Republican Kathleen Parker asks "What the *#@%* is Wrong with the Republican Party?"

[Hamlette]

It's not just Akin. By pushing some of the most invasive state policies in modern history, the men of the GOP are driving their party off a cliff.

Whatever the prompt, millions of Americans simultaneously have been slapping their foreheads and exclaiming: “What the *#@% is wrong with Republicans?!”
. . .

There is something wrong with the Republican Party, the survival of which demands more than a few moments of self-examination and reflection. I wouldn’t use the word “stupid,” though it is tempting. Suicidal seems more apt. The GOP, through its platform, its purity tests, pledges, and its emphasis on social issues that divide rather than unite, has shot itself in the foot, eaten said foot, and still managed to stampede to the edge of the precipice. Is extinction in its DNA?

http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/08/26/what-s-wrong-with-the-republican-party.html

The whole article is worth a read. Parker plays it safe, being the reasonable Republican you can invite to parties and have a conversation with but at core, a true believer who will not relent, even when cornered. So this is a bit of a surprise. She quotes other Republican women in the article. I certainly don't agree with all that she says but its good talking points if you need to take on a republican.

[rox63]

1. This columnist usually leans to the right

She must be majorly pissed-off to go after the GOP this way. Maybe she's decided that she's a woman first, and Republican second.

[Hamlette]

2. Yes. She's a republican.

[struggle4progress]

3. She's running for the center to maintain her credibility. Remember when she said

all the Democratic candidates should be lined up and shot?

[Hamlette]

5. I don't remember that. When did she say that?

[Aerows]

8. I don't doubt for a moment that she said that

She's a raging right winger that every once in a while makes a good point, but mostly foams at the mouth like all the rest of them 99% of the time.

[struggle4progress]

11. It was discussed on DU and elsewhere at the time

She sent out a column allegedly quoting a friend serving in the military as saying the Dem candidates should be shot. Then, after a few outlets printed it, she got cold feet and sent out a revised version saying "they should all be lined up and slapped"

Kathleen Parker relays death threat against Dem candidates
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x640189

Is Kathleen Parker an Ann Coulter Wannabe?
http://www.buzzflash.com/analysis/03/11/ana03303.html

[CabCurious]

21. She also trashed Mccain/Palin and supported Obama

[BumRushDaShow]

4. She was 1/2 of CNN's failed "Parker and Spitzer"

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/05/parker-spitzer-debut-reviews_n_750806.html

And any rethug complaining now while their party flies off the cliff, I say

They allowed the crazies to take over by nurturing them and even praising them and they bashed the President any which way they could with the best of the teabaggers.

[Mike Daniels]

6. In Parker's defense....

She was one of the first (if not the first) Republican to call out Sarah Palin for being the unqualified disaster she revealed herself to eventually be.

If memory serves, Parker was then pretty much pilloried by the right-wing media for her comments.

[Hamlette]

10. indeed

wiki says she got 11,000 emails about her position most of it negative. Hate mail is my guess.

She's pretty much all the right can trot out anymore as a "reasonable" republican. Isn't she? Every other thinking person has left the party.

[CabCurious]

22. She was one of MANY conservative pundits who jumped ship in 2008

It was a long list.

It will be even longer this year.

[Aerows]

7. Every couple of months

Kathleen Parker has a lucid moment and accidentally says something sensible. Don't worry, though, it won't last and she will be back to saying batshit crazy things momentarily.

[Cha]

15. That's the way I

percieve her.

[Dawson Leery]

9. Women's issues are important.

[dawg]

12. The real question is what the #@%* is wrong with you, Ms. Parker?

Nobody's forcing you to be a Republican.

[rurallib]

17. bingo!

mkaybe its about time to quit voting against your own interests?

[Aerows]

19. She's a Republican

because she is anti-choice as hell and agrees with them, based upon countless times that she has said so. She is just angry that the party is being honest now about their true goals. It's okay to pursue those goals, it just isn't smart to admit them out loud before being elected.

That's the only reason she has any objection, because they are her goals, too.

[McCamy Taylor]

13. Two words, Ms. Parker. "Citizens United."

Now, any businessman anywhere in the world can pay any U.S. politician or candidate to say whatever stupid thing he wants to hear.

This was totally predictable---which means that Karl Rove, who schemed with Scalia to get the Citizens United ruling, isn't so smart after all.

Any party that would place its future in the hands of a one trick pony like Rove--whose only forte is election theft and dirty election tricks---deserves anything it gets. In this case, lots of under the table money and very few votes.

[K8-EEE]

14. Hey Katleen that horse has long left the barn.....

She should have brought it up when GWB's crew was purging the last few moderates from the GOP!

[CabCurious]

23. In her defense, she was one of the conservatives making that argument in 2008

That isn't a defense of her other conservative leanings, but, she is what Palin-types disregard as a "beltway" or "establishment" conservative.

[Marr]

16. There's already a great party for sane, business-first minded people.

It's called the Democratic Party.

If anyone's going to pull their shit together and become relevant, I'd prefer it was a labor party.

[CabCurious]

24. THIS is the message!

And it's what scares the GOP more than anything about Obama winning.

The Black Dude could claim the economic recovery from the worst collapse in 100 years, which combined with Clinton's economic gravitas amongst independents would be a near unrecoverable one-two combination to the conservatives.

[CJCRANE]

18. Some of the GOP's policies are actually more extreme than Sharia Law.

This is just based on a cursory reading of Wikipedia but...

it appears that abortion is allowed under Sharia Law if the fetus is under four months old, particularly in cases where the woman's health is in danger as the woman's life takes precedence over that of the fetus.

Abortion due to rape is also allowed within that timeframe.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islam_and_abortion#When_abortion_is_permissible

Sharia Law also allows contraception such as condoms etc.


ETA: Biblical Law is Sharia Law by the backdoor (but even more extreme in some cases as shown above).

[beemer27]

20. Worth the Read

If you agree with Parker or not, she is a smart and interesting writer. Most of her columns are entertaining, although I usually don't agree with her, I do enjoy reading them. This part of the country has many conservatives. This does not make them bad people, it just means no one has shown them the way yet. I am working on it. Slow but rewarding business.
A few of them are putting a brave face on, and making believe that everything is going well for Willard, but many are privately wandering what has happened to the party that they once supported. Most of them are basically good people, so I do not gloat or give them a rough time, but some of them are ripe for a little twisting of the knife. It is actually quite easy- just ask an "innocent" question that you know will put them on the spot, then act as if you do not know why they are squirming.
Life is good.