Ya gotta be kidding me right? I mean can you believe this?
Their president's approval ratings are at historic lows. The war in Iraq is grinding down their political prospects, and their party is showing deep divisions on issues such as education and immigration.
But to House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), Republicans' path to power rests on brand recognition. Boehner has convened a group of allies and confidantes to work on GOP "branding," an exercise designed to restore an identity to a party that many voters no longer see as holding a core set of principles.
"We're trying to look into our conscience and define ourselves, and as we define ourselves, decide how we can best communicate that to the rest of the world," said Rep. John Carter (Tex.), the Republican conference secretary and one of the effort's participants. "In other words, what are Republicans?"
This was our thing. Ours. And now the House of Bad Ideas think they can redeem themselves by pulling a jack of P. Diddy proportions.
The hell I say.
***
We've been told before that
Politics is not a battle for the middle. It is a battle for defining the terms of the political debate. It is a battle to be able to say what is the middle.
and we were given a good example of how that works. But I doubt Boehner understands this. In fact going by this reaction
"Obviously we need to try to restore the image of the Republican Party; this quote-unquote 'branding' is more a message thing," said Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-Mich.), who heads the House Republicans' policymaking committee. "In the end, you can call yourself whatever you want, but your deeds have to match your words. We need ideas."
I'm pretty sure he doesn't. If deeds are what required to motivate the ol' Republican base, the GOP might as well fold their tents now.
Iraq is a hot mess. Gay marriage is still on the table. The VA Tech shooting has renewed interest in more gun control. N.O. is still in shambles. No Child Left Behind is leaving children behind. Less than a month ago, you had 10 very Angry White Men tell Nancy Reagan to "fuck off" during the GOP debates when a stem cell question popped up. Our federal government is using more resources to spy on its own citizens than "the enemy."
Seriously: what the hell have they accomplished in the last six years? C'mon,; they couldn't even get a anti-flag burning bill to Dubya's desk with their majority.
Meanwhile, we know what the Dem majority has done in their 100 hours. But as kid oakland implied, the Dems problem has't been coming up with good ideas. It's convincing the American People that (dispite what the Bush Administration, the Republicans in Congress, the neo-cons in radio, print and on TV and the braindead media say) these ideas are good. Up til now, the GOP has been fairly effective in marketing themselves; they've just come up completely short in the "results" area.
So if Boehner wants to "re-brand" the GOP, he's going to need one of those Men in Black Memory Wipers. We haven't forgotten the countless times they've put their own interests ahead of the American People. And although there are occassions where our elected Democrats piss us off, know there's a difference in the two parties:
The Republicans ignore a basic fact of life year in and year out -- it costs money to run this country effectively. Therefore, they can never be credible again when talking about the sanctity of human life, because upholding the sanctity of human life involves quality of life. And they can never be credible again when talking about jobs, the economy, health care, or education, because it costs money to fund them. On the other hand, we have always fought to put money into the economy so people can have a better quality of life.
Amen.