Eclectic Writer

It appears that the defection of Arlen Specter continues to send waves. I think the Club for Growth is the symptom of the problem. Republican conservatives have championed ideological purity and Americans have turned their back, at least temporarily, on that message. But they are only the fiscal side, another big segment of the Republican Conservative Coalition is the religious right with their own litmus test of Christianity. This may have worked well when Americans were focused and frightened of an outside threat. But Republicans, always happy to claim 9/11 changed everything, did not notice that the Great Recession, brought about by their own fiscal policies, has changed everything.

Republicans feud over Specter
Republican Sens. Orrin Hatch and George Voinovich blamed the Club for Growth for imposing a right-wing litmus test that chased Arlen Specter out of the Republican Party. The Club for Growth blamed Specter — first for helping to ruin the GOP and then for leaving it. A leading Republican strategist blamed the party for turning its back on moderates. Sen. Lindsey Graham sniped at Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele. Specter’s pollster blamed the stimulus bill. Karl Rove blamed Specter himself.

And the National Republican Senatorial Committee set about trying to taint Specter among Pennsylvania Democrats by reminding them that he was once aligned with Republican President George W. Bush.

In the nasty game of Who Lost Specter, only Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell seemed to go unscathed — although his pain will come as he tries to lead a caucus that is likely to be too small to stand in the way of anything the Democrats want to do.

The majority of Americans are no longer concerned with the theoretical threat of Al Qaida or Muslim Barbarians at the Gates. They are concerned with existential threat of loosing their homes, their livelihoods, and their money backed way of life. The borrow and spend, deregulate now policies of Republicans failed. Reaganomics failed. The collapse of the economy has changed everything and they are not ready for it.

A second change Republicans were not ready for was Obama. Obama, himself is just a symptom of deep changes in the American electorate. The young are rising to assert their power and they voted for Obama. In a huge majority they oppose the demonetization of gays and the strict Christian religious experience. Hispanics are rising to assert their power, and Republican fear tactics attacking illegal aliens alienated Hispanics.

Finally, Republicans have not come to grips with the historic flip that occurred in 2006. They don’t understand why they lost or why their message no longer resonates. Rather than try find a message that works they have attempted to purify themselves. That is what the Whigs did, and few people in the US of A even remember the Whigs.

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So much has happened, politically. Obama became President, he had a good 100 days, Arlen Specter changed parties. Republicans look at it all and are making predictions.

Inhofe believes that Specter’s change of party is part of an act of purifications. Once the party is pure enough, the American people will bow down and worship at the Republican alter once again.
Well, I find this idea fascinating. The Republican Party, by shedding its moderate members and voters in droves, is somehow going to find their way back into the good graces of the people. They seem to believe that Bush and the Rove’s Permanent Republican Majority weren’t really Conservatives, though they claimed to be and those still in the public eyes still say their are “Conservative.”
So, for what it’s worth, I’m going to watch this. Stand by. Lets see if 2010 returns Republican’s to power, or if the continue suffering shrinkage.

Now I twitter, but I have a secret shame, I don’t text. I’ve resisted adding my cell phone to twitter, for two reasons. The first, with the current bad Juju economy spending extra money for text messages is an unnecessary expense. The other reason is that I’ve lost my blinking phone. It is here somewhere in all my chaos, but I don’t know just where.

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Watching the stock market for good news. Yes, I probably need something better to do with my time. But today, the markets have flirted with and even penetrated 8000. Yes, that was a gratuitous bit of sexual innuendo, but what do you expect with all that stimulation. Trillions poured into the world economies, massive amounts of debt created by desperate governments, and I am sitting on the edge of my seat hoping that the end to this downturn is here.