Please take the time to listen to author Max Blumenthal, on radical extremists who are destroying the Republican Party.
Blumenthal says, "A recent poll showed that seven out of 10 white evangelicals are extremely opposed to Barack Obama's proposed health care reforms, and the Christian Right is raising a lot of money organizing against health care. The extreme right is growing across the board, and those who announced the death of "conservatism" and the death of the Christian Right were premature. The goal is to paint Obama as a totalitarian secret communist/fascist/terrorist/Muslim - whatever they can do - a basic pastiche of right-wing hobgoblin, a multi-colored pinata of every evildoer they want to smash, in order to de-legitimize him and mobilize as many as possible. As I discuss in my book, this began in the rallies that began after Sarah Palin was nominated as Vice President."
The interview from NPR's Fresh Air is available below. Fresh Air can be heard every day on local NPR station, WLRN.
7 comments:
Darn. I hoped that like a whirling dervish they would burn themselves out. I have never heard such frothing, petty behavior as these new Republicans. I don't understand how anybody with two nuerons could abide their behavior and rethoric. They just can't tolerate that we have a half black president. Shame on the Republicans.
WTF? First Anon, I am a Republican and I AM ashamed of the ultra right. But saying, "these people, the right wing" They hate blacks....really?
I am ashamed of the ultra right not because they "Hate" blacks, but because they sound (and probably are) ignorant bible thumpers who disagree with anyone that does not see eye to eye with them.
Given that polls are showing high support for political alternatives, I think its only a matter of time until the party fractures, and a new party emerges. (even the fact that the polls are asking this demonstrates a very important step).
The free-marketeers(those w/ socialist phobias), the low-tax business crowd and the Cultural Christians are embarrassed of the tea bagging quacks they see on TV representing them.
But because they are likely to be entrenched in a repub network (family, work, the country club...etc) they are either reluctant to jump boat or their confused.
They would much rather keep their party affiliations to themselves until they see what happens --- which might be why you don't hear moderates standing up against the party.
Anyways, perhaps we'll have a more European like party system?
All parties have their factions , I am a republican, agnostic, fiscally conservative and socially liberal (favor drug legalization and don't care who marry's who or who shacks up with who).
The bible thumpers have destroyed the Republican party, not only that they have also made it less choerent and credible on issues.
I oppose Obama's healthcare reform not because Obama is a muslim (he ain't) or because he was born on Mars (he wasn't) or because he went to school in a madrassa (probably better than MDPS anyway). I oppose the healthcrae plan because it doesn't make any fiscal sense, Medicare is broke and will be insolvent soon, so why keep piling it on?
Theres a solution somewhere to this mess but beating Obama over the head with a bible or piling on more government are not it.
Cato, a republican who actually is interesting...maybe we need a third party because your belief system doesn't fit either.
Actually maybe 4 0r 5 parties to accomodate both Republicans and Democrats who don't fit their prospective parties molds.
Today around 30% of electorate is NPA (no party affiliation)so perhaps a better Idea might be to get rid of political parties and let ideas, issues and candidates stand on their own, without all the shallow partisan hacking.
Quite honestly I hold out little hope or faith for the electorate at large. (see Idiocracy)
Although I agree that we would be better off without parties. That just doesn't seem feasible.
Parties are a natural outgrowth of human nature. Getting rid of parties, would be like getting rid of "cliques" in high school.
The founding fathers learned this very early on.
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