Deal Emerging: Where Does the GOP Go From Here?

[nodoginnafight]

Boehner's last-ditched efforts to give House Republicans some influence on the resolution of this default/shutdown fiasco flamed out spectacularly - just like last time. That leave McConnell and Reid to forge ahead on a kick-the-can-down-the-road deal that the House will almost certainly pass.

So yet again - a GOP power play has shown the lack of power the GOP wields. And about 74% of Americans (up 11 points) are laying the blame on Republicans who now have dropped to a 24% approval rating.

It appears this desperate attempt to defund ObamaCare is not just a castastrophe for Boehner - it's apparent that it has damaged the entire GOP. And given the failure of previous GOP debt ceiling showdowns and the fact that it must be obvious to the Republican leadership that they cannot get the votes to pass anything in the House (even within their own majority party), this damage was foreseeable. Not just foreseeable - it was inevitable.

That indicates that Republican "leadership" is ineffective. It appears the party is so fractured and confused that it may be impossible to lead.

So what is the solution?

IMO: It is time to jettison the Tea Party. This group - with it's roots so firmly embedded in neo-confederacy and the John Birch Society and whitewashed with a veneer of utopian libertarianism - is just too radical to represent a majority of Americans. And they have proven to be too obstinate to participate in real negotiations. ("Capitulate or we'll tear everything down around us all" is not negotiating.)

The Tea Party reminds me of the Arabs in the 1940s who refuse to negotiate at all about the creation of the State of Israel. The result is that the State of Israel was created without any input from the Arabs. The moral of the story is that if you refuse to compromise at all - you lose your seat at the table. The writing is on the wall for the Tea Party.

The biggest question remaining is "Will the Republican Party allow itself to be destroyed along with the Tea Party?"

 

[TakeAStepBack]

The tea party congress represent the people who voted for them. They're doing what they were elected to do. And their movement is growing, not the other way around. The more you middle of the road republicans and far left extermists continue to lie to their voters and not deliver on promises, the more of these "radicals" (I never thought i'd see the day when fiscal responsibility and constitutional beliefs would be radical..in america) will get elected.

So you're wrong and the media is deliberately smearing the republicans in this theater.

 

[nodoginnafight]

If "the movement is growing" then why are their favorablity ratings going down the toilet?

oh yeah ... "it's the media's fault."

Given the huge variety of news sources available today - that whine is wearing thinner than ever. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to - and by all means - don't venture outside your little echo chamber and get a look at the real world out there - you really won't like what you see.

And what promise has the Tea Party delivered on?

To bring tri-corner hats back into fashion?

 

[rightwinger]

In the great GOP Temper Tantrum of 2013.....What did Republicans gain?

Did they affect Obamacare? No
Did they enhance the power and reputation of their party? No
Did they help their country in any way? No

So one can only ask...

Why Republicans? Why?

 

[nodoginnafight]

In the great GOP Temper Tantrum of 2013.....What did Republicans gain?

Did they affect Obamacare? No
Did they enhance the power and reputation of their party? No
Did they help their country in any way? No

So one can only ask...

Why Republicans? Why?

Not only have they not enhanced their power and reputation - they've damaged it. And they've hurt the country. And accomplished nothing.

That's bad enough - but the worst part is that it was all so foreseeable by anyone with half a brain. They flamed out spectacularly the last time. Didn't their leadership assume more support this time? Did they check it out?

Repeating the same actions over and over and expecting different results - that is insane.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

If "the movement is growing" then why are their favorablity ratings going down the toilet?

oh yeah ... "it's the media's fault."

Given the huge variety of news sources available today - that whine is wearing thinner than ever. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to - and by all means - don't venture outside your little echo chamber and get a look at the real world out there - you really won't like what you see.

And what promise has the Tea Party delivered on?

To bring tri-corner hats back into fashion?

LOLberal media "ratings". And democrats ratings are just stellar!

Regardless of establishment media assertions, the tea party is a growing movement.

 

[Contumacious]

The biggest question remaining is "Will the Republican Party allow itself to be destroyed along with the Tea Party?"

The Republicans who are members of the "surrender caucus" will happily merge with the democrats .

The remaining ought to come home where they belong The Libertarian Party.

.

 

[bendog]

Where do you guys get the fact that the TPM is growing?

 

[KGB]

If "the movement is growing" then why are their favorablity ratings going down the toilet?

oh yeah ... "it's the media's fault."

