values, but even further rightward. The Republican base is slowly killing or marginalizing the only type of Republican that is viable in an America that is – at long last – moving back away from self-imposed exile far to the right of other industrialized democracies. The most recent example comes from Utah’s admittedly conservative 3rd district. Whenever there was an opinion to be taken, Chris Cannon would stake at a position on the extreme right. He was just defeated by a young primary challenger, Jason Chaffetz, who claimed he was – believe it or not – not conservative enough. If the GOP truly believes that the way to reclaim lost majorities is to support more inequality in wealth, more war, more hatred for people who are different, more money-based rationing of healthcare, more contempt for the Constitution and so forth, it could be a long and rosy run for us as Democrats.