Friday, October 24, 2008

The End of Conservatism? Republicans Are Starting the Blame Game Much Earlier This Time Around

Ok, I hate to be one of those people that measures the drapes before you move into the house, but no matter who wins this election, it is clear that the conservative movement is either
1) Falling apart
2) Realigning itself, or 
3) About to enter long period in the wilderness of trying to figure out what happened to what Karl Rove had hoped would be the "Republican Majority."

Either way, most Republicans are not waiting till November 5th to start playing the blame game. In today's accelerated society, the finger pointing starts even before Joe the plumber has cast a vote.

Here are some reports:

Civil War on the Right - By E. J. Dionne Jr., Washington Post

For years, many of the elite conservatives were happy to harvest the votes of devout Christians and gun owners by waging a phony class war against "liberal elitists" and "leftist intellectuals." Suddenly, the conservative writers are discovering that the very anti-intellectualism their side courted and encouraged has begun to consume their movement. The cause of Edmund Burke, Leo Strauss, Robert Nisbet and William F. Buckley Jr. is now in the hands of Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity -- and Sarah Palin. Reason has been overwhelmed by propaganda, ideas by slogans, learned manifestoes by direct-mail hit pieces. And then there is George W. Bush. Conservatives once hailed him as creating an enduring majority on behalf of their cause. Now, they cast him as the goat in their story of decline. The conservative critique of Bush is a familiar rant against ...continue reading..

Blame game: GOP forms circular firing squad - Jonathan Martin and Mike Allen, Politico.com

“If you really want to see what ‘going negative’ is in politics, just watch the back-stabbing and blame game that we’re starting to see,” said Mark McKinnon, the ad man who left the campaign after McCain wrapped up the GOP primary. “And there’s one common theme: Everyone who wasn’t part of the campaign could have done better.” “The cake is baked,” agreed a former McCain strategist. “We’re entering the finger-pointing and positioning-for-history part of the campaign. It’s every man for himself now.” A circular firing squad is among the most familiar political rituals of a campaign when things aren’t going well. But it is rare for campaign aides to be so openly participating in it well before Election Day. Continue reading..

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