The GOP, Still Drinking The Tea

As the prior post underscores, ignorance of history has set the stage for the rise of the Tea Party and the re-writing of history so favored by the Christofascists.  If one knows accurate history, one doesn't fall for the Tea Party lies which are akin to the Christofascists' picking and choosing of Bible passages to support their pet hatreds and prejudices while ignoring the larger Gospel message in its entirety.  The result today is that the Republican Party as a whole has swung far to the right - so far, in fact that much of the once rational "GOP establishment" is nearly as unhinged and ignorant as the party base where ignorance is embraced as a badge of honor.  My father-in-law somehow got on the mailing list of right wing/GOP organizations and believe me, these folks are targeting the ignorant and uninformed with lies that shock the conscience (we throw it all in the trash where it belongs).  A  column in the Washington Post looks at this troubling reality:

What’s happening in the Republican primaries is less a defeat for the tea party than a surrender by the GOP establishment, which is winning key races by accepting the tea party’s radical anti-government philosophy.

Anyone who hopes the party has finally come to its senses will be disappointed. Republicans have pragmatically decided not to concede Senate elections by nominating eccentrics and crackpots. But in persuading the party’s activist base to come along, establishment leaders have pledged fealty to eccentric, crackpot ideas.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio . . . .  said Tuesday that there isn’t “that big a difference between what you all call the tea party and your average conservative Republican. We’re against Obamacare, we think taxes are too high, we think the government’s too big.”

But is it reasonable for Republicans to keep voting to repeal all or part of the Affordable Care Act — more than 50 times, so far — knowing full well that they have zero chance of success? Does it make sense, if taxes are excessive, to refuse President Obama’s invitation to begin serious talks about tax reform?

If Boehner wanted to be honest, he’d have said that his party is in favor of posturing and is opposed to reality.

As for the “government’s too big” part, this traditional GOP mantra has become — thanks to the tea party — a weapon of spite, not a statement of policy.

The victories by establishment-backed Republicans in Senate primaries hold no promise that the party is ready to stop throwing tantrums and begin governing. They do ensure, however, that Democrats will have few, if any, “gimme” races this fall. None of the GOP contenders nominated thus far is likely to self-immolate in the manner of, say, Christine O’Donnell, . . . 

Nothing I’ve seen in the primary results so far suggests that the Republican Party is tempering its views or weakening its implacable opposition to anything the Obama administration proposes. To the contrary, the GOP slate promises to display a remarkable degree of far-right ideological purity. Republican candidates simply cannot risk being called “moderate.”

Democrats must not let voters be fooled. Yes, tea party candidates are going down. But the tea party’s extremism and obstructionism live on.

Insanity and lunacy are now the GOP norm.  Sane Americans need to open their eyes to this reality  and make sure they support Democrats and get out to the polls come November.