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As Kos noted the other day, the war for the future of the Republican Party has begun. The war is between the TheoCons and the CorporateCons, who since the days of the "Southern Strategy" have been wedded in unholy – and uneasy – electoral matrimony. The unending war between them for the upper hand is heating up as the Republicans face an electoral butt-kicking on the scale of 1964, 1932 and 1936 – and divorce papers may soon be filed.
Watch the names of the people coming out to zing Palin, the Fundie choice for McCain’s running mate, in the next few weeks and months. The first ones — Joe Lieberman, Mitt Romney, Charlie Crist, and Tom Ridge — have already stepped forward. Now what are the two things that tie them together, besides being wankers? It’s that they are all members in good standing of the CorporateCons club, and the Fundies don’t like them.
Here’s why: Lieberman they see as a Jewish liberal Democrat (even though he’s not been a Democrat for years now, officially or otherwise). Romney’s a Mormon, and they distrust him almost more than they do McCain. Crist has David Dreier Syndrome — he’s a fairly conservative politician, yet the persistent gay rumors (rumors not stopped by his sudden marriage recently) have made religious conservatives look askance at him. And Ridge is pro-choice, which is an automatic deal-breaker as far as the TheoCons are concerned.
The reasons the TheoCons and CorporateCons got together in the first place under the GOP banner are as follows: The GOP wanted to use race-baiting to win over the South and certain rural and white-flight suburban parts of the rest of the nation. Plus, they needed a dedicated force of door-knockers and phone-staffers, people willing to put in long hours for little or no renumeration. By spurning their heritage as the Party of Lincoln, the GOP’s corporate masters were able to woo the preachers of the religio-racist right, who brought their followers with them and straight into the Republican Party’s get-out-the-vote efforts.
This arrangement worked very well for the GOP, for a very long time. But decades of Republican malfeasance and mismanagement have caused even many bigots to realize that they can’t keep on doing what they’ve been doing. A Democratic black man is now poised to win the presidency – and not just win, but sweep scores of fellow Democrats into office on his coattails. And so now the blame-casting and scapegoating begins on the GOP side — because whoever can succeed in scapegoating the other has the best shot at controlling the party for the next generation or two.
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hey pw
off to read!!
ZED…Zed is dead, long live Zed and Sarah Palin’s wardrob consultant!!
Was anyone listening to the women on Larry King? Mostly discussing Palin, but a horrific panel..screaming and interrupting each other. One a huge Palin fan. etc etc. Hope you missed it.
Great post, PW. The best thing for the Rs would be to tell the fundies to go away. The fundies could form their own party and the Rs might become human again. But the Rs are not brave enough to do this. So long, Rs.
LOL snark title version for ya, PW, GOP Race schism
Thanks PW.
watching baseball revBev.
“Some say” the hired guns of the Rethuglican consultant class are scrambling to save their resumes, thus leaking the background dish between McCain Palin.
Which brings the logical question: If McCain or Palin can’t trust the loyalty of their hires, what pols in their right mind would trust that these political mercenaries would show any more ethical standards running their campaigns?
They are toast. Alla ‘em.
A-yep. And now, with both race-baiting and red-baiting losing a lot of the old power, suddenly new paths must be found.
The Corporate wing of the GOP after 4 years of Obama will over look the likely better economy and claim that the President cannot affect the economy and that business cycles of highs and lows are natural.
They will argue that the recovery would have been better and faster if John McCain were in charge.
But they know that they need votes and that if Obama as expected pisses off anti choice people on abortion and anti gay voters they can get more people
than they can with their sucky economic ideas.
The Fundies know this they know that they will be in the drivers seat. Sarah will be the front runner.
Her only competition for the Fundy vote will be Huckabee.
Mitt will be running for VP as the Fundies acknowledge that the Corporate wing of the GOP needs the VP slot.
Playing the “dangerous threesome” comment of McLiar, Larry reporting polls with O 8 points up. Someone else says O = 4 points up.
Dugg
Spot on!
These Southern Strategy sold out to the “rapture”, but all they got in the end was a “rupture”.
