Or better: How well do they keep their promises? If you ask almost anyone at the grassroots that question (with a few examples as prompts), you’d most likely get a “well, not too well”. This is not a new topic for us here at the ‘Grok – we’d really, REALLY like to wholeheartedly like to support Republicans but over the last few years, we techies and engineers who MUST deliver concrete deliveries without excuses, grow weary of going “Rah Rah!” time after time with the same who would, by their own accountings, lead us into a Promised Land. And even with our now extremely low expectations, instead of the Promises Land, we get DoDaville. Here’s a bit of it from American Thinker (reformatted, emphasis mine):
The Republican Establishment, with the exception of the presidency of Ronald Reagan and the Republican controlled House of Representatives from 1995 to 1998, has been content, since 1946, to merely slow down the big government policies of the Democrats, while politically decrying their tax and spend policies. However, in truth, many have been comfortable with reaping the financial and ego-gratifying rewards of such indifference while playing the game with their counterparts in the other branch of the overall governing class.
They have brought us upon themselves – and they wonder why the moniker of “Junior Democrats” has stuck over the years. The post goes on to discuss how Left the Democrats have gone back to their now Marxist roots:
But in contrast to the stability of the Republican Establishment, over the past ten years there has evolution in the power base of the Democratic equivalent. An evolution that appears to be either willfully ignored or is unseen by an oblivious counterpart. While the Democratic branch of the governing class came into flower during Franklin Roosevelt’s three and a half terms in office as a byproduct of his brand of benevolent socialism, the current iteration is politically dominated by the radical American Left, whose philosophical underpinning is based on the Marxist tenet that the end justifies the means. In order to seize all political and societal power, this new Democratic Establishment aims at permanently relegating an impotent Republican Party and its extended family to the back of the bus, stripping them of all power, money and influence.
But rather than view the current iteration of the Democratic Party as a threat to them and the nation, the GOP Establishment parties on as if nothing has changed. Apparently it is their view that Barack Obama and his fellow travelers’ abuse of and determination to seize all power is just another inning in a baseball game in which they will eventually get to the plate for their turn at bat.
Glad to see that someone else sees this deadly game for what it is – and that the Establishment Republicans are failing to see that the rules have changed for the Democrats – actually, no rules, for anything that can be done will be by them, even when they get caught in the Act (re: Lois Lehner and the IRS scandal, Hillary’s political life, Obama and his henchmens’ complete disregard for The Rule of Law). Republicans think it is politics – the Marxist Democrats have twisted it to the capturing and the utilization of Power. Two games and the Rs aren’t winning.
The true nature of the Republican Establishment’s motivation has been exposed by their reaction to the Tea Party movement and conservatives in general.
Indeed! They often, from the echoing halls of DC, protest that Obama is easier on our global enemies than his opposition to his domestic rivals. Yet, even as the Rs decry the Democrats and their policies and how Obama is leading this country to ruin, they do come after the true Right more passionately than they do the Dems. They are what they complain about, especially if we react in opposition.
This grassroots rebellion was the first manifestation of the awareness by a large portion of the American public of the long term consequences stemming from the nation’s catastrophic debt accumulation, coupled with the virulent and coercive transformation of society. Despite the overwhelming success of the Tea Party working within the Republican Party in the 2010 and 2014 mid-term elections, nearly all of the Republican elites downplayed their success and fell-in with the mainstream media and the Democrats in their well-worn and gratuitous aspersions against these concerned and patriotic Americans.
The Conservative movement poses a threat to not only the accumulated power of the governing class, but their livelihoods; thus the concerted effort to marginalize them by any vile or preposterous means possible.
This cannot be in dispute – even here at this small State level blog, we have categorized this – the worst example lately was the MASSIVE NH GOP Establishment pushback in the primary of Jane Cormier and “I’m too drunk” Dave Boutin in the NH State Senate race in Hookset. More money was poured into that race than in the general election – outspent by 10s and 10s of thousands simply to retain a lousy incumbent. And we will not forget Belknap County Chair and NH GOP Area Vice-Chair Alan Glassman even photographing her house with, what we believe, was mal-intent during that election.
However the myopia of the current Republican Establishment is astounding. By choosing to continue its alignment with the Democratic branch of the governing class and vilify the conservative/Tea Party movement, they have rejected the only possible means of their potential, albeit altered, survival.
We in the TEA Party could have been seen as a cavalry riding over the hill – and we were until after the election(s). But when the TEA Party We saw the threat that the author retells. What has become apparent is that the Establishment IS comfortable with their relationship with the Dems, who have the intent to truly remake America and not just play the back and forth game. They have joined forces to defeat their immediate powerbase threat (the TEA Party) instead of beefing up to fight what really is their real threat.
If the Democratic Party cabal continues their hegemony in America beyond 2016, the nation and the Republican Establishment are doomed. Their relationship with the Democrats is akin to the old fable of the scorpion and the frog. A scorpion asks a frog to carry him across a river. The frog is afraid of being stung, but the scorpion argues that if it did so both would sink and drown. The frog then agrees, but midway across the river the scorpion does indeed sting the frog, dooming them both. When asked why, the scorpion points out that this is who he is.
With the ongoing demographic changes coupled with the vast number of low-information and ill-educated voters, the Republican Party cannot win a general election without an overwhelming turnout of the conservative voting bloc, as amply demonstrated in the disastrous presidential campaigns of John McCain and Mitt Romney.
This is a lesson that the GOP has not yet learned – it isn’t just about messaging anymore. It isn’t about the hollow promises. It IS about authenticity – I think that Ted Cruz brings that. So do a number of others but certainly we’ve had too many that are will o’the wisp kinds – more like the old Wild West town facades. A fighter too, and willing to take on all comers – AND drive the Left nuts with political ju-jitsu. Don’t offer that and Rs, given the actual lack of results from Rs, will just stay home.
The Establishment Rs have brought this upon themselves. Strange: willing to share power with the Dems (or is that the illusion of power with the Dems holding the royal flush? Certainly seems like that in Congress even with majorities) but not partner with those that, if one only considers the Platform, that ideologically match up.
I guess the saying is truth: that some Repubs are quite happy with a downsized Party, even if they have to take it Leftward (like keeping Obamacare??) in doing so than to “share” with the great unwashed grassroots masses.
Any viable chance of winning the 2016 election would require the nomination of an authentic conservative candidate and not another so-called moderate (i.e. Establishment representative). However, that would also set the stage, in part as a reaction to the ongoing animosity, for the radical transformation of the GOP Establishment if that nominee were to occupy the White House and more conservatives were elected to Congress.
So the Republican Establishment finds itself on the horns of a dilemma: does it continue to cast its fate with the other branch of the governing class — the Democrats — by nominating another unelectable moderate in 2016; or does it get behind a viable conservative and risk losing much of its current power base. In either case they lose in the long term. So the question they must answer is: What is more important: the fate of the country or the fate of their privileged status?
