So You're Still a Republican? (by Jean Carnahan, at HuffPost)

Jean Carnahan

04.18.2007
So You're Still a Republican? (17 comments )

I almost feel sorry for my Republican friends.

They once belonged to a respectable political party that could be trusted from time to time to run the country--with some oversight of a Democratic congress, of course.

Now, that the GOP party bus is out of control, careening downhill headed for the precipice, moderate Republicans are in a terrible quandary.

They can remember what happened in 1932, when the country turned on the GOP for mismanagement, casting them into political oblivion for two decades.

Because moderates often differ with the rightwing of their party on such issues as stem cell research, the environment, choice, gun control, and the Iraq war, they are labeled RINOs (Republicans In Name Only). In recent years, these old school Republicans have been sidelined, at best, or "pistol whipped" into accepting the neo-con agenda.

These passive Republicans speak in rambling sentences about the handling of the war, the stain of torture, the spectacle or corruption, and our loss of moral authority in the world.
...(snip)...

As I said earlier, I almost feel sorry for my Republican friends. But I am getting over it. I can no longer allow them the luxury of being indifferent bystanders during such a perilous time in our history.

By going along and not fighting back, they have become enablers of right-wing zealots, whose policies are inflicting grave harm to our nation.

This administration has lost its political and spiritual moorings and it's time for Republicans of conscience to say so.........

The complete piece is at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jean-carnahan/so-youre-still-a-republi_b_46187.html

my democrat friends. When will we realize that the democrats are not on our side either? Before you are a democrat - hopefully you are an intelligent, human being and an american. Republicans are bad - and democrats are not that much better.

Karl, is that you?

:eyes:

It's obvious which playpen you spend most of your time in.

I keep telling myself that their Republicanism is just a result of where they live, not an ideology burned into their souls.

I thought they'd wise up after 06, but they didn't.

They'll all have been raptured by then, and we can go on with our lives.

At first I was with the RFK, Jr., theory, "Republicans are just Democrats that don't know what is going on." But there was/is no excuse for not knowing what is going on, then or especially now. Still the polls show the majority of Republicans in support of the most inept, corrupt, destructive regime in US history. I think of it as a regime or dictatorship because that is how it has been run.

And still Republicans support the party. The only reason that I can think of is that it is not the Democrats. But in fact, the majority of Republicans that voted for Bush in 2004 supported the positions held by John Kerry.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/10/22/divide_seen_in_voter_knowledge/ has the survey I'm thinking about but the Globe focuses just on the foreign policy aspects whereas the survey is broader. But since I'm headed for an airplane, I don't have the time to get the original reference.

Anyway the point is and has been made by many is that Republicans continue to vote not only against their best interests but for people that they think agree with themselves on the issues but in fact do not.

Look at the current support for Guliani by the family values party for a 3 time divorced, adulterer.

I used to say, facetiously, that Republicans are too dumb to be allowed to vote. But this willful ignorance and lack of any critical analysis on the part of Republicans, makes be wonder if my facetious comment isn't true.