Note to self: Don't leave open-ended ponderings laying around that mention Driftglass as the reason for such pondering.
The opinionated Chicagoan noticed my mention of his lecture and questions for moderate Republicans and decided to offer a few words of reply about halfway through this post. The man apparently appreciated my candor and civility...
"...He didn't rant or namecall, and had the wherewithal to muse out loud about the problems he sees in his party, and since I’m very Old School about such things, and believe every bit as much in conversation with reasonable men and women as I do in working the body of irrational dopes and cowardly Freepers until they poop digital blood, I think Mr. Hoggard deserves a thoughtful reply..."
"...Thank you for grappling with this issue publicly. That takes nerve. It’s time for some plain talk on these subjects, so let me point out just two of the most crucial errors that every Moderate Republican I know just keeps making...."
And boy-howdy, what a reply. While explaining those "two crucial errors" Mr. Driftglass caused smoke to rise from his keyboard. Read the whole thing, if you've got a few minutes (he addresses yours truly about a third of the way down.)
In a nutshell, the point he is making can be found in this all-too-true statement:
"The Republican Party as you knew it... as my father knew it... is dead. Murdered by Moderates who voluntarily invited the Devil in their parlor..."
He's right, you know. A little over a year ago I received a solicitation for donations from GOP head Ed Gillespie that offended me terribly. I asked at the time, 'Middle ground, dammit...what about the middle ground?' and then I went on a tear...
"...We used to be a nation of moderation, but that quaint notion is currently perceived as a sign of weakness by the leadership of both parties. What happened to compromise as a way to get things done to the benefit of all? How is it that we have become a nation of political rivals who see everything only in black and white? Can no one but me see all of the gray?..."
Perhaps Driftglass is correct about us Moderates when he suggests...
...they made a deal with the Devil and invited the absolute intellectual, moral, philosophical and theological dregs of the nation into your Party. ...They hopped giddily into bed with the True Believers of exactly those same vile beliefs the Original Republican Party went to war to defeat. And just so there is no misunderstanding here, the Falwells and Dobsons and Robersons of the worlds are not just tolerated within the GOP…for the sake of short-term electoral victory, the degenerate heirs of Jeff Davis and Elmer Gantry you were supposed be fighting against have been welcomed into the Party of Lincoln with flowers, candy, spread-legs, grabbed ankles and your very shiniest F**k-Me shoes."
So now, because my Party has drifted so far to the right and become beholden to religious fervor and corporate interests I am left with only an abbreviation for standing my middle ground - I am now termed a R.I.N.O. (Republican In Name Only) by GOP stalwarts. Well I've got news here boys... I am the real GOP. It is you, Mr. Delay - and you, Mr. Santorum - and you, Mr. Norquist who have stolen the soul of my Party and sold it to the highest bidder.
I agree with Driftglass on a good many of his points and his criticsms are fair ones, but I'll not be switching parties just yet. I am convinced I still carry the strength of the GOP, just not the megaphone. I am convinced that family matters should be resolved within the family, so if I leave I will be considered an outsider like Driftglass.
No, I'll remain a Republican and try to fix things from within... but I'm not real comfortable being known as one right now.
7:51:23 AM 
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