The GOP are considering "re-branding" the Democratic Party as the "Democrat Socialist Party." Hilzoy provides the appropriate response, but in all honesty I'm not sure whether anything can be said in response to such total lunacy. I mean, official name-calling?
This reminds me of Tom's comment to my "Republicans are Irredeemably Evil" post. He was entirely right in theory that the Republican Party isn't irredeemably anything, but all the signs are that the party (under the watchful eyes of Rove, Cheney and, especially, Rush) are striking out in the exact opposite direction, into what Kevin Drum is calling "the ongoing intellectual collapse of the conservative movement". The intellectual and moral bankruptcy of so many of their leaders is so acute that I don't have any problems suggesting they themselves are irredeemable, and so the only way the GOP can recover is to cut them loose.
Thus far there isn't much sign of that. Which means one of two things. Either the Republican party will actually die (it's rare, but it happens), or at some point there will be insurrection and a massive U-turn, in which case the party will be redeemed, but only following such fundamental change that it would in many ways remain the same party in name only.
4 comments:
I’m not sure I understand this one. So they are having a meeting to decide what they are going to refer to the Democrats as? And it is proposed they going to switch from calling them the “Democrats” to the “Democrat Socialist Party”?
1) Do the Democrats have any say in this?
2) I take it “Socialist” is considered a bad word in America, as otherwise I’m really not getting it as surely that means it takes longer to argue against their ideas (what with it now taking an extra two words to say Democrats Suck)?
1) Apparently the motion includes language requesting the Democratic party changes to the new name.
2) Yes. Socialism is a dirty word in America, though not so much as it once was.
Not only that, but socialism has quite a different connotation in America - effectively they see it as synonymous with Soviet communism, whereas in the UK we would normally identify it more with Attlee-style democratic socialism. But unlike the case of "liberal", the American meaning is arguably more correct.
I don't think there's any chance of the Republican party dying because there's no right-wing party waiting to take its place (I can't think of an example of a party dying without its constituency getting a replacement to vote for). The Democrats should accept their name change in good grace providing the other lot are renamed The Decepticons.
Tom
I suspect I agree with Tom that the Republican's won't die until a replacement arrives, but I wouldn't be surprised to find such a replacement arriving sooner rather than later. Much has been made of the fraying alliances amongst the three loose groups that Reagan formed into a coalition (roughly represented in the latest election cycle by Huckabee, Romney, and Giuliani. Sooner or later there could well be a split, and depending on who splits (and who is leading them), you may find the Republican party end up on the periphery, and gradually rots away in a corner.
As to naming them the Decepticons, I love the idea in theory, but I believe I've already covered the problems with allowing the enemy to consider the possibility of transforming into tanks.
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