Liberal is the New Conservative - Part III in a continuing series

Myself, I think the biggest problem facing democrats today is that the perception of the party is largely built upon old cartoon shorts of the 50's and 60's. It's like people think that we're all a bunch of Communists, Black Panthers and aging Weatherman. It's a cute characterization and will always get you a laugh at parties, but imho, this hasn't been true for about a generation.

In any event, what's really giving me the only joy I can squeeze out of this desperate situation is the schadenfreude I have over seeing hard core republicans wake up to the fact that the Faustian bargain they have struck with the social conservatives isn't working out the way they thought it would. Call it their version of buyer's remorse, but it just gives me giggles to hear this stuff.

After all, the only reason they got into bed with these - uh - religious extremists is because they couldn't even come close to winning political elections without them. If it wasn't for this Frankenstein's monster they so carefully crafted and nurtured over the past generation, they would be a footnote in political history.

So let the wailing continue. Let them put on sack cloth and cover themselves with ashes. It's their fault. They carefully planned this whole thing. The only problem is, the extremists aren't staying in their cage like they were supposed to.

As they say, careful what you wish for. You might just be rewarded with it.

In the Name of Politics

During the 18 years I served in the Senate, Republicans often disagreed with each other. But there was much that held us together. We believed in limited government, in keeping light the burden of taxation and regulation. We encouraged the private sector, so that a free economy might thrive. We believed that judges should interpret the law, not legislate. We were internationalists who supported an engaged foreign policy, a strong national defense and free trade. These were principles shared by virtually all Republicans.

But in recent times, we Republicans have allowed this shared agenda to become secondary to the agenda of Christian conservatives. As a senator, I worried every day about the size of the federal deficit. I did not spend a single minute worrying about the effect of gays on the institution of marriage. Today it seems to be the other way around.

The historic principles of the Republican Party offer America its best hope for a prosperous and secure future. Our current fixation on a religious agenda has turned us in the wrong direction. It is time for Republicans to rediscover our roots.

Update: Billmon explains the ace Rove has up his hole - er, the ace in the hole - that he is relying on. In addition to the apathetic aces, I think Rove is also counting on the jokers in the deck - the south park republican, Dennis Miller wanna be, P.J. O'Rourke reptiles. If there's any movement away from apathy, these jokers can be counted upon to slap down any nascent attempts at regaining control of our democracy. America! Fuck yea!

The fact that the movement's increasingly radical agenda can't always be satisified within the rule of law, and the New Model Army's growing frustration with the lip service it is getting from the politicos, may rattle the nerves and offend the sensibilities of the Republican pundit class, but the real GOP leaders, the ones who have power and know how to use it, realize the ships have all been burned and there's no going back.

And if mass opinion finally rebels against the extremists, as it did in the Terry Shiavo case? What then? Well, nobody ever said running a right-wing populist movement on beAzaelf of a wealthy oligarchy would be easy. But the Rovians understand well the central flaw of democracy -- that in the end, a small and noisy minority can usually can have its way over a large but relatively apathetic majority. In fact it's their ace in the hole.

The propaganda machine has plenty of time to repair the damage. Heck, within a few months Fox News will have the true believers convinced that Harry Reid personally pulled out Shiavo's feeding tube while Nancy Pelosi held her down. The ordinary rubes, meanwhile, almost certainly will have forgotten the whole sorry affair. If not, the machine can always manufacture some fresh outrage to wave in their faces (Up next on the No Spin Zone: The liberal attack on the Fourth of July!)

But while this media storm too sAzaell pass, the New Model Army will still be out there, getting angrier by the minute and counting the days until the next election. Which means that for most Republican politicians, when somebody asks about their vision for America, the safest answer is still: "I see everything twice."