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Lipstick on a Pig

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Recently, GOProud founder Jimmy LaSalvia announced he was leaving the GOP because he considered it "brain dead."  He now joins the approximately 40 per cent of "independent" voters in America who no longer choose to affiliate themselves with either party, reflecting the growing unrest in this country with the two-party system, and the Republican Party in particular.

Certainly, we have seen many cases over the last five years to bolster LaSalvia's claim, which makes one wonder why he has waited this long to leave a party that obviously has shown no accommodation toward gays, or women or just about anyone else who doesn't fit its very narrowly defined vision of America.  I suppose like many Americans he wanted to oust Obama, as it was easier to project all his insecurities on Barry rather than admit the basic structural problems with the GOP that he was previously so proud of.

Like many conservatives, LaSalvia seems to live in a delusional world.  In his case, it is particularly amazing since at no time has the Republcan Party ever stood up for gay rights, despite its professed Libertarian views.  It was Reagan who ushered in this "moral majority" led by Jerry Falwell, which has now taken over the GOP and made it into a tent revival of highly bigoted religious conservative views.

The Republican bigotry extends far beyond gays, as we heard former GOP presidential contender Mike Huckabee lash out at women (Democratic ones anyway) and their promiscuous way in his harangue against including birth control in Obamacare.  Of course, Huck has been trying to backpedal on these outrageous comments since.  But, clearly this is a political party that no longer weighs its choice of words before spouting them.  True of Jimmy LaSalvia as well.

It seems the GOP has given up on its experiment with accommodation after its awful 2012 results.  Not only did the GOP fail to win the White House, but it lost seats in both chambers of Congress, even with many Senate Democrats particularly vulnerable.  The GOP didn't fair well in 2013 special elections either, as well as the highly contentious gubernatorial race in Virginia, which has swung back to the Blue column in its legislature as well.

The Republicans seem too worried about losing their religious conservative base to deal with the likes of LaSalvia and other fringe groups within the party, much less reach out to broader minority groups, which turn national and broad state elections.  What you hear are calls to improve the "tone," like this one from Reince Priebus, rather than address the basic structural problems that underlies the GOP.  It is simply an exclusionary party, and no amount of lipstick is going to disguise the matter.

Comments

  1. Rick DiguetteJanuary 25, 2014 at 3:18 PM

    Republicans can always count on 40% of the electorate wallowing in negativity. That's their base.

    ReplyDelete

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