Thank God for George W Bush

[sampsonblk]

He has almost single-handedly destroyed the Republican Party. Som think it will return to power in a few terms. I think we have seen our last GOP president.

It really depends on what Obama does next. If he legitimizes them, maybe they have a chace. But if he treats them like the opposing party should be treated, the GOP will collapse.
---------------------------------------------------

George Bush and his administration have achieved what no Democrat could have dared even try: the destruction of the Republican coalition built by Ronald Reagan nearly 30 years ago...

Its truly a miracle when you imagine a poor white christian lady explaining with professorial precision just why its important to Jesus that the US government cut taxes for millionaires and large corporations first. Just baffling...

Saying “I never knew him” three times isn’t going to cut it. Nationwide, GOP leaders are struggling to keep their jobs...

http://the-workz.com/blogworkz/2009/01/04/george-w-bush-and-the-destruction-of-the-republican-party/

[Fearless]

1. That argument is what adds to the fire...

If you shun them they will come back with a vengeance. If you give them an easy out, into our party, then we win. Period. We don't compromise our principles; we just extend them an olive branch and let them feel their way around the party for a while. That's it.

[sampsonblk]

2. They have no leadership

It takes a lot to maintain a national party. They no longer have the tools or support necessary to do that.

We should open the door to their constituents, of course. But not to their party leaders. Their party leaders have little or no public support. The only way they have any chance of gaining public support is if someone with great political capital (Obama) will give them a boost. I say NO to a bailout of the GOP. :)

[Fearless]

4. Clearly we can't and shouldn't support the GOP...

But as we agree we should reach out to their constituents. There is a fault line we can play with too. The GOP under Reagan is a combination of three distinct groups. If we can divide even one from the other two, whether the GOP continues to exist or not will not matter.

[crim son]

3. There has always been a thin silver lining to the shrub's pResidency:

he has managed to remind us of every lie, every fallacy and every stupidity ever exhibited in politics. We were in dire need of a reminder of what we truly stand for - of what are our American values, and bush provided us with all the evidence ever required to prove that our traditional values: honest, compassion, fairness and the love of true democracy, are values worth fighting for.

The man served his purpose. Now, let him disappear forever.

[democracy1st]

5. You think we may have seen the last GOP president ? plz tell me your being sarcastic

because if you're serious you've lost your mind!

[sampsonblk]

6. I absolutely do think that

The GOP was always a weird mix. And now that rift has been exposed. Unless there is another magician who can bring those groups back together, then yes I think we have seen the last GOP president.

If you can, please tell me where they will find enough electoral votes without having the religious right out there doing the grunt work for their campaigns.

The right-wingers love Palin, the Alaskan Disaster. More sane GOPers know she and her type of thinking are part of the problem. Good luck trying to reconcile those two views well enough to get back to 270 EVs.

[Art_from_Ark]

12. People were saying that in 1976

when Ford got the boot because of the Nixon debacle. Yet four years later, an even more corrupt Republican returned with a vengeance, and Republicans went on to control the White House for 20 of the next 28 years.

The Republican Party is the Party of Money, always has been, and money is the mother's milk of politics.

[MrModerate]

7. Let's stay out of the chicken-counting business for the moment . . .

The 'Lican party is on the rocks because they sold their soul to the devil (in the form of the witchburners of the far right) over 20 years ago and rode that horse until it fell over dead. Now America (apparently) no longer buys the notion that GOD=GOP.

But millions and millions of Americans will never vote center-left, and that's where DUers' values (and Dems' values) mostly sit.

Once they've purged the religious crazies and established a reasonable (traditional) respect-with-separation relationship with religious institutions, the GOP will be on the road to recovery. And yes, their leadership is in turmoil because they've spent the same 20 years chasing anyone with a lick of sense or a shred of decency out of the inner circle -- but that can be reconstituted.

