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 Are the Republican Party, and the two-party system, still headed for disaster? Last April, I speculated about what the political landscape might look like after the dust has settled from battle within the Republican Party. I didn’t lay down any sort of time frame, but this seems as good an opportunity as any to take a look back at the last eight months and see how things are playing out. Continue reading… Let me say that again. Rick Santorum is running for President. The man who said overturning sodomy laws would open the door to incest thinks that four years after the American electorate voted Barack Obama into the White House, it will do the same for him. In an interview with FOX News, Santorum dodged the 2012 question, but told Greta Van Susteren:
 This man will never be President So he’s not willing to state the obvious outright but he will admit to wanting people to “pay attention to what [he's] doing and what [he's] saying,” so he’s not necessarily running, but he’d like us to keep him in mind when the time comes, thank you very much. Continue reading…  Audra Shay's comments on her Facebook wall have sparked infighting among the Young Republicans In yet another in a long line of Web 2.0-related scandals, shockers and gaffes, the Young Republicans, whose membership includes conservatives under the age of 40 (which alone raises an interesting issue: a Young Republican could run for president), have erupted into infighting over a series of wall comments posted on the Facebook page of Audra Shay, a candidate for chairman of the organization. The comments themselves, as well as Miss Shay’s light-hearted responses, are despicable and illustrate a fundamental lack of understanding, and not just among the “good ol’ boys” of the party elite: what happens on the Internet does not stay there. Infighting In PublicThe comments have prompted other candidates for the chairmanship to voice their disapproval and many are waiting to see how Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, who has endorsed Shay’s candidacy, will respond to the new scandal. The conflict mirrors several divisions that have created tension within the Republican Party proper. Saturday’s tea parties saw Senator Cornyn of Texas and South Carolina’s Gresham Barrett booed on the steps of the Texas Capitol and in Greenville, SC, respectively. Venerable national security heavyweight Colin Powell clashed very publicly with Dick Cheney over torture and Powell’s endorsement of Obama. Rush Limbaugh and Michael Steele continue to clash over the Party’s national leadership positions. Continue reading…  Mitt Romney: next in line for the GOP nomination? Mitt Romney is widely considered to be the frontrunner for the GOP presidential nomination in 2012, largely because he has yet to publicly implode, in contrast to too many of his competitors. As Chris Hayes, of The Nation, pointed out on The Rachel Maddow Show last week, Republicans have a tradition of nominating the “next in line.” Conventional wisdom says that Romney is this next in line. At this point in 2005, speculation was flying over who would be in the running for the Democratic nomination in 2008. Possible contenders? Russ Feingold and Evan Bayh. Really. Bill Richardson was in the mix, too, but the person considered far and away to be the frontrunner was Hillary Clinton. I’m not sure this is a comparison that Mitt Romney should welcome. Like Hillary, Romney has the money right now. Romney has the deference of much of the Party leadership, again, like Hillary. But in the end, Hillary lost. To the guy who had gotten people excited. As long as we’re looking for parallels, it should be pointed out that the most excitement from the Republican Party post-2008, is coming from Ron Paul supporters, who’ve lifted his book, The Revolution: A Manifesto, to #350 on the Amazon sales rankings. (For contrast, Obama’s The Audacity of Hope is ranked at #368.) Continue reading… |
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