G.O.P. (aka Republican Party)
dec. 2008
R.I.P.
Give em any inch and they will take a yard eh? Corps always in charge and never did more than throw a bone to theo’s who apparently never paid much attention after recieving communion… I mean voting.
Trying to keep up a minority party in power (or fragile corrupt coalition at best) they went all in with folksy and theos – rove is such any idiot.
This year’s election is an integral part of the permanent R majority. Here’s the logic: the Rs wreaked everything about the U.S. and turned it over to a D to fail. Thus, in 12, the Rs will regain ascendancy for a long time. /s
upvote on reddit.
Most of those theo leaders are corps anyway. Taking the money for them is easier than gambling business.
Hell look at that jerk with his gold mines stealing gold off the backs and blood of africa (roberts or one of those big stooges).
People get screwed. Dems might have 10 or 20 percent more honest or OK people but the pattern largely still applies.
The Great Orange One is slow on the uptake. *g*
This is what I posted a day prior to his:
Then they can start their wrecking game again.
Historians will mark this year as the time the GOP splintered into its hateful tiny parts. Excellent post, PW, thanks!
One note: Charlie Crist’s wedding is scheduled for 12/12/08; has not actually happened yet.
All part of the plan.
There is a problem the Fundies who support Sarah are 30%ers with Sarah at the top of the ticket free from McCain’s influence…well I expect her to take the gloves off and really let Obama have it.
This message will really inflame the 30%ers and turn off moderate voters in an environment where voters will likely credit Obama for saving the economy despite Fox New’s expected efforts to the contrary.
GOP memes for the next election Sarah was held back by John McCain and would have made the fight more Terror, Ayers, Muslim, Rev Wright.
Also the President cannot change the economy this lame bit of current wisdom only seems to apply to Democrats with a good economy or a Republican President with a bad economy.
I expect Bush to use this excuse in his Memoirs.
Sarah will use End Times imagery and use economic prosperity to compare America to Babylon and Obama as the One…the Dark One.
Florida journalist talking again about the wealth for people who refuse to work….nothing objective about her.
The Big Schism. You could say the same about the Democratic Party. Remember Reid and Pelosi? Remember how Obama, Dodd, and Frank engineered passage of Paulson’s ridiculous bailout? Or how Pelosi, Reid, Obama, and Hoyer pushed through the FISA Amendments Act? Or how Emanuel picks Republicans and DINOs to run as Democrats? Remember the Blue Dogs? Plenty of potential schism on our side as well.
A pox on both their houses.
Because of your well described split, if Democrats can keep their zippers up, run the country like adults, and avoid the hubris that can come with absolute power, we could keep them in the wilderness for a long time.
I mean, where will their next majority come from?
They have tossed away the Latino vote with immigration raids, and Obama has taken away the 10-12% of African Americans they normally get.
History repeats itself Obama is President Carter and Sarah is Reagan? Sure if Obama waffles on the economy and waters down his economic proposals to appear bipartisan.
I expect Holy Joe, Nancy and Harry to lead that charge to failure.
Oh, by the way: Remember our little friend Ashley Todd the faker? Turns out that she’s not the first College Republican to pretend she was beaten up for her political beliefs.
It’s funny how the Republicans are always marching out these strange women to be their next Joan of Arc’s. Katherine Harris, Michele Bachmann, and now Sarah Palin.
You never hear about more moderate Republican women in this vein…Olympia Snowe or Susan Collins or Christie Whitman. It’s always the faux feminists.
I can’t wait!
thank you for a cogent and compelling analysis of the state of the game on the Dark Side. I think you’re precisely on the money. A likely outcome of the McPalin clown car freak show is an increased conviction on both the Thief faction and the Jihaddi faction that they simply cannot work effectively with each other. which means that both sides will likely resolve to try to break the other… in open war if necessary.
http://www.tmz.com/2008/10/24/…..in-the-end
Why steal 300,000 pieces of Campaign Literature this sounds like a cover up for another crime a face saving way for all parties to avoid bad news during an election cycle.
Wow. Can we at least enjoy a little taste of victory first?
