Defection of Specter a Reflection of the Times for Republicans

I was pretty amazed when I heard the news of Senator Specters defection to the Democrats. I've always known he was a moderate but I've heard him carry the water for the RNC too many times to believe he was a friend to Democrats. In truth the switch by Specter is more about pointing out the problems with the Republican party than with helping Democrats carry a majority in the Senate.

I've written about this before and I'm hardly a voice in the wilderness since journalists with ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN and MSNBC have also talked about it. That is that the Republican party is becoming increasingly far right and thus irrelevant politically. The only news network (and I use the term "news" very, very loosely in this case) that hasn't noticed the precipitous decline is FOX and that isn't much of a surprise.

And what has been so amazing about this whole thing is that it is the Republicans themselves who continue to shovel the hole deeper. It is as if they were all lined up at the top of the water slide ready to watch each other as they leap off and plummet down the shoot while their fellows cheer them on their way. Each time a thoughtful person in line says something like "maybe this isn't such a good idea" they are derided and dismissed as being out of touch with real Republicans.

Even as they watch their poll numbers drop they continue to be just as they always have been. Cut taxes for the rich and corporations, strong military, and citizens are on their own. Despite the fact that those very same citizens decided loudly and clearly they didn't want to do it that way anymore they just don't get it. Apparently the old saying "the definition of insanity is to keep doing things the same way and expect different results" has never crossed any of their desks.

For the Republicans these days it is Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly, and the rest of that loony group who sets their agenda. But even though these creeps have high ratings on TV and radio the Republicans should realize that they're still talking to a very small portion of the country. With that being true then it means that they've decided that appealing to only about 20% of America is okay. Call me crazy but you need more than 20% of the vote to win an election.

I am concerned though because in a Democracy you need more than one political party. Our Democracy is already in trouble if we let the free press die off so we can't add this to the mix. I appeal to the saner heads in the Republicans to not be afraid to stand up to the haters and liars and actually try and do something positive for the country.

Specter is just another ugly poll number for the Republican party. He is an indicator of the direction they are heading. Between the poll numbers and the departure of some of their most important members one might think they'd take notice this time. Limbaugh's response of "good riddance and take McCain and his daughter with you," is our indicator that they must really like the view from the bottom. Don't look for any changes soon.

I'm Quickly Losing Interest in "The View"

It's too bad because I've only been watching them over the last six months or so and they've lost me already. The thing that gave them relevancy and interest was the election and now that it's over they've become irrelevant again. I'm sure their increased popularity at the end of last year will linger for a while but unless they change their ways I think people are going to start heading for the exits with me.

Today was a perfect example of why they are no longer worth watching. First of all I was very excited to hear Whoopi bring up an actually important topic this morning. She talked about the fact that our President has said that he isn't against investigating torture and the folks who authored it. The crowd responded with a cheer showing that they agree with our President and then the whole thing went right down the crapper.

The ladies on the show allowed Elizabeth Hasselbeck to filibuster the response! What???? It's not as if we don't already know what that idiot thinks. Did Whoopi, Joy, and Barbara (Sherry's not worth mentioning when discussing anything requiring serious thought), think that Elizabeth was going to offer anything more than her usual Republican talking points? So, thanks to her co- hosts, we were all treated to her usual method of don't stop to breathe or somebody might get a word in edge wise defense of the indefensible.

Elizabeth actually said that Barack Obama would do the same thing if he thought it would save the country. What kind of an idiot comment is this? If Joy, Barbara or Whoopi can't step in at this point and say something obvious like "how the hell do you know that?" then what are they there for? I guess Joy managed to point out to Mrs. Hasselbeck that her past favorite candidate, John McCain, didn't believe in torture or that torture worked. Elizabeth had no response to that except to continue to defend the behavior. What a good Christian!

It would seem obvious to anybody that the country is not for torture and they think it should be looked into. Perhaps we can look to the last election where even Republicans (not Elizabeth clearly) steered away from the candidates who screamed the loudest for blood and instead did the opposite of what Rush wanted and nominated John McCain. Polls consistently show that Americans don't support and never supported torture.

If "The View" wants to hold onto it's new audience they better start giving us more than one 'view.' Especially if that particular view is one that is only espoused by a small minority of Americans. We can find that on Fox News.

Tea Bagging is a Joke

The GOP is constantly surpassing even themselves for practicing the fine art of cynical politics. The romantic notion of political ideas gaining acceptance via the actions of normal, everyday Americans who create a grass roots movement has now been kidnapped and mutated by the Republican party. If you've been asking yourself if there is a low where they will not go then you can see it won't be at this level.

I'm talking, of course, about this manufactured Tea Bagging day on April 15th. Fox News needs a reason to be viewed these days by anybody other than the koolaid drinkers. The 'supposed' leaders of the GOP need a reason to even exist. They're desperately searching for a message that Americans can get behind and this is what they've come up with.

The fact that anybody looking at it with any amount of perspective can see that the movement is drummed up by Fox News is of no concern to them. They are just hoping that it catches the eye of the 'normal' media and then somehow given some credibility. So far it isn't happening that way. A true test may be if Jim Lehrer pays any attention to it during the Lehrer hour. Hopefully the GOP influence with PBS has been somewhat negated since the departure of the Bush administration.

The ironic part of the whole thing is the fact that these protesters are protesting Bush's taxes not Obama's. They themselves don't really understand that little factoid judging from the unfortunate remarks some of them have made to reporters. If the man who guarantees that Obama is not an American citizen is an example of the groups overall grasp of reality then clearly none of them are rowing with both oars in the water.

The only thing that gives them any credibility at all is the presence of Fox News and that speaks volumes all by itself.