You’ll have to excuse the Republican Party for being a bit emotional right now, they’re still processing their grief over having lost their nomination to a man they never loved. A year ago, the GOP was so happy. The economy was dragging, unemployment was high, people were being buried in debt and losing their homes…who wouldn’t be happy? It looked like their plan to stonewall President Obama on repairing the economy had borne its rotten fruit and in 2012, they would be celebrating all of this by taking back the power of the Presidency.
It was a simpler time, the GOP was so blissfully unaware of anything that could come between their dream and it becoming reality. Until “he” came along. While the GOP was delighted about marrying a right wing conservative, Mitt Romney showed up as a wedding crasher and knocked over the punchbowl at what should have been one of the best times in the GOP’s life.
It’s hard to accept loss (which is why you pass Voter ID laws), especially when you lose someone or something that you were very close to. And the GOP was so close to having a slam dunk win of the White House this year. Sure, some people feel they’re being supportive by saying, “Well, you’re still in it! Romney could surge ahead if people buy into the SuperPAC-funded lies or Romney’s vague promises!” but it wasn’t supposed to be like this.
Obama was supposed to be trailing badly and all the Republican Presidential nominee was going to have to let the public know was that they should blame Obama for the bad economy. The Republican nom wasn’t supposed to be constantly trailing and pushed by the media to give details about his secret plans for the economy (psst…don’t tell anyone but it’s to make the wealthiest 1% wealthier and the 99% poorer).
It was supposed to be a referendum election on Obama, not a “choice” election. No one was supposed to even think about the GOP nom, they were just supposed to elect him to throw Obama out. Doesn’t anyone remember the GOP’s affair with the American public back in 2010? When it didn’t matter if you were a witch, a racist or an elitist millionaire, you were voting against the Democrats so any Republican could run competitively for office.
Instead…the Republicans’ nominee…is actually being looked at by Americans and assessed based on his honesty, character and experience. It’s just not fair.
They worked so hard in their primary to hold onto their dream, pushing anyone but Romney to the top of the polls at one time or another. It didn’t matter if you were a racist multimillionaire with a ridiculous comb-over, an intellectually challenged pizza company with Tourette’s Syndrome when it came to the number “9”, a disgraced and censured adulterer that also was proudly racist or a religious fanatic who wants to oppress women, gays, Latinos and black people…as long as you weren’t that awful dream killer Mitt Romney, there was nothing too low to stoop to as long as it meant avoiding Mitt Romney being nominated.
But it didn’t work and to the GOP’s dismay, they lost their soulmates and are now wedded to a man they don’t love.
What we’ve been seeing since then from Republicans is a much broader sweeping expression of the five stages of grief, as reflected in the Kubler-Ross model.
Stage 1: Denial
After Mitt Romney won the GOP Primary, many of those Republicans who saw him as a weak candidate swallowed hard and spouted out that they now believe in him and that he will beat Obama. When polls keep contradicting this as a probability, they deny the validity of polls. When facts undermine Romney’s veracity or campaign, they deny the facts. When Romney says something that’s self-destructive, they deny he said it or that it was a negative. But deep down, they fear facing the reality that looms over them. They are so deeply in denial, that they will deny they are denying anything and if the irony of this is pointed out to them, they will deny there’s any irony about them denying that they are denying their denials.
Stage 2: Anger
Is it any wonder that Rush Limbaugh, Republican politicians, the Fox News rodents, etc. have become so vicious lately? This anger comes out of an intense frustration. They need to be able to vent and blame someone for what’s happened with their nomination going to Mitt Romney and he and Ryan sabotaging their hopes and dreams. So they lash out and try to attack anyone they can for their situation, beginning with Obama. Some Republicans never make it out of this stage and the previous one, they go along their whole lives in a kind of Stage 1 and 2 purgatory, just denying reality and being angry…the clinical term for this is Tea Party Member.