And just a few months back I was mulling over the possible advantages of breaking up the Democratic Party. Doesn’t time fly?
The problem facing the moderate Republiks is that they are getting wiped out in the Northeast, and in the calmer suburbs of the Midwest. It’s hard to see them mounting a credible candidate if Obama runs the government like he’s run his campaign. They simply don’t have any depth right now. It would take a major fuck-up for them to be competitive again inside of a dozen years.
Sarah says on KO she is wearing her own clothes so I assume her good clothes are being returned?
Sure and in Victory we must get rid of them from the leadership while we are strong right after the election. I will enjoy Victory even more when they are gone.
Exactly where I was coming from @24.
that may very well be true, but hopefully HoJo won’t be part of it. I’m reasonably hopeful that he’ll be in the wilderness come January
or else she now considers the new ones her own.
“History repeats itself Obama is President Carter and Sarah is Reagan? Sure if Obama waffles on the economy and waters down his economic proposals to appear bipartisan.
I expect Holy Joe, Nancy and Harry to lead that charge to failure.”
Vast differences between Reagan’s rise to the WH and the situation Palin is in. Reagan certainly pandered to the Christian right…but he never WAS one. Reagan was governor of a vastly larger, wealthier, and more diverse state for 8 years. His scandals as Governor were insignificant vs. Palins’. In fact, one could argue that Reagan was a unifying force in the party, and even drew moderates across to vote for him. Reagan, using all his acting skills, deflected the attacks on him that he was an extremist. He never made incidiery remarks while running for office, he stayed on message.
Palin…I doubt she could ever do this.
and the one thing Obama is really really good at is building a sound base and network, and then consolidating on his gains in this respect. whatever else he does or does not do as president, I think he can be counted on leveraging his probable first term mandate to build his organization at all levels down to the grassroots into something virtually unassailable for many years to come
Has Cindy’s race against Nancy gotten much energy?
Possibly but he has to make headway on the economy or he will be a one term President.
I’m hopeful 60 seats in the Senate will reduce the need for that “reach across the aisle” crap.
As I think about it, here’s where I hope he’s exactly like (get ready for it) Bush.
Talk a lot of crap about bipartisanship, then ram your agenda down their throat.
With a smile, of course.
This could be the biggest transformation of partisan makeup since the Whigs fragmented into the Free Soil Party, the Know-Nothing Party and the Republican Party. Many party leaders and representatives of the Whigs, disgusted and discredited, permanently left politics altogether.
Maybe they should call the new versions the Night-Soil Party, the Know-Nothings, and the “Godz-drilla from Wazilla” Party?
The TheoCons have finally figured out that they aren’t getting anything more than lip service from the Oligarchs. It’s going to be interesting to see who gets to keep (or maybe it’s will be stuck with) the old Republican brand.
In the history of the United States we’ve seen the death of one political party (the Whigs circa 1850 or so) and several total make-overs. The most recent make-overs were the near-exchange of Democratic and Republican constituencies in the aftermath of the Civil Rights Legislation of the 60s and Nixon adoption of the Southern Strategy.
It’s going to be interesting to see what banner the conservatives rally around. Pretty clearly the TheoCons and Oligarchs are moving toward at least a trial separation, if not an out-and-out divorce. I guess we’ll see what really happens in 2012: that’s the next time the GOP has to get it’s stuff into one pile, if that’s possible.
On reflection, Obama has the most incredible timing I’ve ever seen. He runs for the Senate from Illinois, his Republican opponent (Ryan) drops out of the race and the Illinois Republican Party substitutes Alan Keyes, a carpetbagger. They couldn’t find someone actually from Illinois? Obama mops up the whole state, even southern Illinois. He runs for President at a time when the incumbent from the opposition party couldn’t get himself elected to run a sewage treatment plant. The Republicans put up John McSame. Alfred E. Neuman would have run a better campaign.
Obama must have studied Latin at Punahou, because he certainly understands carpe diem
I hope so I was just laying out the worse case scenario. Your noting the differences between Sarah and Reagan is correct.
Their has never been a politician like Reagan who could talk racial hate or appeal to the fundies in Code like Reagen and still appeal to moderates.
