GOP’s Sudden Scandal-Mania: Why Criminal Probes and Infighting are Taking Over the Party
http://www.alternet.org/election-2014/gops-sudden-scandal-mania-why-criminal-probes-and-infighting-are-taking-over-party
Its fashionable right now to talk about the premature end of Barack Obamas presidency. Hes fast approaching the second half of his second term, which is historically the beginning of lame-duck season. His poll numbers arent what anyone would call ideal, and Republicans (in concert with some excitable members of the press) are rushing to proclaim the Obama presidency dead. I saw a commentator today say that these polls, what they reflect, is that the Obama presidency is over, Sen. Marco Rubio said, referring to NBCs Chuck Todd. And I agree with that. I think it is, in general. Speaker John Boehner told reporters at his weekly press briefing yesterday: You look at this presidency and you cant help but get the sense that the wheels are coming off.
Fun! The administration has actually had some substantial achievements over the last year or so and there are still areas in which they can accomplish even more, but once a good narrative gets going its hard to slow it down. The funny thing is that as Republicans team up with pundits to chisel out Obamas epitaph, the Republican Party itself is falling to pieces right before our eyes.
Yesterdays news that Scott Walker and Chris Christie sinking deeper into their respective scandals is as good a sign as any of the GOPs political disintegration. After Obama crushed Mitt Romney in 2012, Republicans began casting about for their 2016 redeemer, and Christie and Walker were high on the list. They won conservative hearts with their antagonism toward unions, but they had also found a way to win in reliably Democratic states. If the GOP hoped to take on candidate-in-waiting Hillary Clinton, theyd need someone who could peel away some Democratic voters. Walker had talked about the need to nominate an outsider like himself in 2016.
Now Christie and Walker are implicated in criminal investigations. Prosecutors in Wisconsin placed Walker at the center of a criminal scheme to coordinate campaign spending with outside groups. In New Jersey, the investigation stemming from the George Washington Bridge scandal is reportedly closing in on Christie himself. For both men, once considered potential saviors of the GOP, the political future looks considerably dimmer.