Its the corruption, stupid (and the war!)

The bell tolls for the GOP

Hey you - yes you, sulking in the corner there...all wrapped up in your American flag and clutching your bible. You still don't get it, do you?

Oh you 'get' that Americans are leaping off the sinking GOP ship at an alarming rate (a realistic rate, when you consider how angry we are out here.) The number is now especially high in the military, where polls show that 46% now lean Republican (down from 60%,) and the number is in a 'free fall. Returning troops are spreading the word that the Iraq war cannot be won, and more and more are openly outraged with Bush and his surge.

But as long as you allow Bush to remain in power - and his corruption continues unchecked by you Republicans yourselves (the Democrats are all over this now;) the GOP will slide right off the approval cliff.

Fix it yourselves

I believe the only hope you have of surviving as a viable party, is to remove Bush and Cheney from the White House yourselves; via Impeachment (or the threat of it.)

If you wholeheartedly embrace reality -- the Constitution, the rule of law, the will of the American people, and bipartisan cooperation -- you can save your party. If you continue to stand by Bush and support this war, and condone the many illegal deeds that are finally surfacing under unflinching Democratic probing, you will lose. And lose big. Perhaps even permanently (or until the Democrats become the next tyrannical power-brokers.)

The country would be better served if it had two reasonable parties, accountable to the people. These parties should act as oversight over one another, so as to maintain some equilibrium in politics. Any party that becomes too powerful will become a pawn for special interests - our government is now completely infested with corporate lobbyists, and they are equal opportunity employers.

Absolute power corrupts absolutely - and absolute power has eaten the GOP alive.

Getting a new 'brand'

Sadly - but of course, predictably - the GOP pundits are still asking the wrong questions.

How to restore the GOP brand? "That's what we're struggling with, honestly," said Rep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.). "Do you positively brand yourself, or do you negatively brand the other side?"

I hate to break it to you Shelley, but its a little late to 'negatively brand the other side'... not while Bush is in the White House. And we are sick to death of your smear campaigns, your 'swift-boating,' and your hate-spewing Coulter-geists.

Americans are turning against smear campaigns, especially in light of the background information we all have on how the GOP plans their attacks. We know what you're up to Rove... hell, everyone now knows: now that your papers are leaking out, we even know the order in which you plan to wage your attacks.

Its not working anymore. It's disgusting. We aren't hate-filled partisans like you, and we're sick of receiving hate mail directed at the representative we just elected -- that guy who's finally listening to us.

Just ask the residents of Jerry McNerney's district (California's 11th: formerly Oilslick-Pombo's neck of the woods.) These poor people are now subject to an endless stream of McNerney-bashing leaflets - stuffed right into their mailboxes - and in spite of the fact that McNerney (#3 on Rove's attack list,) only took office in January.

I received this email from the McNerney campaign yesterday:

"It’s only March, 2007. But it might as well be November, 2008.

Yesterday, our campaign got hit with a one-two punch. First, a scandalous House hearing unearthed a secret document from a deputy of Karl Rove revealing that the GOP “architect” is targeting me as #3 on his political hit list.

Then, the National Republican Congressional Committee carried out Rove’s hit yesterday with “The Real Jerry McNerney” -– launching a slick Swift Boat-style web site that smears my record of service to you in Congress. The NRCC plans to promote this deception site by spamming voters in our district with over 100,000 e-mails."

This is exactly this sort of behavior that will sink the GOP like a rock. Slander doesn't work anymore Karl; it just pisses people off, and they will turn on you. Harassing us - and the candidate we elected to office - makes us angry. Seriously -- it does. Stop doing it. Just stop.

Getting that minority vote

"We have to win back the confidence we lost in '06 from swing voters and ticket splitters," said Mehlman. "The way you do that, in part, is by being a party that is less reliant on white guys and expands its support among Hispanics, among African-Americans."

Once again, this racist thing. As though simply buying the votes of Hispanics and African-Americans will do the trick - its not like you have to actually represent them.

So many of you GOP truly do not get it yet. Perhaps you cannot get it. You are so conditioned to the 'show' that you forgotten what real integrity even looks like: or why you'd even want integrity if it doesn't serve partisan positioning or help the 'bottom line.'

Hispanics and African Americans are never going to vote GOP - who do you think has been hit the hardest by Katrina and those GOP budget cuts? Guys -- you blew that one last year, and blew it on a massive scale. Right now, the only voters you can really count on are those 5% of the rich, White guys to whom you gave the tax cuts.

Until you consider - really consider - becoming a party with ethics, we want no part of you. Until you stop defending and enriching only the already wealthy and fat corporations at our expense, we want no part of you. Until you stop covering up for this maniacal and renegade president and his rampant corruption, not to mention his illegal occupation of Iraq, torture and those secret camps - we want no part of you. Until you choose to tell the truth, on the first try, without subpoenas to drag it out of you - we want no part of you. Until you start to at least see the Middle Class, and admit that our nation needs both Middle Class and working class to remain strong, healthy and able to dream some sort of American dream (or at least survive here;) we want no part of you. Until you stop creating wars for profit, and condoning partisan corruption in your ranks, we want no part of you.

We liked Ike

I suggest you take a look at Eisenhower. I suggest you look back through your party's history to another time; a time before you were completely compromised by greed and corporate interests. I suggest you remake yourself in earnest... not just in appearance. Appearance isn't going to fly this time. Too many skeletons clacking around in White House closets and GOP legislative offices, with more emerging every day.

Oh, and if you really want to win friends and influence people before 2008... remove Bush and Cheney from office.

That's right, you heard me: remove them. Impeach them. Toss them out. Don't leave this for the Democrats, because they will gain support each day those men remain in the White House. They aren't going to Impeach - not if they can grow in strength and contributions by showing Bush and Cheney for what they are, and still leave them there to draw our ire.

You know this, you just lack the will to 'eat your own.'

But think about it... haven't they been eating you this entire time? Do they care about your re-election hopes? Do they really care about your party, any more than they care about the will and welfare of the American people? Have they ever consulted with you before starting wars or making sweeping policy changes? Do they share intelligence with you, converse honestly with you (or anybody else?)

Of course not. You are partisan pawns - nothing more.

Cut them loose, and you may... may yet float back up to the top.