Given the huge variety of news sources available today - that whine is wearing thinner than ever. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to - and by all means - don't venture outside your little echo chamber and get a look at the real world out there - you really won't like what you see.

And what promise has the Tea Party delivered on?

To bring tri-corner hats back into fashion?

polls go up & down, big deal. The GOP has gone so far away from its stated goals & core beliefs it is not an even recognizable anymore. I left the party for this reason. The Tea Party, on the other hand, reflects more & more what conservative believe. I recall a time not too long ago during Bush's presidency when all the pundits were proclaiming the end of the Democrats. It's cyclical. If the Rs do get purged, then that is not necessarily a bad thing as it allows the party to lose the weaklings & get its house under order. That's what the Dems did & they won accordingly.

 

[Contumacious]

Where do you guys get the fact that the TPM is growing?

It isn't, the fascists won

"it is impossible to compete against free stuff. Every businessman knows this; that is why the “loss leader” or the giveaway is such a powerful marketing tool. Obama’s America is one in which free stuff is given away: the adults among the 47,000,000 on food stamps clearly recognized for whom they should vote, and so they did, by the tens of millions; those who – courtesy of Obama – receive two full years of unemployment benefits (which, of course, both disincentivizes looking for work and also motivates people to work off the books while collecting their windfall) surely know for whom to vote; so too those who anticipate “free” health care, who expect the government to pay their mortgages, who look for the government to give them jobs. The lure of free stuff is irresistible."

The Decline and Fall of the American Empire

.

 

[KGB]

Where do you guys get the fact that the TPM is growing?

from the Democratic Strategist.....

Why The Tea Party's Power Keeps Growing | Democratic Strategist

 

[bodecea]

If "the movement is growing" then why are their favorablity ratings going down the toilet?

oh yeah ... "it's the media's fault."

Given the huge variety of news sources available today - that whine is wearing thinner than ever. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to - and by all means - don't venture outside your little echo chamber and get a look at the real world out there - you really won't like what you see.

And what promise has the Tea Party delivered on?

To bring tri-corner hats back into fashion?

LOLberal media "ratings". And democrats ratings are just stellar!

Regardless of establishment media assertions, the tea party is a growing movement.

Only in Cray-Cray Land.

 

[nodoginnafight]

If "the movement is growing" then why are their favorablity ratings going down the toilet?

oh yeah ... "it's the media's fault."

Given the huge variety of news sources available today - that whine is wearing thinner than ever. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to - and by all means - don't venture outside your little echo chamber and get a look at the real world out there - you really won't like what you see.

And what promise has the Tea Party delivered on?

To bring tri-corner hats back into fashion?

LOLberal media "ratings". And democrats ratings are just stellar!

Regardless of establishment media assertions, the tea party is a growing movement.

One of the big problems I have with the radical right (yeah, I have huge problems with the radical left as well). But the radical right seems to gravitate to bumper sticker mentality. "The facts don't mean squat. If you can't fit it on a bumper sticker, it ain't true."

Maybe you should "unskew" the polls.

How'd that work out for ya last time?

 

[rightwinger]

The biggest question remaining is "Will the Republican Party allow itself to be destroyed along with the Tea Party?"

The Republicans who are members of the "surrender caucus" will happily merge with the democrats .

The remaining ought to come home where they belong The Libertarian Party.

.

It is just this type of rhetoric that is destroying the Republican Party. Rush Limbaugh would be so proud.

Agreeing to bring the Government back to work is not surrender
Paying our nations bills is not surrender

The only surrendering being done is by GOP leadership surrendering to the unobtainable demands of the TeaTards

 

[bendog]

I don't view the TPM as conservative. Bushii was certainly not a conservative. But the TPM is convinced America is embracing socialism. It's not. But that's how the TPM sees it. At heart, its about demographics, imo.



William Galston: The Tea Party and the GOP Crackup - WSJ.com

 

[PredFan]

In the great GOP Temper Tantrum of 2013.....What did Republicans gain?

Did they affect Obamacare? No
Did they enhance the power and reputation of their party? No
Did they help their country in any way? No

So one can only ask...

Why Republicans? Why?

Because it's the right thing to do.

You lefties won't understand this but people, good people, do what is right without concern about wether it makes them popular or unpopular. Sometimes, they believe, doing what is right, even if it means you will be assaulted, flamed, arrested, whatever. Even if it is a lost cause in the end.