Stage 3: Bargaining
The Republicans decided to use the occasion of their national convention to go through this stage…on a stage. They bargained with themselves, with women, with Latinos and black people. They promised they’d do anything and everything if only Romney won’t lose. They’ll be on the side of women if only they’ll vote for a man who wants to take their rights away. They’ll be on the side of Latinos if only they’ll vote for a man who wants to self-deport 12 million of them. They’ll be on the side of their right wing base if only they’ll let them pretend they won’t be. They will make a deal with God that if he will only make their candidate win, they will follow His word to the letter…except for the parts that have to do with Jesus.
Stage 4: Depression
You can already hear the depressed voices starting to grow in the GOP when it comes to Romney. Many well known Republican pundits have been criticizing him and warning of a coming loss in November. It’s depressing just being a Republican unless you’re in the top 1%. Imagine, having to wake up every morning and listen to Rush and watch Fox News to know who you’re supposed to hate today and why. Voting against your own interests, having to endure people who rudely bring up facts and worshiping prejudices and lies like Scripture. Republicans have enough depression to go through that’s voluntary, it’s tough when you have to be forced to go through more. With Mitt Romney trailing Obama the whole way and falling behind with less than two months to go, it’s hard not to want to cry a little. Which is why no one has ever questioned John Boehner’s credentials as a Republican whose new motto is “Cry freedom…and for our party’s nomination process!”
Stage 5: Acceptance
This is one stage with which Republicans have a hard time. Often, they just loop back to Denial in Stage 1. A basic requirement of being a Republican is refusing to accept things. Climate Change, evolution, the Earth revolves around the Sun, pizza is not a vegetable, arithmetic, etc. For those rogue Republicans who do accept things, it can be lonely and scary but ultimately, a positive thing. For most however, they take pride and print on their t-shirts, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again but expecting different results. And we’re cuckoo for cuckoo pols!”
Granted, the election is far from over and will require the energy and donations of Obama’s supporters to clinch a victory but if that occurs, it will indeed be mourning in America for the GOP.
I think that it will come down to what it ususally come down to:
turnout.
People who would vote Democrat actually have to get out and vote Democrat.
As for those people such as Will and Ingraham: I am more conservative than they are and I am a liberal.
But, that is too subtle and complicated for them.
Ouch! Counting your chickens a bit too early AdLib but another witty gem nonetheless. The GOP has definitely gone through the first four stages in fact they continue to go through them constantly because they can’t reach stage five.
Of course like you describe acceptance really is not part of the process in the GOP mind then again they have always come up short in all things intellect.
But I’ll do you a solid AdLib and show most conservatives are thinking what you are thinking at least when it comes to the fact that they think Romney will lose.
Gotta love some quotes I read today as well.
Limbaugh described the epitome of the modern GOP mind. They are not for anything anymore and only live to be against Obama and the Democrats. They are not even trying to develop new ideas or reach out to other demographic groups. They are simply the nihilist party.
The truth is that Romney and Ryan know if they speak specifics they will lose because what they are selling is a pile of steaming shite.
If Romney had a core conviction it would be a surprise to anyone. Trying to make the conservative case would be another loser for Romney because he does not believe it.
My contention is that this fills the right wing self fulfilling prophecy. The reason they have a dearth of talent in the GOP is because they treat politics like a bastard step child. They really hate government and governing so the talent pool they draw from is getting smaller and poorer.
Again Romney and his team of Keystone Cops is out of touch. It’s not a sugar high as much as people have seen the first real difference between the parties. On party is looking forward to the future and wants to lead the country in that direction. The other party is cynical and crass that just wants to go back to some previous date in time, some want to go as far back as medieval times where all the workers are surfs and the plutocrats have a divine right to rule.
This is probably the take I agree with the most. Romney is still very much in this because of the economy. Sure he’s 0-1 on the big stage but he still has three debates to impress people. The press still could really screw Obama if he does not meet their expectations game or Romney comes up with a few good lines. We’ll see Obama could have turned the corner like Bush did with his effective convention in 2004. Bush had bad debate performances and still beat Kerry on his likeability over Kerry. Obviously I have much more faith in Obama’s debating skills but anything can still happen.
The bottom line is Obama now has a definite lead at a very good time, actually almost the same time he had a definite lead in 2008. I see this election being much more like 2004 with for Bush than 1980 for Carter even though it’s not over ’til it’s over when the fat Limbaugh cries.
