Ready, Fire, Aim

Since correctly identifying Sarah Palin as being utterly unfit to be vice president, conservative columnist, Kathleen Parker, has been subjected to all kinds of verbal abuse and been labeled as a traitor and worse. The circular firing squad continues among the "Real Americans" remaining in the GOP and it looks like the anti-intellect, deny objective fact even when it hits you in the face lunatic base of the party is continuing its - or so we can hope - self-destructive purges. Here are some highlight's from Parker's latest column in the Washington Post that looks at her alleged continued heresy:

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Election Day has produced fresh fury from self-proclaimed "conservatives" promising never again to read me or fellow apostates who criticized the Republican ticket. This is, of course, their right, but is this really the way to go about salvaging the Republican Party?

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First, from my own mail a quick sampling for context: "It's time you made it official and jump on the liberal bandwagon for good," writes Tammy. "Bow down to your 'messiah,' who you helped to crown. And prepare for the 'left-wing change' you have brought upon us. I join 57 million loyal American patriots in asking you to please announce your departure from conservatism and Republican Party."

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Where to begin? As the circular firing squad commences and Republicans begin seeking answers to what went wrong -- and who will lead them through the desert -- here's one for the suggestion box: Don't shoot the messengers. The impulse to blame someone -- anyone -- for what went wrong last week reminds parents of when a toddler falls down.

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In similarly childish behavior, those disappointed by the election of Barack Obama are slapping the heretics who expressed doubts about the McCain-Palin ticket. It's their fault that Obama won. Good thinking. And turning on the kitchen light creates a roach problem.

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Blind faith might work on a given Sunday, but some interior fact-finding might do the GOP more good in the coming months. Exit polls conducted by the Associated Press found that one in five voters who consider themselves "conservative" (34 percent of the electorate) voted for Obama. . . . Among probable causes for the GOP defection, conservatives might consider the right's tendency these days to banish into the darkness those who were merely looking for the light.