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.

[SECURE AMERICA]

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.

Not interested in things looking up for the Republican Party.I want things to look up for the American people and tha nation. While the vast majority of democrat politicians are little more then wannabe communists the republican party has certainly not been a beacon of freedom,liberty and individualism that made this nation great.

[Marty62]

Mr. Dionne; READ THIS. Mybe YOU can’t see History repeating itself. But the great unwashed do READ. AND THINK. Unlike YOU.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/riseofhitler/collapse.htm

[Altura Ct.]

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

Yes in addition to the pot calling the kettle black! Ot oh I said black?? Can I say black? Where are the thought police when you need them? Extremism indeed...

[RoadTest]

“The country still doesn’t like Republicans.”

That’s because they are RINOs and act like Liberal Democrats. Talk like ‘em, too.

This country likes Conservatives and Independents, driven out of the Republican Party by RINOism..

[Hildy]

I’m not sure, I’ll go ask the media if you can call a kettle black. Did you hear about the scandal with Jessica Simpson?

She and Tony Romo broke up and when asked if she take back the $100,000 boat she gave him for his birthday, she replied, “No. I’m not an Indian giver.” Now the press wants her head. You’d think she went out and killed some gays.

[fieldmarshaldj]

I’d be more than happy to comfort the little angel.

[campaignPete R-CT]

DJ, that Jessica thought dangled in cyberspace for 3 hours before you jumped on it. A little slow on the response, yes?

[fieldmarshaldj]

I didn’t get to the thread until then. I got backed up this morning dealing with some incompetency from the tree-eradicators from the power company this morning when they took down the wrong tree in my yard (a beautiful maple that glows bright reds and oranges in the fall, the nicest in my front yard... was). I was so angry, I wanted to take the chainsaw and saw the f**kwit in half. “Oh, we’ll replace it if it was an accident !” the idiot said. “Really ? That tree was over 20 years old. It’ll take 5-10 years for a new one to grow in its place. I don’t know if I’ll even be here because the damn neighborhood is turning into an illegals slum...” Unf**kingbelievable.