Monday, September 30, 2013

Quote of the Day: David Frum on the GOP's Political Suicide

house republicans government shutdown 

As a former Republican from a family of Republicans I never thought I would see the day come when the Republican Party would actively work to harm the American economy and the lives of millions of Americans in the process.  Sadly, with the hijacking of the party by the Christofascists and Tea Party extremists, logic and reason no longer matter in the GOP.  It's all about embracing ignorance and animosity towards others.  Just as sad is the refusal of the few sane Republicans left to stop drinking the Kool-Aid disseminated by the lunatic elements of the GOP base.  David Frum describes the situation as the GOP House prepares to force the federal government into a shutdown.  Here are highlights:



All in all, it's hard to see any positive outcome emerging for Republicans from this confrontation. Yet the party is charging forward anyway. Why?

The short answer is a breakdown in the party's ability to govern itself. It can't think strategically. Even when pressed to do something overwhelmingly likely to end in disaster, as this shutdown looks likely to do for Republicans, the party has no way to stop itself. It stumbles into fights it cannot win, gets mad, and then in its anger lurches into yet another fight that ends in yet another loss. 

Republicans who want to fight smarter are called squishes; Republicans who wish to fight less are called RINOs—and both have been hunted pretty near to extinction. Instead of effective opposition, we see those doomed spasms. And out of these spasms, Obamacare looks sturdier than ever—and any hope of negotiating to fix its worst elements seemingly further out of reach than ever.



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