*Please... Cut the Crap

The Country Has a Republican Problem, and WE Can Help Solve It

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It apparently takes a good electoral thumping to get Republicans to do a little soul searching.  Key words: a little. The problem is, it can’t last. In part, it’s because they have no soul. But more than that, introspection isn’t what they do, because their core constituency, or "base," won’t allow it.  (Seriously, has their ever been a better name for a political party's core constituents than the GOP "base"? Think about it.)

This is what happens when you cultivate a “base” that not only doesn’t care much about knowledge and intelligence, but that actually despises the concept. The reason current Republicans sound as stupid and bigoted as they do is because they need their stupid, bigoted white “base” to have a snowball’s chance in hell of winning anything.  And since “winning” is the only thing they seem to understand, expecting any sort of moderation anytime soon is a pipe dream. 

Anyone with any political sense at all would have demonstrated alarm over the emergence of an element as radical as the Tea Party within its ranks. Instead, they embraced it, and even nurtured it, because their “base” loved the concepts as discussed, regardless of their ridiculousness.

Look at the current Republican Party, folks. The radicals have completely taken over, to the point that GOP moderates have become independents or, in a number of cases, Democrats. You know why there were so many Blue Dogs in Congress at one time? Because there is no longer a place for actual conservatives in today’s GOP.

And it’s only going to get worse, unless we put a stop to it.

The Definition of Progressive Is Only Narrow to the Narrow Minded...

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The election is over. Progressives won. No, seriously, progressives really did win.  

Not that you'd know it by looking at the self-described "progressive blogosphere," however. The discussion of the election in most far-left liberal circles seems to be, "Well, Obama's not progressive, but at least he's not Romney."  

This is why progressives have been losing for more than a generation. 

First of all, Obama is as progressive s he possibly can be. Unfortunately, most of the people who have chosen to define "progressive" for us have no idea what the word means. Being "progressive" is not based on a static set of "beliefs" based on issues that few people actually care about. Likewise, variance from your positions on those beliefs do not disqualify someone from the ranks of "progressive."  

I have been a progressive (no quotes) and a liberal all of my life. I started getting involved in politics back in 1972, when I was 14. My goal has always been to see that the best person available wins in a primary, and then the best person to survive the primary wins election. THAT is how you make progress, and progress is the root word of "progressive." it is not "progressive" to tilt at windmills and keep missing, which is what the self-described "progressive movement" has been doing for more than forty years now. 

What prompted this piece was a column with the following headline:  

If We Call Obama "Progressive," Are We Ignoring His Record?