KQ, thanks for supporting my proposition with concrete quotes from the RW.
I do think that the Rush and Grover mindset that all they need is an empty suit with a GOP button on it to win the Presidency is very telling. It is an admission that they have a weak candidate and they’re trying to encourage their minions to support Romney even though they don’t like him.
The other side of what they’re saying is, “Let us be the undemocratic, unelected puppet-masters of Presidential power.” While that should scare most anyone who believes in democracy, the drones of the GOP would be happy to bury our democracy if it meant their side “wins”.
Poor George Will, tying himself up into a pretzel trying to say that Romney is both better equipped than Obama to be President and ill-equipped to be President.
I would suggest that the economy is no longer a factor in the election. The public already knows the economy is where it is and another month’s up or down jobs report isn’t going to change anything meaningfully for them. Obama’s numbers have already taken the toll from the economy, that’s why he isn’t 10% ahead of the lousy candidate that Romney is.
My proof is that the allegedly poor job numbers (which you and I know were actually fine for August), didn’t affect Obama’s bounce from the DNC at all. It was meaningless. So why would the September numbers make a big difference either way?
I think it is a false meme the MSM has pushed. Most Americans don’t even pay attention to the jobs reports. And the changing number from month to month doesn’t impact their life directly. So, unless there is a new financial event that happens between now and Nov, I don’t think the economy will help Romney any more than it has, to reduce but not eliminate Obama’s lead.
As for the pundits possibly celebrating Romney for not being as bad as he could have been in the debates, here too I think the self-importance of the MSM is overestimated. Will those people who don’t like or trust Mitt Romney change their mind because pundits tell them he wasn’t as bad as he could have been?
There was an article out today that explained how debates are good mediums for showing the public that one is smart and in control of the facts but not effective in trying to enhance one’s humanity or veracity. People already believe that Romney is intelligent (wrongly IMO) so he can’t answer the real questions people have about him in a debate.
And in the debate, I have no doubt that Romney will be asked by the moderator and Obama to provide details about his economic and health care plans and address the numerous lies he’s made which can only dent him in the areas he can’t repair in a debate.
Yes, Romney can attack Obama and try to increase Obama’s negatives but unlike in the GOP Primary, Obama will be right there to blow up his BS.
This doesn’t mean that Obama will devastate Romney in debates, they could come off to each of their supporters as the winner but I don’t see Romney being able to score any kind of big gain through the debates. I mean, aside from exceeding expectations but still being an elitist people don’t relate to, what can he possibly say?
No comparison to 1980 when Carter looked weak, was damaged by the ongoing Iran hostage crisis and had little charisma while Reagan had buckets of charisma, a loyal and energized following and a deal with Iran not to release the hostages until after the election.
This is not over yet and no one should let the good news in polls convince them not to donate to Obama and Dems or do whatever they can to help them win. We still have to put out all the energy and support it takes to win a close race.
But, it is a good feeling to see Obama pull ahead.
What is it about the GOP/TP that makes them hate America and all the good things America stands for?
They hate gays, women, blacks, and gay marriage, contraception, abortion, and civil rights for anyone but the rich.
What do they like? Money, power over others, more money, and guns and WARS (as long as they don’t have to serve.
Nirek, I think it’s because the GOP is a marriage of the wealthy, corporate elite who want government to redistribute the money of the 99% to themselves, their military industries, oil companies, etc. through the collection of income taxes and their need to co-opt enough low info Americans to give them a chance of winning elections.
All they have to stampede these low info people to go against their own interests and to support the wealthy is fear and hatred. So the GOP is an amalgam of the greedy and the hateful and fearful who mindlessly march wherever they’re led.
Wars make corporate America wealthy, they don’t care about the lives lost, it turns a great profit for them and if we occupy a nation after a war, even more profit then.
It’s no wonder that the Repubs are still spouting their desire for war with Iran, Syria, etc., they want more war as badly as they want more derivatives. The destruction they cause isn’t their concern, if it makes them money, it’s worth whatever the cost.
That’s the reason corporations aren’t people. They have no conscience.
Adlib, you hit the nail on the head! Low info people are like sheep and they seem to listen to the wrong people. Like rush. I felt dirty yesterday while driving to get my 93 year old aunt to take her shopping. I was listening to rush for a few minutes and he spewed hate consistently.
You could not be more correct (right not right wing) about WAR! I served in Vietnam (1969 drafted 67) and found that we had no business there. If not for my Dad being a WWII and Korean war vet I might have gone to Canada. ( I could not disgrace him)
Nirek, first, thank you for all that you sacrificed and contributed by serving in our nation’s military. The Vietnam war was another of America’s unnecessary wars spurred on by the RW fearmongering but the valor of those who served during it is untouched by that.
The Iraq War was history repeating itself even if there were some differences. Those who would engage our nation in war and risk the lives of those who protect our country and its future are typically those who have never been in the military or ever risked their own lives for their beliefs or alleged patriotism.
Two thirds of Romney’s foreign policy advisers are neocons from the Bush Admin. They want us at war against Iran, Syria, Russia, etc. These people are deluded and greedy, they want corporations to drain away the taxes Americans pay and also believe that military force, if used the right way, can allow their corporate cabal to dominate the rest of the world.
IOW, they’re insane.
After Romney’s outrageous and roundly condemned attack on our country and President after OUR embassy and ambassador were attacked, I think the odds of Romney winning the election have just dropped significantly but if he did win, this nation and its military (which is still trying to recover from the Bush years of being stretched past the breaking point) would be torn to shreds by an unprecedented orgy of war.
Well said about The Repulsive Party…oops, typo..I meant The Republican Party.
Not a typo at all, it’s actually the correct spelling for their party!
“They are so deeply in denial, that they will deny they are denying anything and if the irony of this is pointed out to them, they will deny there’s any irony about them denying that they are denying their denials.”
That was priceless. The republicans/tpartiers’ circular arguments drive me crazy.
Then they throw out the $16 trillion debt, like that is all President Obama’s fault. They want to deny (there’s that word again) that over $10 trillion of that came from gwb, and that we are paying the interest on that every day. Over on other sites, I keep reminding them. I know the “die-hards” will never change their minds, but if I can get one independent to think for one second, and to see the lies, I feel I have helped progress along.
How can anyone in their right mind vote for a candidate with an aide who has said the campaign will not be dictated to by fact checkers. You might as well come out and say, “we’re going to lie to you, and we don’t care.” And the candidate himself did not even bother to correct him!
The difference between the DNC and the RNC was striking. The RNC was all about money, with that ridiculous debt clock, while the DNC was all about real people. Real people, whose problems have been mitigated by President Obama’s policies.
I know President Obama has not done all that most progressives thought he was going to do. But then again, who would have thought that the opposition party would be so strong in their hatred that they would sabotage the recovery. As is stated on one website, republicans/tpartiers are the party who will “keep millions unemployed to put one man out of a job.”
All one has to do is to look at two of Mitch McConnell’s statements. The first being the vow to make President Obama a one-term president. The second being, after the debt ceiling debacle, saying that republicans/tpartiers voted against it because they didn’t want to give Democrats a political advantage.
Shameful statements, both of them! In other words, we don’t give a damn about the American people; we will do everything and anything to keep Democrats, therefore President Obama, from helping the country, which would then give Democats a “political advantage”. Not one word in either of those statements about the American people.
Sometime last year, when the recovery began stalling, (and we all know why), I repeated McConnell’s first statement to a republican friend of mine, and remarked about how he hadn’t mentioned anything about the good of the country. Her reply was, “maybe they think that is good for the country” (to stop President Obama from instituting his policies). And, if that had turned out to be true, and the economy had improved more, I might have (might have)voted for a republican.
Now, never again in my lifetime will I vote for a republican.
Okay, I’ve “vented” enough now. Thanks for “listening”, and
VOTE a straight Democratic ticket in November.
Glen, you hit a home run! I agree 100% with everything you said. I really like that you used lower case letters for “gwb” I never use caps for him or cheney out of total disrespect for them!
Great post.
Thank you, Nirek.
I also never use capital letters when I type “republicans/tpartiers” and always use caps when I type “Democrats”.
Excellent post, Glenn. Agree heartily with all of your points.
Bush’s tax cut was and is responsible for the majority of the $16 trillion debt we’re in and servicing that debt and the interest is responsible for a it of it as well. So when Repubs howl about how much debt Obama has added to the deficit, the Bush tax cuts have been in place during his presidency too and have been the chief contributor to its growth…and these same Repub chest-pounders want the Bush tax cuts to continue permanently! And support Romney’s slashing taxes even further for the wealthy!
They absolutely don’t believe in arithmetic.
So it’s not surprising that such people would vote for Romney even though he and his aids have openly confirmed his campaign is based on lies. Neither truth nor math matter to such ideologues, only removing the black man in the White House.
Though the word has been bandied about too loosely, I do think it applies in the case of those who would sabotage the nation’s economy and harm the lives of millions of Americans just to gain power.
Traitors.
These Republicans are traitors to our nation, they have happily aided and abetted those who have destroyed our economy all in the pursuit of their greedy agenda.
I know that in today’s politics of overheated-rhetoric, such a charge, even though it can be documented, would be seen as over the top. But just because something is hard to accept, doesn’t mean it’s not true…especially when McConnell, DeMint and others have openly declared their intentions.
As for the interesting approach of arguing that maybe making the defeat of an Obama re-election was good for the country, it fails the logic test quite swiftly.
America has been going through an economic emergency, it is not viable to argue that such a thing would be secondary to plotting to stop the re-election of a President on the day he is inaugurated.
If a wildfire engulfed a town, it would hardly make sense for one firetruck to block all others from coming to the rescue because they thought the Fire Chief was bad for the city and wanted to make him look bad so he could be replaced with another Fire Chief. You don’t destroy the village to save it.
A politician takes an oath to protect the nation and it is absolutely a violation of that oath and a betrayal of the American people to embark on causing and/or increasing destruction to the country by blocking efforts to address it.
I agree that republicans/tpartiers have committed treason. Can you imagine the outrage if President Obama had signed an oath to a private citizen? Hell, I would be outraged if President Obama did that. And, yet, 279 republicans/tpartiers have signed that evil pledge. To me, that is unbelievable, and just one other reason not to vote for republicans/tpartiers. And, as you say, just another component of how they have committed treason, and brag about it, nevertheless. To sign a pledge above the oath of office they take as a member of Congress is just plain treason, and I can’t understand why the so-called “liberal press” isn’t bringing it up over and over again. We certainly have heard from many in the right wing over and over, in that same so-called “liberal press” how President Obama is a communist/socialist/muslim/marxist or whatever is the “hated ideaology flavor” of the month/day/week.
BTW, love your “community on fire” analogy, and plan to use it with my republican friend. In her defense, she is what is considered a RINO in today’s political climate. She fervently believes in small government, but right now, that’s about all she agrees with in the republican/tparty. I’m still working on getting her to agree that “her” republican party is not the same one she thinks it is. It’s taking a while, because she still believes the lies about Obamacare and the stimulus. I’m going to keep trying, though.
Glenn, there is a double standard when it comes to Dems and Repubs. Repubs can be dishonest, racist, disloyal, even traitors and it’s not an outrage. If a Dem could be accused of any of those things though, it’s a scandal.
Why is that?
I don’t know but perhaps it’s because there’s an understanding in the MSM and the public that the GOP is the party of “The Ends Justify the Means”. So when they do awful things, it’s not outrageous because it’s accepted that they have done horrible things and will do horrible things just to win.
Because the Dems are supposed to be a party of the people and have principles, they are held to a different set of expectations.
That is, Repubs are expected to be angry and liars but Dems are expected to be honest and calm.
If Obama or Dems did a fraction of the things Romney, Ryan and the Repubs have done, they would be gang tackled by the MSM.
I do think the MSM and its equivalency mentality is chiefly to blame. Treating the racism/homophobia/greed/selfishness/destructiveness of Repubs as merely the other side of the story to the Dems promoting policies has warped the game board to the travesty it is today.
A political campaign can admit flat out it is spreading lies (“We won’t let fact checkers dictate to us.”) and many in the MSM just report that like it’s just a bit of disposable trivia?
