NYT's G.O.P. Grief and Grieving by, Charles Blow...

[rasputin1952]

The New York Times

Charles M. Blow

The attack on the Republican establishment by the tea party folks grabs the gaze like a really bad horror flick — some version of “Hee Haw” meets “28 Days Later.” It’s fascinating. But it also raises a serious question: Are these the desperate thrashings of a dying movement or the labor pains of a new one?

My money is on the former. Anyone who says that this is the dawn of a new age of conservatism is engaging in wishful thinking on a delusional scale.

There is no doubt that the number of people who say that they are conservative has inched up. According to a report from Gallup on Thursday, conservatives finished 2009 as the No. 1 ideological group. But ideological identification is no predictor of electoral outcomes. According to polls by The New York Times, conservative identification was slightly higher on the verge of Bill Clinton’s first-term election and Barack Obama’s election than it was on the verge of George W. Bush’s first-term election.

<snip>

Split hairs about labels if you must, but the Republican brand already has begun a slow slide into obscurity. And turning further right only hastens its demise. Quiet as it’s kept, many in the party know this.

<snip>


http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/opinion/09blow.html?hp

[mdmc]

1. those gallup numbers worry me a bit

[rasputin1952]

2. They don't bother me in the least...

polling changes almost daily. If the economy strengthens at all...there will be no more R's, especially moderate one's.

We are watching the internal destruction of a powerful political party...all because it is run by zealots...:hi:

[Berry Cool]

3. Not me.

This is a great column. It points out the exact problem. Conservatives may be angry, but anger is not a plan.

Actually, we would do well to heed him. So many of us are angry, too (me included), but anger is not a plan for us, either.

[mdmc]

6. very good point

I too am very angry..

[roguevalley]

9. gallop is conservative and often an outlier

[Tippy]

4. "The right has seen the enemy, and he is the future." ......

I wan to believe, but one thing I have learned over the years if "You can't trust a Republican"

[snot]

5. Conservatives have long seen this coming and have been preparing to replace the "Rebulican" brand.

Name-change only; same bosses.

[SkyDaddy7]

7. I like it but...

I hope this guy is correct…I want to think he is but I also know many Americans could be ignorant enough to vote the GOP back in…All it takes is the “carrot & stick” of religion and we have plenty of that in this country!

[rasputin1952]

8. I think the whacked out part of religion is a fringe element...

there are plenty of fundamentalists running around, but they have become disillusioned since they have see virtually nothing done for their "causes". They know they've been played as saps...they may well revolt by staying home...:hi: