crossposted at my site: Southern Liberal Living.com
The GOP Civil War is on- Hurray! David Frum, former Dubya Speech Writer, delivered a nice shot to McCain. Frum blames John McCain for bringing down the "entire Republican Party".
Please click on below the flip to read more on Frum's outrage and worry.
In his WaPo column today, Frum urged the RNC to take all the money away from the Presidential campaign and put it toward the endangered GOP Senate races. Frum despaired the Dems will have a filibuster proof majority. Hate to break it to David Frum, but his fear is already a reality. Even without 60 Dem seats, there are enough Republican Senators who often side with Dems to make it filibuster proof. Senators Collins and Snow have better Democratic voting records than Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu or Ben Nelson. Independent Senators Lieberman and Sanders usually caucus with Dems. After the election, what Lieberman does is anyone's guess. Most likely he will join the GOP.
What is it that David Frum fears? This is rich.
From the Washington Post:
First, with the financial meltdown, the federal government is now acquiring a huge ownership stake in the nation's financial system. It will be immensely tempting to officeholders in Washington to use that stake for political ends -- to reward friends and punish enemies. One-party government, of course, will intensify those temptations. And as the federal government succumbs, officeholders will become more and more comfortable holding that stake. The current urgency to liquidate the government's position will subside. The United States needs Republicans and conservatives to monitor the way Democrats wield this extraordinary and dangerous new power -- and to pressure them to surrender it as rapidly as feasible.
Interesting, from a psychological point of view, Frum's worries are we will "reward friends and punish enemies". Frum isn't worried about the cost, competence or policy. Frum isn't worried about the nation's foreclosures, banking crisis, and the loss of savings Americans face. He is worried about greed and power. Which is just what the White House has done these past 8 years through de-regulation and privatization. Frum ignores that these very attributes are why the Republicans are facing a crushing blow in 9 days.
Frum's second reason for his despair are the rise of the liberals and unions. He is right here. He ought to be scared because indictments will soon be issued.
Unchecked, this angry new wing of the Democratic Party will seek to stifle opposition by changing the rules of the political game. Some will want to silence conservative talk radio by tightening regulation of the airwaves via the misleadingly named "fairness doctrine"; others may seek to police the activities of right-leaning think tanks by a stricter interpretation of what is tax-deductible and what is not.
Frum should also note, others will want to prosecute some for war crimes. In the last 8 years, Bush's White House has committed untold crimes from extraordinary rendition, torture, and abuse of office. This has been the most sinister and nefarious group in our Nation's history.
It isn't John McCain who created this problem. It is Bush, Cheney and the White House. It is the disastrous economic policies of the Milton Friedman followers. McCain and the Republican Congress went along with it, no questions asked. They passed laws contrary to citizen's rights. They gave broad and sweeping power to the President. They shut out every day Americans. When crisis or disaster hit, like New Orleans, they dismissed Americans with a "you are on your own" policy. They outright blamed the victim. They had a duty to serve Americans not themselves. Their failure to serve our country is why the Republicans are losing this election.
The blame game will continue between McCain, Palin and the neo-cons, but it solves nothing. The first thing they need to do is take responsibility. Something, Bush has never done. If they can find out what went wrong by talking to the electorate instead of each other, they may be able to get their party back on track. After years of not listening to any other opinions or dissents, I don't hold out hope in the short term of the Republicans heeding any of this advice; therefore, Americans need to continue to elect more and better Democrats.