The GOP's Extremist Dilemma

The Washington Post ^ | 03 Aug 2009 | E.J. Dionne Jr.

[BGHater]

Things are looking up for the Republicans, relatively speaking. President Obama's poll numbers have dipped, GOP recruitment for the 2010 elections is going better than expected, and the health-care battle has been rough on the Democrats.

On top of that, the surveys show Republicans now leading in this year's two major governor's races, in Virginia and New Jersey.

There's just one problem: The country still doesn't like Republicans.

A Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll last week captured the public's mixed verdict. The headlines focused on growing doubts about Obama's health-care plan and the drop in his approval rating, from 60 percent in February to 53 percent now.

But the same poll found that while Democrats as a party had a net positive rating of five points (42 percent positive to 37 percent negative), the GOP faced a 13-point deficit. Only 28 percent rated the Republicans positively; 41 percent rated them negatively.

Perhaps this has something to do with how few positive things Republicans have to say. As a result, the party is being defined by extremist voices who have faced little push-back from its leaders. The extremists include the "birthers" who, against all evidence, insist that Obama was not born in the United States and thus is ineligible to be president. These guys are so out there that party leaders and conservative commentators have started to disown them.

Race-baiting is no longer off-limits on some of the right-wing talk shows. Fox News's Glenn Beck, for example, declared that Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."

Ethnicity has been an underlying issue in the debate around Judge Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination.

[Hildy]

The media, once again, trying to define us when they know absolutely nothing about us and what we think.

[Frantzie]

More state run propanda from WA Post. Rasmussen has Repubs over Dems by +3. EJ Dionne loves to shill for Obama and the Dems.

[A message]

EJ Dionne, the Washington Post’s MORON dilemma.

[aquila48]

“Only 28 percent rated the Republicans positively; 41 percent rated them negatively.”

Yeah, and a lot of the ones in the negative column are CONSERVATIVES!

[FTJM]

Another hit piece.

[kcvl]

There's just one problem: The country media still doesn't like Republicans.

[kcvl]

Race-baiting is no longer off-limits on some of the right-wing talk shows. Fox News's Glenn Beck, for example, declared that Obama "has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."

E. J. Dionne is an idiot and a liar. Race-baiting has never been off-limits as long as it's Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, et al, doing the baiting. When Glenn Beck states a fact that's supposed to be race-baiting.

E. J. Dionne

It's hard to take this fool seriously.

A frequent critic of the Bush Administration, Dionne writes from a liberal viewpoint.

Dionne is a columnist for Commonweal, a liberal Catholic publication.

Before becoming a columnist for the Post in 1993, he worked as a reporter for that paper as well as The New York Times.

E.J. Dionne, Jr. is the author of the recently published Souled Out: Reclaiming Faith and Politics After the Religious Right.

[BGHater]

I thought his piece was full of gems:

'"We got too many Jim DeMints and Tom Coburns," said Voinovich, who is retiring next year. "It's the southerners." He added: "People hear them and say, 'These people, they're southerners. The party's being taken over by southerners.' " '

Yum, grits in a few hours. 94' redux. Tis' all. The Republic needs to hold on until then.

[End Times Sentinel]

I was going to read this article until I noticed it was written by E.J. Dionne.

[Post Toasties]

What EJ Dionne really means is that he doesn't believe Republicans should be permitted to criticize LW racism and race baiting.

Given that EJ Dionne appears incapable of referring to Republicans other than by grossly distorting and misrepresenting their positions, outright lying about them or by using crude caricatures, he's simply an anti-comservative bigot.

[Jim from C-Town]

Voinovich is such an incredible embarrassment. STFU you damn RINO, thank God you are finally retiring. Please, let Rob Portman get this seat.

[KC_Conspirator]

When Dionne, that democrat lipsticked whore posing as a journalist, writes a lying piece of crap like this that contains no analysis or grounding in reality on why people are rightfully blaming democrats for the mess were in, I am actually feel somewhat full of real hope.

[Soul Seeker]

If the Republicans are ahead in the current elections coming up then obviously the “extremist” voices aren’t hurting them significantly.

Simple enough. Democrat’s are screwing up on a scale greater than even Republicans. It would be nice if the Republicans had done an about face and cleaned up their acts cause then we’d really do damage in the elections. But if the Democrat’s want to make it so easy for them I guess they feel no incentive. They should remember, they can be swept out as easily as they may get swept in. This country is fed up with both of them and capable of keeping up this changing of the guard indefinitely if need be.

[stevejwn]

all I got from that was, people are waking up, Obummers poll numbers dropping like bricks, and the charge is being lead by truth telling patriotic Americans

[Minn]

"birthers" who, against all evidence

Can't swing a dead cat these days without bumping into that phrase. I think Barry was born in Hawaii, but "all evidence" is hardly an accurate description of what's been presented.

[Luke21]

The country doesn’t like E,J. Dionne’s favorite team either, and we are the opposition.

[rawcatslyentist]

Thank G_d the socialist D's are going to lose power. Now we can select their retarded half brothers the socialist-lite R's.

R.... D..... We need TEA!!!

[Sprite518]

I am sure the Washington Post is looking out for the GOP... {sarcasm off}

[MrDem]

This moron doesn’t understand that many of those who are giving bad marks to “Republicans” are conservatives that will never, ever, ever vote for a RAT!