Democratic leadership seems to be breaking down. The White house has dropped the ball on a number of core civil libertarian issues. Well-qualified servicemen and -women continue to be dismissed for the incredible dereliction of duty that is being attracted to the wrong gender. Now the Obama Justice Department has come out in favor of DOMA. Add to that continuing secrecy issues, including but not limited to blocking access to White House visitor logs and continuing Bush-era executive privilege policies. The problem extends beyond the President himself. Nancy Pelosi has proven herself to be strangely gun-shy, continuing to take care to incorporate Republican demands into new legislation despite that party’s impetuous refusal to reciprocate with Republican votes. The stimulus package? Watered down with useless tax cuts. Efforts to close Guantanamo? Collapsed in the face of fear mongering. Universal health care? Don’t hold you breath, I’m afraid. [...]
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Pat Buchanan is troubled. None of us should be surprised of course. He’s Pat Buchanan. What has his dander up at the moment is the nomination of Judge Sonya Sotomayor, who said, during a speech at Berkeley in 2001, that her life experiences as an Hispanic woman affect her decisions from the bench. [...] You’re done apologizing for your mistakes? You’re done learning from the past? Then welcome to the margins. The money will dry up. The party faithful will die out. More and more, candidates will become punchlines rather than heavyweights. [...] So “Joe: The Plumber” has announced he’s leaving the Republican Party because he feels that even that party is too spend-happy. And legions of libertarians who don’t know his name is Sam and that he’s not a plumber will surely follow. The GOP Death Spiral continues… I want to address this hypothetical before it becomes reality. And let’s be frank, it looks more and more plausible every day. The DeclineIt wasn’t that long ago (not even four years) that some believed the Republican Party was on its way to establishing a “permanent majority” in American national politics. Karl Rove himself stated that this was one of his long-term goals. It is startling how quickly the mighty have fallen. The collapse is a result of numerous factors which are in no way limited to:
All these factors have driven many moderate voters from the party. Profligate spending has driven away still more. These events and policies have been boons for the Democratic and Libertarian parties, both through direct defections but also by driving many who had been political spectators to get in the game. But where does it lead? Continue reading… |
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