Republicans Self Destruct By Moving To the Far Right After Cantor’s Loss

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Last updated on June 26th, 2014 at 12:09 am

Over the weekend Iowa Republicans held their state convention, and it was a harbinger of what Americans have to look forward to after sitting House Majority Leader Eric Cantor lost his primary race to a libertarian college professor. It was a relative certainty that Cantor’s loss would drive the GOP to completely fall in line behind teabagger extremists who demand all-out war to control the nation or governance comes to a screeching halt; likely they want both. What is curious, is that Republicans are convinced teabaggers are enraged that establishment Republicans did not oppose President Obama over the past five years and that now they demand, and Republicans will deliver, unflinching opposition to the President. Subsequently, establishment Republicans are lurching hard right to embrace teabagger fascism and end democracy if the extremists do not get what they want.

Obviously, Christian extremists are determined to get what they want and one of the convention’s speakers, Bobby Jindal, delivered for the GOP establishment. It was Jindal who this week proved the GOP is in the warm embrace of evangelical extremists and willing supporters of legislation by bible when Jindal signed Christian legislation at a Baptist church eliminating Louisiana women’s reproductive health choices. Jindal also earned bible points with man-love and high praise for Duck Dynasty star Phil Robertson who grouped gays with terrorists and said African Americans were happy under Jim Crow because god. Jindal said, to wild applause, that he was sick and tired of the left’s intolerance of religious bigots, racists, and gay-hate like Robertson spews because he had the temerity to say things they disagree with. Obviously extremist Christian views like Robertson’s are part of the new and improved extremist Republicans.

Another convention speaker, Rand Paul, bought in to the idea that the GOP has to embrace the extreme right to satiate the bloodlust of the extremist conservatives the GOP thinks is the Republican base. Paul told an audience that, “There are people who say we need to be more moderate. I couldn’t disagree more; we can be even more bold. It isn’t about being tepid.” Ted Cruz, the epitome of teabagger extremism, believes voters rejected Cantor because establishment Republicans are too moderate and have not kept faith with the base that demands “unflinching opposition” to the President. Apparently Cruz and teabaggers regarded preventing America from defaulting on its debt and not permanently shutting down the government treason against the extremist base and fell short of unflinching opposition to Obama.

Cruz leveled a not-so-veiled warning against establishment Republicans and said “voters decided they wanted something different from business as usual in Washington. That’s a powerful message that I hope every elected official hears.” Republican business as usual over the past five years has been total obstruction of governance, and yet it is not the “unflinching opposition to the President” right-wing extremists, the Christian Right, or Koch brothers demand. Subsequently, the GOP will shift into extreme “unflinching opposition mode” to achieve what former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said was “their way or the highway. Without compromise, you don’t have a democracy.” Mrs. Clinton understands the right-wing’s ultimate goal is America without a democracy, but it is difficult to believe that is what the so-called Republican base really wants.

The base that Gingrich and Cruz claim wants “unflinching opposition” to every and anything the President supports is not the mainstream of Republican voters according to polls and surveys revealing they do not support America defaulting on its debt, closing the government, opposing immigration reform, abolishing the minimum wage, blocking assistance for Veterans, or most policies the extremists support. Still, now that the fear of extremists is driving establishment Republicans to the fascist right wing, governance will come to a screeching halt.

It is impossible to comprehend that the GOP’s base believes Republicans have not opposed everything President Obama has proposed; even when a majority of Americans, including the base, support his policy positions. However, as Newt Gingrich said, “What the Republican establishment doesn’t understand is that there’s a large element of America that wants a fight. If you’re a conservative, you think Barack Obama is literally destroying the country you love. And you watch your leadership and they seem unwilling to take him head on.” The idea that the President is destroying America was the topic of discussion on Fox News that incited host Megyn Kelly to get real serious with two neo-cons and wonder aloud “whether the president sincerely wants another terror attack on America – since it would hurt his approval ratings.” That was the extent of opposition to the segment’s assertion that the President was determined to destroy the America he loathes.

As DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz said, “What’s happened is that tea(baggers) have swallowed the Republican party so wholly that they’ve pulled all of their elected officials and candidates so far to the right. There is no mainstream in the Republican party anymore. There is no more establishment.” Wasserman Schulz could not be more correct; the Republicans are full-on extremists who have no qualms bringing the government, and America to its knees to get their way because the voters elected an African American as President. It is not about immigration reform, raising the minimum wage, extending unemployment insurance, making sure women get equal pay, or any policies that will actually help improve the lives of working Americans; now it is solely about pleasing teabagger extremists who, as Newt Gingrich said, “wants a fight.” No American should be deluded that part and parcel of that fight is breaking Washington’s ability to govern for the people and replacing democracy with right wing fascism.

Even though he lost a “sure thing” election to a relatively unknown libertarian, Eric Cantor is fully taken in by the extremist teabaggers and joined them by blaming the President for his loss. The loser said, “remember, the Tea Party means taxed enough already. You know, these are moms and dads, grandmothers and grandfathers that got into the political debate and process back in 2009 after the lurch leftward, expansion of government with Obamacare, Dodd-Frank, cap and trade, stimulus and the rest.” The Republicans have gone so far right to satisfy a right-wing extremist “base” that Cantor blamed the President for his loss because of legally-passed legislation like Dodd-Frank that Republicans have blocked implementation of and cap-and-trade that never materialized. As far as the leftward lurch and government expansion, those are lies that are meant to send a signal to the right-wing fascist base that establishment Republicans are fully behind them.

As Debbie Wasserman Schulz said before the Iowa Republican confab featuring the new extremist Republican Party, “When Eric Cantor isn’t conservative enough to win a Republican primary, it’s clear just how far right the GOP has become. It’s not very good for the country because it means that progress is going to be even harder, and I think Republicans will double down on their obstructionism.” The newly-christened extremist Republican movement is so terrified of invoking the ire of the fascist conservatives represented by the likes of Ted Cruz who demand “unflinching opposition” to democratic governance and just “want a fight” to paralyze Washington, that Republicans will not be satisfied until, as Hillary Clinton warned, “you don’t have a democracy.” What America has now is, as The Dish called it, a Cold Civil War with right wing fascists attempting to bring down the government because Americans elected an African American President.

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Rmuse

Audio engineer and instructor for SAE. Writes op/ed commentary supporting Secular Humanist causes, and exposing suppression of women, the poor, and minorities. An advocate for freedom of religion and particularly, freedom of NO religion.

Born in the South, raised in the Mid-West and California for a well-rounded view of America; it doesn't look good.

Former minister, lifelong musician, Mahayana Zen-Buddhist.