An opinion piece in the Broward Sun-Sentinel, one of the most widely read newspapers in South Florida, home of a crucial voting bloc of women and Latinos and part of a state that Nate Silver considers absolutely critical for Mitt Romney to win, just pounded the mat and rang the bell for Mitt and the Republicans in the bluntly-titled piece, Republicans Are Finished.
Begins the piece:
At what should have been the culmination of four years of relentless plotting against President Obama, and in an election cycle that was its to lose, the GOP self-destructed, staging a convention that never got off the ground. It started and stopped and sputtered in between.
This is a surprisingly candid admission printed in a newspaper from such an electorally-key state, this many weeks from the election. It speaks to a growing, uneasy sense in both parties that Romney's campaign has really, truly, perhaps irrevocably come face-to-face with the coffin's nail as of
this week's debacle.
Continues the op-piece:
But it wasn't because of Tropical Storm Isaac. The rain or shine outside had nothing to do with the climate inside, where conditions were inclement at best. Fact is: hardly anyone really likes Mitt Romney, even people who say they do — and it showed. He's everybody's Cracker Jack box without a prize, the kid to whose birthday party no one wants to be invited to, even though his house has a swimming pool. He's the would-be head of the richest and most powerful nation on earth, from whom you wouldn't buy a vacuum cleaner without a money-back guarantee.
Wow: "
Hardly anyone really likes Mitt Romney, even people who say they do". One of the best zingers in the article, and wholly true. This week is testament to that. He's a cringe-worthy, say-anything, do-nothing Republican that ran a campaign on the self-entitled sense that what Amercia needs is a Businessguy-in-Chief.
It appears the only way he could get anyone except his wife to speak on his behalf was to let them unofficially launch their 2016 campaigns for president — and barely mention him.
Cough.
Chris Christie. Cough.
But that's not the worst of it. Pick an issue, any issue. The Elephant Party has become the Ostrich Party — burying its head in the sand, refusing to face reality and build bridges to millions of potential supporters. This year's convention was an apotheosis of all the mean-spirited attacks the tea party/Republicans have been waging against women, gays and lesbians, healthcare reform, China, Russia, undocumented immigrants, Iran, Iraq, Social Security, Medicare — without so much as a single, realistic, workable, compassionate solution to attract undecided voters. The GOP today is largely a party of rabid, old, white men in the unhappy dusk of their lives, railing against a nation in which they are no longer the dominant players. It is sad to watch — and sadder to be one of them. You can smell the mothballs of their memories and memorabilia (hats and banners resurrected for the convention), read the rage in their eyes.
You really get the sense that this author gets what fundamentally underpins not just a majority of pro-GOP support, but arguably also a great deal of anti-Obama enmity: the fear of days gone by, when old, white men ruled the world, before mammals came along to claim for themselves what the dinosaurs had lost.
A couple of paragraphs later:
And finally, you could see it in every picture of the Tampa convention, especially contrasted with those from the Democrats: The undeniable truth is that the Republican Party is on the wrong side of demographics, which means it's on the wrong side of history. Tragically for our political system, which depends on a vigorous, healthy two-party system, it has chosen to assume the role of permanent obstructionist, ignoring the inevitable changes in population diversity that will eventually bury it.
What an excellent, concise point to draw out. It is the case that societies, much like our constitution, should adopt to their populaces as their citizens adopt to a changing world. It doesn't mean societies have to abandon their core values, but it certainly means societies shouldn't remain stuck in a glove that really, truly no longer fits the hand–especially if the initial blueprint was an imperfect one.
The piece ends with this:
So, in the end, the GOP will become the party of Romney, which no one will want to attend, no matter how enticing the swimming pool — if it isn't it already.
In light of all the
buyer's remorse alleged among the party faithful of late, and despite Americans' short-term memories in regards to the last Republican president's impact on the nation, it doesn't bode well for Romney to be called out so prominently and decisively by a piece in a major regional newspaper's headline.
I am relieved. And I'm in Florida.
I do believe, indeed, that the Republicans are finished.
UPDATE
Hey guys, a few commentators below keenly point out that the author of the piece doesn't speak for the paper because it's part of a head-to-head argument series. A subtle point but one worth making since we don't subscribe to truthiness around here. If you care to read the other side's piece, it's "Democrats don't have answers" by a fellow columnist.
And that's the truth, Ruth. And it fits, Mitt; now get on with that slide, Clyde, cuz it's clever, Trevor.
UPDATE X2
Oh, look what I found...
Thom Hartmann: Proof the Republicans are finished - The Wave Effect
Diary title updated for extreme journalistic accuracy equivalent to that of an LHC laser.