Sarah cannot talk Code she is quite open in letting her supporters say on tape what she doesn’t but the message is she approves. Sarah smiling for the crowd as her supporters scream death threats to Obama does send a message.
Reagen to be fair to Sarah never had a semi independent Media or internet tell Chicago voters that the Chicago welfare Queen story driving a Caddy was a lie.
The GOP thinks that they need a Reagen but with the Net even a Reagen would be exposed quick.
If the GOP message can’t be sold because of the Internet acting as a truth teller the GOP needs a new message or for Obama to make a mistake.
true, but he’s coming in after the bottom has fallen out, and time is on his side in terms of timing a recovery over the next 1-3 years. even if his policies don’t save the economy, he may be willing to bet the the economy will put on at least the appearance of recovery before he needs to worry about reelection. this is a cynical view I know, and I hope he does a lot more and a lot better than the minimum, but it is a realistic case nonetheless.
Not that I’ve heard I’m hoping the House of Representitves with all their new members votes her out.
The new ones went to her favorite consignment shop in Anchorage, where she picked them up for pennies on the dollar…
Obama will have to collect taxes for a year or two before we can see that he can turn the deficit. Fat Cats are shaking in their boots at the prospect of paying taxes. Bill Clinton made them pay in his second term. Obama must make them pay immediately. They loathe the thought of it.
we have confirmation of a catty schism
Yeah! With a Smile of Course, but not a Smirk.
A fine, three-dementia(nal) portrait you have sketched, cinnamonape.
Possible but if Sarah loses in four years very possible a GOP split will weaken them until one side wins and the other side disappears in the mean time we coast to victory and play both sides against each other to get laws passed.
I heard comments today about the economic divide being worse in some of our major cities, like New Orleans, Los Angeles, than places you think of in Africa….These people do not deserve to starve…let the fat cats pay alot, return health care to kids. What have we become?
You knew it was coming sooner or later ever since they conned the fundies and racists into doing their dirty work. The money boys needed stormtroopers (you do not win elections when your natural constituency comprises less than 10% of the population) and made all kinds of promises that they had no intention of honoring.
Purr-fect, punaise.
;~D
The republic party reminds me of a bowl of liver and beets. Ewwww.
The theo-nuts could start a third party. Wouldn’t shape up in four years, but it wouldn’t take much longer if they set their minds to it in places like the south.
i’m gonna not look too far ahead. in fact, i’m just looking to next tuesday
Make that rotten liver and beets. I actually like both when fresh.
FWIW, Obama was already leading Ryan by a fairly large amount when he dropped out of the Senate race. The divorce, while nasty, just gave him an excuse for what was already happening.
Alan Keyes was a throwaway as the Rs didn’t want to sacrifice any of their potential up-and-comers (and yeah, they do have a few in Illinois) in a race they already felt was gone.
Sarah is talking about the media filter on KO. But at the same time the GOP media is fighting against a return of the Fairness Doctrine which would mandate both sides of an issue get equal time.
If Sarah is right the Media is run by Lefties. So why would the GOP be against the Fairness Doctrine? If what Sarah says is true the GOP would get more press coverage.
Please do not confuse them with logic or facts.
question… why wouldn’t the jihaddis form their own party? then the hojos and ridges and romneys and rahms of the world would be left free to create the New Corporatist Party out of whatever remnants the jihaddis leave for ‘em.
In projections like that, I always think/hope it’s the young folks who will save us. In the ’60s, even with the Civil Rights movement and the voting rights law, we could not have anticipated this day and this candidate.
They could call it the Whigs.
Yes, absolutely. The whole Republican platform is a farce. Millionaires and Billionares ahve socked away millions these past eight tax periods at the expense of the rest of us and the solvency of the country.
their brownshirts are gettin’ uppity aren’t they
Hey, wobs…
Earlier today you said you were listening to pop/rock with a message. On the off chance that you haven’t heard them, check out Tower of Power, especially their later stuff (Can’t Stand To See the Slaughter is a classic.)
