Thursday, February 7, 2013

Ruffians

A few months ago I conjectured that the day may come when Republicans will rue having enlisted the aid of “these ruffians.” [The Tea Party] That day may have come with the last election. The partnership had been working well. Tea Party people voted en mass in the usually low turnout 2010 midterms and gave the GOP control of the House of Representatives and, what may be more important, control of governorships and legislatures in several major swing states that voted for Barack Obama in both elections. Like Faust they’d received their desired worldly pleasures, for two years anyhow although unlimited knowledge seems to be on back order. Now they’re having to pay the devil,

This is the second time in my memory that Republicans have suffered a similar collapse, the 1964 Goldwater campaign being the other. They got a break then from the left when Vietnam War protestors and the ghetto rioters muddied the water. This time around the threat of civil disobedience seems to be from the right. Party Pooh-Bahs like Karl Rove, Eric Kantor and Bobby Jindal have been making speeches to remake the party image, a neat trick when you’re simultaneously sticking your audience with the tab.

What makes the job even harder this time is that the Goldwater supporters who shouted down Nelson Rockefeller at the convention look like choir boys compared to people hoarding ammunition for the declared purpose of resisting the government. Their purported fear is that their guns will be taken away. But with folks carrying that much heat it’s only natural to wonder if something else might tick them off. They don’t seem overly fond of the president.

Their intentions may not be as bad as they seem. But their manners leave something to be desired. And manners mean a lot. Ronald Reagan’s crooning that “government is not the solution it’s the problem” is more seditious than Goldwater shouting about extremism and moderation, at least to this observer.

A major part of their hell comes from a primary system by which candidates of both parties are chosen. There’s no preventing voters from registering with the political party and voting for the candidates of their choice. If this system results in the nomination of fire eaters then that’s the way the kookies crumble.* I’m sure the party brass is working diligently for a solution. I must confess to a warm spot in my heart for those smoke filled rooms.

I have no guess what will develop and no suggestions. The two party system doesn’t seem to be working very well. Could it be that the time has come to bring back the Whigs?



*A quote from Claire Booth Luce after the 1964 election.

No comments:

Post a Comment