The state of the GOP

[detbuch]

Originally Posted by Jim in CT

Yes, let's ponder the state of the GOP...Last time I checked, the GOP absolutely demolished the Dems less than one year ago in the last national election. It was an historic drubbing. Am I remembering that wrong? The GOP currently has both houses of congress, a majority of governorships, and a majority of state legislatures. And I'm supposed to believe the party is in tatters because Bill Maher and Rachael Maddow desperately want me to believe that?

There are a lot of things I wish the GOP did differently at the national level. And given certain demographic shifts, the GOP may find itself struggling unless they make progress with the Hispanic vote. But that's not unrealistic, as Bush did fine with Hispanics. Enter Marco Rubio.

So your team gets a great general manager, and he manages to entice a lot of superstars to join the team. And there is great joy in Mudville as the prospects for the coming season are fabulous considering how your team has filled positions with the best.

Opening day . . . hurray . . . look at our roster . . . let's kick butt all the way to the pennant.

OK . . . so the first few games got away from us . . . but it'll take a little time for the new team to jell. OK . . . All Star break and were in the middle of the pack . . . actually near the bottom . . . but we'll catch fire, no doubt, with all that talent, and tear through the rest of the season like the juggernaut we are . . . should be . . . with all that talent.

Pukes . . . they're a bunch a prima donna pukes . . . season down the toilet and all we got are an over-paid bunch of loafers . . . get the bums outta here . . .

The point of filling all those electoral positions with Republicans is not merely to fill them, but to do what was promised in order to get elected.

If, instead, all those political superstars are content merely to hold power, and afraid to lose it if they actually not only rock the boat, but steer it in the opposite direction that those they defeated coursed it, and prefer to safely stay the course . . . then . . . it's like mighty Casey has struck out.

All those victories you point to have put the Republicans in the precarious position of having to deliver the goods they promised us. If they don't . . . the team may have to get rebuilt.

So far, they seem rather anemic. Trump appeals because he appears to be strong. And he scares the Republican establishment. Their cowardice in not using the power of the purse to block what they promised to get rid of, and letting all the crap that Obama and the Dems have put on us become entrenched, on the one hand, and the fear of Trump on the other, is not attractive. There is a small positive indication, because they fear Trump, and the lackluster showing of their preferred candidates in the polls, that actual "conservatives" such as Cruz may not only be acceptable, but a buffer against Trump's destruction of their wishy-washy Dem-lite path to maintaining power.

[Jim in CT]

Detbuch, believe me I hear you. Lots of things I wish they did differently (better). They aren't nearly as effective as they could/should be. But what I was responding to, was the notion that we're all a bunch of extremist kooks like Trump, and that we're becoming irrelevant. Lawrence O'Donnell said 2 nights ago that the fact that Trump is in the lead, is evidence of "why Republican can't win any elections anymore". This guy has his own show, and he says something that demonstrably false (again, remember last November?) and no one challenges him.

Our candidates have not performed as expected. Our agenda is still superior, in every way agendas can be compared, to the democratic agenda, at least at the national level.