And bitter, very very bitter.
hehe. it’ll be the Whigs (corporatists), the Know Nothings (jihaddis) and the New Progressives. hehe
True, but beside the point. He’s either the luckiest politician alive (I don’t believe that) or he’s incredibly skilled at reading the political landscape and seizing opportunity.
As nearly as I can tell, the only misstep in Obama’s political career was his first race for the Illinois House.
Sarah was laying it out there to her peeps. She buys her rags at rummage sales. Hell yeah! She hates that Looey Baton they was makin’ her wear.
Gergen talking about the last 30 years….wealth being redistributed…Redistributed Upward. Bingo
Yep. Always have been, but they are a tad slow on the uptake. Took them 40 years to realize they were had.
Bluuuuuuuck! Even worse. Good gawd, what have they become….
Wonder what got into Gergen. He’s been defending Republicans at every turn. He’s Rove’s dance partner.
The Rolondo Cruz Death Penalty case scandal had hurt the GOP that year in Illinois nobody GOP was going to win. Guv Ryan set everyone on Death row free because the system was tainted.
But he was in trouble for selling hundreds of drivers licenses to immigrants one of whom killed a family in a car accident.
Then the news broke Obama’s Senate opponent also named Ryan made his wife the actress in Star Trek Voyager cry when he took her to a sex club.
The fundies could not vote for him of course and the Star Trek vote was gone.
Obama had a prefect storm, much like he has had this election.
oooooo music!!! cool thanks, i will check it out
Trying to follow their logic is confusion their various ideas cancel each other out. Big Brother is a GOPer with two or more ideas that cancel each other out.
the problem with the schism model for progressives and
liberals is this: shorn of their wingnut fringe the corporatists may choose to ally themselves in the future with either of the two other remaining factions. when they show up at our door offering the world, are we confident our Harry+Nancy+DiFi leadership won’t make some deals we won’t be able to stomach? this schism may not be a good thing
He sounded clearly convinced;I think he really did not like that socialist/Marx interview with Biden. He also thinks McFool has run a terrible campaign.
What neighborhood in Alaska has clothes fit for a Gov of Alaska? I want to go garage sale shopping there.
A fundamental prerequisite for being a Republican is the ability to simultaneously hold at least a dozen mutually contradictory insane ideas at the same time. Rationality is NOT allowed.
KO showed a clip of Sarah saying her wedding ring cost HER (she bought it?) $35.00 and apparently this was not the script the McCain campaign wanted her to say. WTF.
Then we drive them out. You know the corporatist wing of the party would welcome them (or at least the more moderate types like Romney). We would be far better off with no corporatists. Force ours to join theirs in a new party.
Like the Queen in Alice in Wonderland who thinks of ten impossible things a day! Sarah as the Queen of Wonderland and Rachel is Alice? The blogs are the Cheshire cat? Bush and Cheney are Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?
The last eight years I’ve been trapped in a fairy tale?
I heard she bought it in Hawaii.
Unfortunately, I think it has been something more out of the Brothers Grimm (who did rather live up to their name) than Lewis Carroll.
Howdy PW and FDLers,
We’re uncorking the champagne up here (virtual champagne, to be sure) on the news of Uncle Ted’s conviction on all seven counts.
And, some of us here have put together a website detailing the sordid history of Don Young’s 30+ years in Congress.
The GOP may very soon be consigned to the dustheap of history, which is where it belongs. We just have to make sure it ends up there and stays there.
I think the problem is that the Harry and Nancy Show are not so much corporatists as they are weak leaders. I’m worried that when the New Corporatists show up bearing gifts, they’ll accept and all of a sudden we’re yoked to them in a grand Holy Alliance against the jihaddis. whatever the consequences… kind of like Metternich/Czar Alexander’s club for the suppression of the angry uppities
Congratulations….does the Ms Palin have a place in that roll call or website?
Wow… excellent, thank you!
isn’t it time for her to ‘go home’ yet?
Oh, I think most of the current “leadership” are from the corporatist wing. Rahm certainly is. That is one of the reasons they have been so ineffective. Hard to fight against your meal ticket (see vote, FISA).
by the way.. the angry uppities are in attack mode
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/200…..ics_plot_8
plot to kill Obama.
