Coming next week: Rule and Ruin: The Downfall of Moderation and the Destruction of the Republican Party by Geoffrey Kabaservice.
Ideological Fractures Plague Republicans
The latest Pew Research poll shows a growing divide between the Republican Party and the Tea Party, as the GOP’s favorable numbers have declined in congressional districts represented by members of the House Tea Party Caucus to nearly those of the Democratic Party.
Key numbers: “Currently, 41% say they have a favorable opinion of the GOP, while 48% say they have an unfavorable view… currently about four-in-ten (39%) say they have a favorable view of the Democratic Party, while 50% offer an unfavorable view.”
Chris Cillizza: “What happened? To put it bluntly: governing. Establishment Republicans smartly wrapped their arms around the tea party during the 2010 election… But once the tea party helped elect a Republican majority, the expectations of what that majority would do were unrealistic… The establishment wing of the GOP is, ultimately, playing within the pre-written rules of the current political system… What Republican strategists have to bank on is that the distaste for President Obama among tea partiers is great enough to overcome any qualms they might have about voting for Republican candidates who they don’t believe entirely represent their interests.”
How Did the GOP Lose its Way?
David Frum: “When I entered Republican politics during an earlier period of malaise, in the late seventies and early eighties, the movement got most of the big questions — crime, inflation, the Cold War — right. This time, the party is getting the big questions disastrously wrong.”
“In the aftershock of 2008, large numbers of Americans feel exploited and abused. Rather than workable solutions, my party is offering low taxes for the currently rich and high spending for the currently old, to be followed by who-knows-what and who-the-hell-cares. This isn’t conservatism; it’s a going-out-of-business sale for the baby-boom generation.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The Republican Party has totally abdicated its job in our democracy, which is to act as the guardian of fiscal discipline and responsibility. They’re on an anti-tax jihad — one that benefits the prosperous classes.”
— Former Reagan budget director David Stockman, in an interview with Rolling Stone.
