Thursday, April 30, 2009

Does Virginia Foxx typify the GOP?

The recent statement by U.S. Congresswoman Virginia Foxx on the House floor that the hate crime against Matthew Shepard is only a "hoax" is inexcusable. Foxx has since claimed that "hoax" was a poor choice of words. In my opinion, Foxx is the poor choice.

Foxx typifies the current GOP, which is being dominated by far right elements. Politicians like Foxx and Michele Bachmann and ideologues like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity are driving moderates out of the GOP. Arlen Specter is only the first of many Republicans who will leave the GOP, in my opinion. As the GOP moves more to the right it will also decrease in size. It could cease being of national political importance.

Will a New GOP emerge, like New Coke? Although moderate Republicans are likely to leave the GOP, few of them will join the Democratic Party as did Specter. They are, after all, conservatives, albeit moderate. They could and should create a new conservative party, a New GOP. If only they had a leader.

I can imagine a Congress balanced between a New GOP and Obama's Democrats enacting bipartisan legislation. I can imagine it but I can't believe in it.

Let's see what the elections of 2010 bring. Until then I'll have to be satisfied with legislation carried by Obama's Majority Democrats and uniformly, but insignificantly, opposed by the Minority Republicans. Until then conservative Americans will only be represented by the Party of No.

4 comments:

kc bob said...

Sad stuff Joe. Do you see anybody in the GOP that can stand up to the likes of the squawking heads?

Joe said...

A lot will change in the next two years. If Obama's programs are successful prior to the 2012 election, it won't matter who is running for the GOP. I think the GOP should have nominated Romney instead of McCain. If the far right controls the next nomination I think they will pick Huckabee. I think Palin will have completely faded by then. If the moderates control the nomination I think it will be Romney. Another possibility is Jeb Bush. If the country has had a chance to forget GW then Jeb could be a strong option for the moderates and the far right. If the Bush Administration is prosecuted for war crimes, then Jeb Bush won't have a chance. I believe that war crimes will be formally investigated starting this year. I think the attorneys from the DOJ that defined the non-torturous version of waterboarding will be prosecuted no later than early next year. We will learn who proposed the use of torture in Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo during the prosecution of the DOJ attorneys. If it turns out to be GW Bush then Jeb won't be nominated. A military communication, made public this week, refers to a "presidential executive order" authorizing the use of torture in Abu Ghraib and eventually in Guantanamo. If the letter is validated by the officer that wrote it and especially if a copy of the executive order is found, GW Bush will find himself being prosecuted. This week Condie Rice stated in public and on the record that she was involved in passing down the order to torture from the president. Obama could stop the prosecutions and I think he would prefer to do so but the more the public and the world knows the greater the pressure will be against a pardon.

I think Romney has the best chance of controlling the moderate wing of the GOP and saving the party.

What do you think?

kc bob said...

I also think the GOP should have nominated Romney instead of McCain. I think he would have got the nod if not for Huckabee and Thompson jumping in with no chance of winning.. ultimately their wannabe egos killed Romney's chances.

Hard to say who will surface in 2012.. Romney may be a bit long in the tooth then.. hard to say. Maybe somebody like Gen Petraeus will surface.

I will most likely vote against Obama next time because my plan is to vote against all incumbents on a going forward basis.

Joe said...

I'll decide on a candidate in 2012. Obama will have to screw up a lot to lose my vote.

As long as the GOP is in service of arrogance, intolorance and greed I won't vote for their candidates. Although Romney would have been a superior candidate compared to McCain, he still is the candidate that said 47 million Americans have no health insurance because they chose not to. Typical "I don't care about the other guy" attitude. Bill O'Reilly recently stated said the same thing then added that some of them are spending their money on gin instead.

I believe we will be judged on how we treated the least of our brothers.