Republicans
1,347 pieces tagged “Republicans”, newest first.
The GOP Is Overmatched
If for some reason you needed additional evidence that the Republican Party is deeply incompetent, unprepared, uncoordinated and inexcusably lazy, then try watching Cecile Richards' appearance in front of Congress earlier this week. Now, I get that these kinds of hearings are normally a waste of time, but in this instance, the GOP had some good reasons to project competence. This is, after all, the issue that's generated so much tension within the party of late. An effective showing — something resembling a smart prosecution — might have allayed a bit of the percolating discontent. Yet there Republicans were, facing a CEO whose organization performs vivisections on humans and harvests baby brains, and the best they could do most of the time was alternate between slow-pitching Richards some hangers and ensuring her martyrdom.
The Republican Party's Big Choice
On Tuesday, members of the House Oversight Committee grilled Planned Parenthood head Cecile Richards over undercover videos linking high-ranking employees with illegal sale of fetal body parts. Under heavy questioning, Richards admitted to supporting sex-selective abortion, acknowledged that the vast majority of Planned Parenthood's nongovernment revenue springs from abortion, and awkwardly attempted to explain away the organization's alleged willingness to utilize special abortion techniques to preserve "samples" from the killed unborn. That night, Speaker of the House John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced that he would fully fund Planned Parenthood.
Walker Withdrawal Shows Changes in Republican Contest
Scott Walker's abrupt withdrawal from the Republican presidential race Monday afternoon shows how different, in ways noticed and unnoticed, this campaign cycle is from those of recent years. One obvious difference is the size of the Republican field — 17, before Walker's withdrawal and Rick Perry's withdrawal 10 days before. That has made debates unwieldy and has placed a premium on somehow emerging from the scrum. Walker didn't. He spoke for just seven minutes in the two-hour Fox News debate on Aug. 6 and the three-hour CNN debate (in which he was asked just three questions) on Sept. 16. It was not a format that favored Midwestern reticence.
Are Our Familiar Political Alignments Suddenly Changing?
As the 2016 presidential selection process proceeds, there is increasing evidence that the political patterns we have grown used to, that we have come to consider permanent, might be suddenly changing. Those patterns include a polarized and closely divided electorate, with partisan preferences highly correlated with degree of religiosity, with clearly defined demographic constituencies within each party and general elections decided consistently by narrow margins. With just a few exceptions, you could have forecast pretty well the state-by-state results of the 2012 presidential election from looking at the 2000 presidential elections. You could have forecast the 2010-2014 popular vote for House of Representatives by looking at that of the 1994-1998 popular vote.
The Quiet Counter-Revolution Gets Louder: Essential Lessons for the GOP
For some years, below the surface, a quiet counter-revolution has been advancing in the base of the Republican Party and in the country in general, while the party's establishment elites in Washington have continued on with business as usual, seemingly oblivious to the unrest of the rank and file, as if fly-over red state voters could be taken for granted. This counter-revolution was conceived and undertaken to change the trajectory of America's departure from its founding principles — to bring reform to the GOP rather than to overthrow the party. In short, the hope was to reverse Republican establishment diffidence about out-of-control, unaccountable government and its attendant crony corruption.
Our Side Must Decide to Put the Sideshows Aside
I wish the presidential debates could focus on what's wrong with the status quo and solutions rather than on what one candidate thinks about another's silly remarks. I don't want to hear Jeb Bush cajoling Donald Trump to apologize to his wife in front of millions of people. I don't want moderators to force a food fight between Trump and other candidates about whether he should have his finger on the nuclear button. I don't want them provoking a conflict between Chris Christie and Ben Carson over politicians' expediency. And I sure don't want to hear a candidate commenting on his rivals' physical appearance. This stuff is embarrassing, is unproductive and trivializes vital issues facing the nation.
American Greatness Can Be Rediscovered
Let's be crystal clear about what happened one day before America commemorated the 14th anniversary of the worst domestic attack in our nation's history: the Party of Treason aided and abetted by the Party of Cowardice made Obama's despicable deal with Iran a reality. Even more insulting, the process took place in defiance of the law as written and without a vote. In short, the effort to accommodate Iran, accurately described as the word's foremost sponsor of state terror, represents one of the darkest days in American history.
The Establishment Birthed Trump
Much of the establishment's criticism of Donald Trump comes from its failure to comprehend the reasons for his soaring popularity. Establishment types seem untroubled by the problems facing America, so they can't understand the urgency that fathered Trump's rise. Minor adjustments to the Hindenburg's dining room menu just aren't going to get it. Their overwrought analysis, their hand-wringing and their contemptuousness for Trump betray a disdain not only for Trump but for Americans who recognize the gravity of America's predicament — and who, in desperation, have turned to Trump for bold action.
Huckabee Plays the Fool
Watching Republicans on TV is getting more painful by the week. And believe it or not, my pain has nothing to do with the successful candidacy of Donald Trump. The pain started Tuesday, when, joining a few score of my fellow Americans, I accidentally tuned into MSNBC. There was big Mike Huckabee, live, making a religious, political and constitutional fool of himself.