The Scum at the Top
Commentary on the Rats in Washington
Commentary: St. Paul, Minnesota -- the land of
make believe
By Jack Cafferty
CNN
© September 2, 2008
Story Highlights
- Cafferty says GOP once stood for small
government, tight spending, integrity
- Cafferty: Republicans have lost track of
principles and damaged their brand
- GOP faces demographic challenge as U.S.
becomes more diverse, he says
- Cafferty: Younger voters and growing
minorities want change
Editor's Note: Jack Cafferty is the author of the
best-seller "It's Getting Ugly Out There: The Frauds,
Bunglers, Liars, and Losers Who Are Hurting America."
He provides commentary on CNN's "The Situation Room"
daily from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. You can also visit Jack's
Cafferty File blog.
NEW YORK (CNN) -- This week the Republicans gather
for their convention. For four days, they will labor
under the illusion their party is still relevant. It's
not.
It is entirely fitting that the headliner for this
masquerade is a feeble looking 72-year-old white guy
who doesn't know how many homes he owns.
It's more than symbolic that when a million Americans
are losing their homes to foreclosure, the Republican
candidate for president has lost track of his holdings.
McCain surrounds himself with people like former
Republican Sen. Phil Gramm who called America a "nation
of whiners" and said we are only suffering a "mental
recession."
That's the same problem the Republican Party has. It
has lost track of what it used to stand for: small
government, a disciplined fiscal policy, integrity.
In a way, the perfect storm of a rapidly changing
population -- old white people aren't going to be in
the majority very much longer (and isn't that who most
of the Republicans are?) -- has combined with the total
abdication of principles, Republican or otherwise, of
arguably the worst president in the nation's history to
mark the beginning of the end of the Republican Party as
we know it.
Republican Congressman Tom Davis of Virginia said it best:
"The Republican brand is in the trash can. If we were dog
food, they would take us off the shelf."
It is so bad that more than 10 percent of the Republican
members of the United States Senate aren't even bothering
to attend their own party's convention. They recognize
dog food when they see it.
And it almost doesn't matter who the next president is.
We are witnessing the beginnings of a sea change in this
country.
A wakeup call has sounded for young people who are
suddenly interested enough in politics to make a
difference. New voter registrations across the country
are making a mockery of the old polling models.
Voter turnout in the primaries was staggering. Blacks
and Hispanics feel they have a real stake in things --
and as their numbers continue to grow as a percentage
of the population, their voice will only get louder.
The march of the next generation is underway and the
older generation has no choice but to eventually get
out of the way.
Watch for the signs this November. Republicans stand
to be turned out of office at every level -- from the
U.S. Congress to governors' mansions and state legislatures.
Republicans who remain in office will be rendered impotent
by their shrinking numbers.
Republicans under George W. Bush have done a lot of
damage to this country in the last eight years -- but
they have done more damage to themselves. It will take
a good long while and a great deal of soul searching
before their brand returns to the shelves in good standing.
Don't look for it to happen in St. Paul, Minnesota.
This week, Republicans will be happy in the land of
make believe.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely
those of the writer.
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E-mail: dwagner2@isd.net
©2008 DJW
Last Modified:
October 21, 2008