re: #364 LudwigVanQuixote

I suppose the thing to be said about the GOP is that they have now become what I was always taught by my old school elders they were.

To my grandparents, the GOP meant either snide callous country-club snobs in bed with big corporations and big oil, or it meant racist, isolationist, hicks. It meant that both could care less about the poor and that both could care less about anything other than their own greed. It meant that they hated you if you weren’t white or Christian. They were the ones who opposed fighting Hitler. They were the ones who absorbed the Dixiecrats and opposed de-segregation. They were the ones who never saw an oil sheik they couldn’t love. They were the ones who wanted to ram their view of Jesus down our throats. They were the gun nuts and the people who thought wars were good things - if pointed at not white people.

This is the image I was given the GOP as a boy. The Dems were never seen as great, but rather a better choice by default.

Now this is not a wholly fair image of the GOP. I remember arguing the good points of Reagan to my father. However, it is also not a completely unfair assessment either.

However, today…

Think of the tea party rhetoric. Think about that image of the GOP I painted above. Do not think that minorities don’t believe it to be true. Do not kid yourself that the GOP isn’t making it true, and do not kid yourself that it isn’t noticed.

This is important, and it’s the ugly truth, I’m afraid.
It’s the view I had at 17, and my father was a country club republican die-hard. (I blush at the discussions at the dinner table during the 70’s with my older siblings and him!). But now that vision is coming back into focus.
This is my real concern about the “Bougga-Bougga” hyping of one gotcha theme after another, (and granting that there is some truth to some): that it is so frustrating to know that younger people that may have looked at the Republican party and thought it was something they wanted to be associated with, and help build will now just roll their eyes.

Rebuilding actually happened in the 80’s.
The party galvanized many young people to think harder and deeper than the stereotype, and it worked. There is a generation that is proudly Republican, and worked hard to change the perception. I think many on this board are the result of that effort.
But now, you got the Crazy Birth certificate issue, the Secret Muslim thing, the teabaggers (which the name of in and of itself makes anyone under 30 and not home schooled LOL), the school speech nonsense, the death panels, Creationist and Young Earth proponents, not to mention Dijon-gate, and the Arugla “elitist” thing… it goes on and on, with almost every week some other manufactured outrage.
And now ACORN.
Get this: NO ONE CARES.
This issue is kinda important, I’ll give you.
But the de-funding of the group was done with alacrity, by Washington standards. Most reasonable people will think good, done, move on.
The frothing base will keep it up and try, try, try to tie this to Obama.
And it will not work.
He’ll say “Bad Apples” and move on, and most sane people will say it’s been dealt with.
But those with an agenda will push and push and push… until most people again say, Oh Christ, give it a rest.
As Charles said, yet another shot in the foot.
And next week Drudge and Malkin and Limbaugh will trumpet something else, and hope that it sticks, this time.
Again, some outrage is valid, but it is drowned out by the stupid.
And kids these days (as bad as public schools are supposed to be) are not stupid. They see right through right this to the rank hypocrisy it is.
And they see this and shake their head, and and are starting to re-stereotype the Republican party exactly as it was.
It’s not the medias fault. It’s not the mean Libs.
It’s time to take responsibility for the actions and antics of people who drive the issues, redefine what is important and address it like adults.