My prediction: Obama does reasonably well facing the.huge.post-Bush.disaster, but is still wounded by the fact that he can't shit gold bricks and make everything better. 'Licans lose in 2010, but not as much as you'd expect. By 2012 they've begun coalescing as a genuine conservative, center-right party, and hold their own during the reelection (or not!) of Obama. By 2016 the New GOP is giving Dems fits, because they're reinvented themselves and Dems have gotten fat and sloppy.

And the road goes ever on.

[anonymous171]

8. Obama needs to move the center.

We need to make the progressive left the new left. That way, the DLC will become the conservative party and the GOP will become a fringe/regional party.

[Occam Bandage]

9. Idiot commentators, in 2004: "NO DEMOCRAT WILL EVER WIN AGAIN!"

Idiot commentators, in 2008: "NO REPUBLICAN WILL EVER WIN AGAIN!"

[grantcart]

10. well it actually was true for the Whigs lol

It is true that the Republicans have lost their integrating philosophy. They need a new Goldwater that will enunciate a unifying philosophy.


Right now the only thing that Republicans have is an anti Democratic vote.

[sampsonblk]

13. You beat me to that point

Parties have come and gone. Its not miraculous for that to happen, although it hasn't happened in a long time.

[sampsonblk]

11. Idiot commentators tonight: "everyone else is an idiot but me" - nt

[Norrin Radd]

14. The multinational globalist corps have squeezed the political party

lemon for every drop. Now they are on to bigger, scarier, stranger, more evil things: an enemy with no borders or national allegience manipulating world events, fomenting wars. This is what we need to be vigilant against.

[DailyGrind51]

15. Bush will be canonized a liberal saint for single-handedly destroying the GOP.

[lonestarnot]

16. People that were not paying attention in the first place have short memories.

[mmonk]

17. The cost was way too high.

[sampsonblk]

19. You got that right

If someone had offered us this deal 8 years ago, we would all have turned it down.

The cost was way too high.

[phleshdef]

18. I imagine the GOP will retool itself over the next 8-12 years. Perhaps become more Libertarian...

and less Evangelical. If they know whats good for them, thats what they will do anyways. The Libertarian wing of the party tends to be more intellectual. I still disagree with them on philosophy of course, but they seem to be a more rational, open minded, critical thinking type of Conservative and one that would definately appeal more to Independents than the Bible thumping, gay bashing, choice killing, war mongering wing of the party that wants to control everyone's personal lives and censor anything that offends their religious sensibilities.

If nothing else, they should put more thought into being the party of Eisenhower and not so much the party of Reagan.

[sampsonblk]

20. "Less evangelical" won't get them to 270, in my opinion

The evangelicals are relentless. They really believe that the gov't is evil if it permits abortion. They really believe the entire country is evil if it allows gays to marry. They really belive that God hates everyone who isn't on time for church every Sunday at an approved, protestant, KJV-only institution.

If the GOP becomes "less evangelical," meaning officially letting go of any of those positions, I think there is no way they ever get back to 270. The evangelicals are the foot soldiers of their party.

*I am painting them with a very broad brush, but you get my point.

[gulliver]

21. Al Qaeda thanks Allah too.

Bush inflicted damage on America they could never have dreamed of. The leaders of every American enemy and rival are crying in their beer seeing Bush leave.

[TheKentuckian]

22. The GOP is more routed than defeated

Even after destroying the country and presenting the worst two candidates ever they still got 46% of the vote. They'll lick their wounds and come back with the same exact goals in possibly a new package pretty shortly unless we are able to divide and destroy them.

The Republican's biggest threat is demographics. Unless they can expand that tiny tent, they will actually destroy themselves by just being Republicans, aka racists, greedy, warmongering anti-intellectuals. If they refuse to change and Obama is successful they'll find themselves the party of Utah and rural Alabama in 10-20 years.

[sampsonblk]

23. How could they expand the tent?

I am not arguing with you. But if you were them, how would you go about even attempting to grow that thing? It looks to me like any additions would bring equal subtractions.

How could they do it