Fighting raising the debt ceiling and obamacare is the right thing to do. The Tea Party is right, Ted Cruise is a hero.

 

[nodoginnafight]

The biggest question remaining is "Will the Republican Party allow itself to be destroyed along with the Tea Party?"

The Republicans who are members of the "surrender caucus" will happily merge with the democrats .

The remaining ought to come home where they belong The Libertarian Party.

.

So if the goal is to grow the Libertarian Party, why drive moderates to the Democratic Party? Why not let them stay in the Republican Party.

The far right has been losing even with the moderate Republicans they've been able to hold onto. It seems jetisoning the moderate Republicans will only spell bigger loses.

It doesn't make any sense.

 

[JakeStarkey]

The biggest question remaining is "Will the Republican Party allow itself to be destroyed along with the Tea Party?"

The Republicans who are members of the "surrender caucus" will happily merge with the democrats .

The remaining ought to come home where they belong The Libertarian Party.

.

Americans will never buy your silly ideas, Contumacious.

 

[Billy000]

Boehner's last-ditched efforts to give House Republicans some influence on the resolution of this default/shutdown fiasco flamed out spectacularly - just like last time. That leave McConnell and Reid to forge ahead on a kick-the-can-down-the-road deal that the House will almost certainly pass.

So yet again - a GOP power play has shown the lack of power the GOP wields. And about 74% of Americans (up 11 points) are laying the blame on Republicans who now have dropped to a 24% approval rating.

It appears this desperate attempt to defund ObamaCare is not just a castastrophe for Boehner - it's apparent that it has damaged the entire GOP. And given the failure of previous GOP debt ceiling showdowns and the fact that it must be obvious to the Republican leadership that they cannot get the votes to pass anything in the House (even within their own majority party), this damage was foreseeable. Not just foreseeable - it was inevitable.

That indicates that Republican "leadership" is ineffective. It appears the party is so fractured and confused that it may be impossible to lead.

So what is the solution?

IMO: It is time to jettison the Tea Party. This group - with it's roots so firmly embedded in neo-confederacy and the John Birch Society and whitewashed with a veneer of utopian libertarianism - is just too radical to represent a majority of Americans. And they have proven to be too obstinate to participate in real negotiations. ("Capitulate or we'll tear everything down around us all" is not negotiating.)

The Tea Party reminds me of the Arabs in the 1940s who refuse to negotiate at all about the creation of the State of Israel. The result is that the State of Israel was created without any input from the Arabs. The moral of the story is that if you refuse to compromise at all - you lose your seat at the table. The writing is on the wall for the Tea Party.

The biggest question remaining is "Will the Republican Party allow itself to be destroyed along with the Tea Party?"

Very well said. Technically well written as well.

I think you're absolutely right. What i would add about the tea party is how far removed they are from reality and factual information. I wouldn't say all teabaggers are dumb, but I would say on average people who identify with the tea party are of average intelligence or below. They think with emotion rather than with logic and critical thinking.

I don't necessarily think tea party republicans in congress are dumb, I just think they know how to sell their brand to simple minded folk with no understanding of economics or our governmental system.

They are harming this country with their extremism. It's insane.

 

[TakeAStepBack]

If "the movement is growing" then why are their favorablity ratings going down the toilet?

oh yeah ... "it's the media's fault."

Given the huge variety of news sources available today - that whine is wearing thinner than ever. But you keep telling yourself whatever you need to - and by all means - don't venture outside your little echo chamber and get a look at the real world out there - you really won't like what you see.

And what promise has the Tea Party delivered on?

To bring tri-corner hats back into fashion?

LOLberal media "ratings". And democrats ratings are just stellar!

Regardless of establishment media assertions, the tea party is a growing movement.

One of the big problems I have with the radical right (yeah, I have huge problems with the radical left as well). But the radical right seems to gravitate to bumper sticker mentality. "The facts don't mean squat. If you can't fit it on a bumper sticker, it ain't true."

Maybe you should "unskew" the polls.

How'd that work out for ya last time?

You're saying that the GOP "ratings" are terrible, yet completely neglect the FACT that democrats are in the same boat. Just like all the rest of LOLberal media. Hid the results of your own side and point the blame at the opposition. Classic LOLberal "defense" mechanism.

Yes, congress has a bad rating. So does the president. But the TP is in bad shape, right?