Daze Of The Jackals: The Republicans are now eating their own

Oh how the once mighty have fallen. In fact the numbers are so dismal in the most recent polls that the Republican Party is becoming almost irrelevant in Washington…and much as it may sound strange to hear a lefty say this, that would not be a good thing for America. It’s imperative that we have at least two viable, opposing parties on the national political scene…if for no other reason than to keep each other in check.

So what in the world is happening to the GOP? Well, to be blunt, they’re turning on each other in increasingly more public and vicious ways. Egged on by the likes of radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh and TV/radio whack job Glenn Beck, the extreme right wing of the party is launching an all out, no holds barred assault on anyone in the Republican tent whom they consider to be too close to the center of the political spectrum.

Sadly, considering how wide the fissures have become between the various factions fighting for control of the party and ownership of the GOP brand, to those of us on the outside looking in it really isn’t coming as much of a surprise to see the Republicans beginning to eat their own. We’ve all seen it coming. As spring turned to summer and Limbaugh bellowed ever louder, Beck also got steadily crazier…and the fringe loonies took this as their cue to seek out and discredit everyone in THEIR party, and anyone in the country, who didn’t fall into lock step with their extremist view of a polarized, intolerant, xenophobic America.

What has resulted is an internal bloodletting that has seen prominent political figures, such as the more traditionally conservative Senator Lindsay Graham of South Carolina, pilloried at his own town hall meeting for urging bipartisanship in Washington. At the same time Republican nut jobs like Michelle Bachmann are being elevated to rock star status for giving credence and voice to outrages like death panels and the birthers.

The GOP has lost its moral compass…and the country has noticed. That reality has been vividly illustrated in the polls referred to earlier in this blog. As of this day only 20% of Americans polled…just one in five…currently identify themselves as Republicans. And only 19%...less than one in five…believe the country would be better served with Republicans in control of the White House and Congress.

The corresponding numbers for the Democrats are not exactly overwhelming, but in direct comparison they’re hugely encouraging. Just over 37% of those polled identify themselves as Dems, and just under 35% believe we’re better off right now with the Democrats controlling Congress. 57%, an increase of 5% since the GOP’s internally focused scorched earth campaign shifted into high gear, currently approve of the job being done by President Barack Obama.

People have apparently had enough of the Republican act…grown tired of their lack of viable or even alternative ideas to those being offered by the party in power…become weary of the endless, hateful anti-Obama rhetoric…finally gotten fed up with all their ridiculous, unproductive, anti-Democratic anti-progressive nonsense. They also distrust and fear a party that thinks Sarah Palin would make a good President.

As long as they allow the repugnant Limbaugh to lead them around by the nose like mindless cattle, and the psychotic Beck to speak without rebuttal on their behalf, the stench of the GOP decay will continue spreading for all to smell. Even now the vultures are circling lower with every pass, and the jackals have begun licking their chops in anticipation.

And what we’re going to end up with, unless or until one of the factions prevails in the right’s uncivil war, is a third political party emerging from their chaos. The first volley in what is sure to be a long, bitter infight has already been fired. The Conservative Party has entered a candidate in the race to replace the resigning, incumbent, GOP Congressman in New York’s historically Republican 23rd district. The Conservative will be running against both a Democrat and a Republican… and guess who stands to benefit most from the resulting split of the right wing vote ?

And so it goes!

SC