If the Repubs came right out and said, “We are trying to deceive and manipulate the public into supporting an anti-American agenda that will destroy their futures,” I can’t imagine many in the MSM doing more than reporting it then continuing to present their self-admitted traitorous propaganda as just the other side of the coin.
As for a party vowing loyalty to a lobbyist before the American people, that too is traitorous and a betrayal that the MSM once again just presents as nothing unusual for Repubs to do.
From what you’ve mentioned, I wonder if your friend doesn’t already know that the GOP has been acting in a destructive and unprincipled way but is reticent about admitting it and having to accept that she has been misled and betrayed.
Thanks for your kind words about the allegory. Sometimes putting things in non-political terms can help illustrate things to those who are so tangled up in the political loyalties that they cling to.
The bottom line for most people is that when people are under a threat, the priority should be helping them and the politics should take a back seat.
If that principle was shared by Repubs as well, the country would be a far better place and the intense national division they’ve fostered through their stonewalling against helping the economy and demonizing of Obama.
I also think one of the reasons that the MSM is such a travesty nowadays is that most Americans don’t understand the difference between “news reporting” and “news analysis”.
We have many more “analysts” than we do reporters, IMO. Do you remember when CNN first came on air? (I promise, this is not a “trick” question about your age :)) They reported the news, period. Sometimes, the same stories over and over again, but they were news stories, not “he said/he responded”. I watched it all the time, sometimes even when my other favorite news reporter, Peter Jennings, was on the air. I remember real reporters like Jennings, Cronkite, Harry Reasoner, and others of their generation.
A lot of it is, I know, that the world of media/technology is changing, and believe me, I am trying my best to keep up with it, but it is extremely frustrating to know the difference between reporting and analysis, yet have to respond to people who don’t. And even I must admit, I don’t get my news from the networks any more.
I’m convinced some young people, who have grown up with this re-defined “reporting” have no idea that there is actually a difference. And, shame on the people my age and older who do know the difference, but refuse to acknowledge it.
The MSM’s descent from being the servant of the public it used to be comes from both the takeover of the digital world and the takeover of corporations.
Most news orgs and channels are not independent, they are owned by corporations that require the biggest profits possible and unfortunately for the public, straight news receives lower ratings than screaming pundits.
So, there is a financial imperative that makes broadcasting the news a bad business plan and presenting a daisy chain of blathering and redundant pundits, a good business plan.
The Founders saw the press as an independent body, that’s why they wrote the 1st Amendment to enshrine the press as a virtual fourth branch of the people’s government. If all else failed, there would be a safety net of the press to protect the people.
We are incredibly lucky for the digital world to have come when it did because corporate dominance of the news was pretty much in place when the internet was becoming influential.
It’s thanks to the internet and all the varied independent sites and folks out there, who are carrying that torch that the corporate MSM dropped to grab profits instead. Thanks to that, people who make the effort are better informed and the trend of people turning to the web for their news and away from news networks is encouraging.
The MSM is a virtual news wasteland, just a sea of memes, predictions, pronouncements, condemnations and repetition.
And more and more people are seeing it for the corrupt corporate profit center it mostly is.
Ditto, AdLib truly has a gift for describing aspects of the human condition in a unique and extraordinarily insightful manner.
The example you give exemplifies that statement very well. The GOP has so many layers of denial with their echo chamber they just can’t even do basic reasoning.
KQ, thanks for the very kind props, humbling indeed!
More good news.
Obama outraises Romney for the first time in months.
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2012/09/10/obama-outraises-romney-for-first-time-in-months/
Kalima, glad to see this and seems like a dividend from the successful DNC convention. Gallup also shows a bigger 6% lead nationally for Obama and has him at the key 50% vs Romney at 44%.
Still a while to go but so far, so good!
The best part is the money bump was before the DNC so September should look even better for Obama. So many Romney donors have maxed out and Obama is adding thousands of new donors all the time. I also think Romneyshambles will lead to more big business donations because they will start hedging their bets with Obama. Of course the beauty of the Obama phenomenon is no matter how much one big business or any one interest group gives Obama he absolutely cannot be bought. There simply is not even a single industrial or special interest group segment that holds enough power over him to influence his decisions.