Agreed
I am afraid that you ain’t seen anything yet. They will go nuclear after Tuesday. Oklahoma City or Atlanta, anyone?
my 98 was for DrDick
She says she shops at some consignment shop in Anchorage, and that she bought her wedding ring in Hawaii for $35.
Right. With a six figure income (according to her tax filings) she shops the thrift stores. I know Alaska is expensive, but that is simply beyond belief.
she sure likes them furrin lands
I dunno, Doc. All I know is what I read in the papers.
Hawaii is a fave winter getaway for Alaskans. I’ve been on the leeward side of the Islands in winter, and it’s too damned wet and stormy to be my idea of paradise…
Glad to see the schism in the Republicon Party. If the U.S. is lucky there will be a third party that results from the rupture. The Theocons and the Corpocons will then always be also rans eating the dust of the the Democratic Party.
I’m thinking Chicago.
watertiger 2 flights up
More likely to be somewhere in the South or the West where they have more supporters or else in Washington. My references there were intended as historical.
Are you thinking riots?
Dems have 2 parts really, 3 if you push it. Repubs have at least 3, maybe 5.
Dems have been getting along pretty well and I see no reason an Obama administration would change that. It depends a lot on our individual leaders as to whether the differences are managed well.
Repubs are not only split, but entirely contradictory: Libertarians and Evangelicals(?), c’mon that’s crazy talk; Libertarians & Wall Streeters(?) are sometimes at odds since most WSers like the current system they profit under and Libertarians want some major change (like getting rid of the Federal Reserve).
If Dems can be fiscally sound and aim for a smaller (but very much smarter) regulatory approach, then Libertarians might give us a few votes now and then. Same with Wall Streeters if they see Dems being FAIR and not Socialist — they got along with Clinton, so let’s keep the love flowing as much as we can. Yes, I know that’s hard these days, but we want to reestablish a sound financial system, so maybe the majority of financial interests will like it.
Where it gets hard is where Dems want to regulate a lot and it’s perceived as over-done and where Dems want health care reform and some could see it as over-intrusive.
It’s very important to do these things AND to do them right!
Well, I am predicting that the next Republican Nominee in 2012 will be General David Petraeus, the Military Industrial Complex’s answer to a Unifying figure for the Republican Party. He is, apparently, in near total agreement with Cheney/Addington on the theory of the Unitary Executive, adding to all of Addington’s theory the practical experience with Chain of Command structures in the Military. I think they would pitch him to what is left of the Republican Party as a vaguely Ike type candidate and personality.
We best keep our eyes wide open on this one, because I think it serious. In lots of respects, I think both McCain and Palin were throw away candidates this year, given that Republicanism was not in season — but they have their long term thinkers too, thinkers who don’t much appear on TV as talking heads. So Petraeus and perhaps Bloomberg as VP with the “financial background” and the big city mayor experience. The strategy would probably be to have Petraeus have a falling out with Obama in perhaps a year or a year and a half, and then challenge from the Military Right.
I think Obama is way smart enough to see this kind of thing coming at him, and deal with it — but if we are all fixed on the people and narrative of this year’s campaign, and believe that, for instance, Sarah Palin has the ability to really mount a Presidential Campaign (she has no chance, where would she get the money?) — we will be following her around instead of looking at the serious challenge.
The corporate-cons take advantage of such unwinable elections to sweep any nonconforming Republicans out of the party.
Take a look at election 1996. The Bush-family/GOP knew that Clinton was unbeatable so they threw Bob Dole and Dan Quayle (and all those outside the “family”) to the wolves. When 2000 rolled around there was Junior all ready and prepped to go.
Now they are doing the same. McCain, who despite his support of President Junior is seen as an outsider by the corporate-cons. Jeb Bush is conspicuously absolutely absent in this whole loser campaign that stems from Junior’s fantastic unpopularity. McCain winds up taking the knockout punch, and the corporate-cons escape with 5+ trillion dollars leaving a gasping wheezing economy and country behind.
The Republican Party is DEAD.They love the word bi-partisan,how about bye-partisan/