Can Perry, Bachmann, or Romney Save the Republican Party Brand?

Many people are buzzing about an article at truthout.org by one Mike Lofgren, a longtime Republican staff aide on Capitol Hill who just couldn’t take the crazy anymore, left his job, and produced this buzzy (and quite well-written) lamentation about his party’s tactics and goals. If you haven’t read it, you must

The Lofgren piece is full of harsh observations and accusations, but here’s just a little sampling:

• The debt-ceiling debate was an act of “political terrorism,” in which the GOP concocted a crisis and used it to ensure that the party's unprecedented demands were met. He writes: “Everyone knows that in a hostage situation, the reckless and amoral actor has the negotiating upper hand over the cautious and responsible actor because the latter is actually concerned about the life of the hostage, while the former does not care.”

• The August FAA reauthorization fight was another instance such of hostage-taking: “Republicans were willing to lay off 4,000 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) employees, 70,000 private construction workers, and let FAA safety inspectors work without pay, in fact, forcing them to pay for their own work-related travel—how prudent is that?—in order to strong arm some union-busting provisions into the FAA reauthorization.”

• The GOP plan to discredit government in the people’s eyes is very conscious: “A couple of years ago, a Republican committee staff director told me candidly (and proudly) what the method was to all this obstruction and disruption. Should Republicans succeed in obstructing the Senate from doing its job, it would further lower Congress's generic favorability rating among the American people. By sabotaging the reputation of an institution of government, the party that is programmatically against government would come out the relative winner.”

• As for belief as opposed to tactics, the party basically really cares only about the rich. Actually, Lofgren doesn’t say “basically.” He says “solely and exclusively.” And he explains how they’ve camouflaged this with talk of protecting small businesses and so on.

There is much, much more. He’s not very happy either about his party’s militarism, its cynical use of religion, its total opposition to doing anything about the environment, and other matters, but most

programs so they will be there in the future."

Eggman of CO 7:18PM September 06, 2011

Speaking as a lifelong democrat, I don't see the GOP's current predicament as irreversible at all. But they WERE "hoist by their own petard", in that they supported the current crop of misguided wars we've blundered into. Considering that they're being waged with money borrowed from our adversaries China and Japan, among others, you'd think these fiascoes in the making would be roundly opposed by your typical republican pol, who might be expected to recoil at the expense, but instead, they receive support from GOP. Can you say "corporate welfare"?

Face facts, homie-- the GOP is right to resist cap & trade and panic-drivel about so-called "man-made global warming",

and they're also right to resist limitless unemployment compensation extensions, minimum wage increases, and so-called jobs training -- which is a big crock of B.S. But rather than criticize the Obama stimulus' defects, or work to fix them, GOP sits back and lets Mr. Super-genius self-destruct seemingly without remembering that the GOP is going to be held accountable TOO.

Illiquidity almost destroyed our economy. Bush & Obama ( and Ben Bernanke ) deserve enormous credit for preventing such a collapse. Read about the so-called Banker's Panic of 1907. Illiquidity then was triggered by costs associated with rebuilding after 1906 San Fran. quake, cascading series of Russo-Japanese War bond defaults, and a failed corner in copper futures contracts in the US that had. set off a run on banks. back then, J.P. Morgan was a real man, not some pantywaist corporation that would sell out its own mother, if it had a mother. ( Well the GOP-packed supreme court made sure that corporations had "free speech" 1st amendment rights as if they HAD a mother, after all. )

Today you have near-retarded republican senators like senator Shelby piously advocating NOT applying a life-saving jolt to the economy whose heart has stopped like some christian scientist gone mad. Same GOP senator Shelby wouldn't abide bail out for US auto companies, even though in WWII, they turned their plants over to the production of B-17, B-24, Sherman tanks, etc, that comprised the arsenal of democracy, and in so doing helped beat back Hitler's nazi war machine. GOP senator Shelby conveniently forgets US taxpayer made out handsomely on the bail-out too.

To fix up the GOP, all you have to do is promote smart GOP thinkers like Paul Ryan, and leave the intellectual road kill like Rick(s) Perry and Santorum by the wayside. Forget the Tea Party. Really best to ignore them altogether. Go ahead and support 2nd amendment rights, and smaller government. But don't propose flat-out craziness like dismantling the Federal Reserve system, or you deserve what you'll get. Best of luck to the GOP! : )

Jonathan Pulliam of MA 8:23PM August 29, 2011

Bill Hedges of MO

You are a reactionary that wants to return to the policies of George Bush who is not to blame for anything wrong, according to you. Remember? You are constantly defending Bush and his failed policies. That's your brand. If you don't remember, we do.

Listen you can't be a fiscal conservative tea party supporter and still believe in the policies of Bush, policies that are responsible for doubling the deficit, increasing the size of government, causing the recession and giving us the TARP welfare program for bankers.

Most in the Tea Party are against Bush's big government spending as Obama's.

You're reactionary dogma isn't TEA

Stan of PA 11:56PM August 27, 2011

The TEA GOP brand is shot full of holes and won't hold water.

Kyle of 11:41PM August 27, 2011