How much damage has George W Bush done to the Republican Party?

[kentuck]

Not to mention the damage he has done to our nation. That is a given.

But it is subject that seems to be untouchable within Republican circles. We have 28 Congressmen already announced that they will not run for re-election. They have to see the writing on the wall. Even in SC, Lindsey Graham must be shitting bricks. The huge turnout for Obama and Hillary in the Democratic primary was not a good omen for him or the other Republicans up for re-election.

I personally don't give a shit if the Republicans go the way of the WHIGS. They deserve to be extinct. They serve no meaningful purpose in the betterment of our government. In fact, they hate our government. That is the point to where they have progressed and where they now stand.

There are some Republicans that have seen the light - at least, temporarily. They are embarrassed to show their faces in public. They do feel some responsibility for the present "mess" we are in, unlike many more that still harbor their hatred for the "liberals" and the Democrats. That is the hardcore 29% that would follow even Hitler to his bunker.

But, they do not feel the necessity to make any dramatic changes at this moment. They are going to stick with their guns. They will call for more taxcuts and making Bush's taxcuts permanent. They will continue to support the invasion of Iraq and the present quagmire in which we now find ourselves. Only a disaster at the polls will pull the slimy film off their eyeballs. I await the moment.

[ursi]

1. He's made alot of Repugs ashamed, I know that.

[liberal N proud]

2. Not enough

If there is still a republicon party after November, he and the neocons will not have done enough damage.
We need to be rid of them and their "values"

[Dollface]

4. mind reader

[Rosemary2205]

8. LOL no kidding!!

[Benhurst]

12. My thoughts exactly!

[Demeter]

3. The GOP Is Terminal--The Country's Fate Remains to Be Seen

The odds for US are poor, however.

[dysfunctional press]

5. not nearly enough, or as much as some people might imagine.

a democratic president is in NO WAY a sure thing this november.

[islandmkl]

6. Just heard a little GOP RW history lesson on the radio this morning:

All of the good shit that happened during the '80s was because of Reagan and Bush1, who saved America from the forces of evil. All of the bad shit that happened during the '80s was because of the leftist anti-American Democratic power structure in Congress. All of the good shit that happened during the '90s was because of the god-fearing American-patriot Republican power structure that controlled Congress and saved America from the forces of evil. All of the bad shit that has happened since the '90s is Bill Clinton's fault; well, him and his fellow anti-American supporters.

[luckyleftyme2]

10. WE HAVE A GENERATION OF BRAINWASHED VOTERS

REAGAN was the first one to use the media effectively for propaganda. his mis-information spiel was drilled into the youths of the 80's.
those of us who were adults know he left office with the country in hock up to its ears.
He bent the legal limits of the law and 20 years later he's hailed as a great leader.
Bush jr is the mirror image of him.look at the mess this country is in.
reminds me of the last days of Reagan.

[islandmkl]

13. at this rate, don't you wonder how Jr. is going to look in 20 or 30 years....

i'm thinking Calvin Coolidge, only dumber and surrounded by more crooks. Even Karl Rove can't manufacture a story for this stooge that will withstand time. On the other hand: "History is written by the winners."

[tabasco]

16. Exactly right.

The ruling elite spend billions on propaganda because it works.

That's why they have consolidated the media ownership to a few corporations.

They can send out memos to the Timmy Russerts so Cheney can have a "friendly venue."

[unpossibles]

7. He has done incredible damage, but....

...I know a lot of conservatives are disowning him as well, or trying to.

I find it amusing when conservatives start jettisoning their own and calling them Liberals simply because they are examples of where conservative philosophy has failed, or because they have made some usually tiny compromise, such as with McCain or Romney.

I see it a lot now. People call Bush a Liberal, despite all evidence to the contrary, because he exemplifies what doesn't work with the basic philosophy. Hell, some of them even claim that Reagan and others are not conservative when it is pointed out how every Republican since Nixon has increased spending and governmental reach despite their claims and promises to do otherwise, how despite their pretense of representing the little guy, when it becomes obvious that the only "little guy" represented is the small percentage of über-rich robber barrons, instead of taking a long hard look at the potential flaws inherent to their philosophy, they go on the attack.

I'd personally love to see them go the way of the Whig party as well. I would not trust someone who hates government to run the government any more than I'd take my truck to a mechanic who hates automobiles. They want to throw out things which just need fixing or tweaking, and they refuse to throw out the truly bad ideas. Blech.

On a more ironic note: I have always considered myself a left-leaning Independent, and the movementarians of the Republican party have done nothing but push me farther to the left and made me more loyal to the Democratic party, because I find modern Republicanism to be a disease on the body politic, and will gladly support its opposition. Yes, I do feel we need to do a little housecleaning and damage repair within our own ranks, but by and large I will take any Democrat over any Republican without hesitation.

We cannot afford to let them continue to stack the judicial system with Conservative Christians and others who do not seem to truly appreciate the wondrous freedoms America has to offer. That alone is enough to sway me, but their basic policies do as well.

The trick is going to be regaining a balanced* media who does actual journalism, and I think the blogosphere is a great first step in forcing them to be more responsible as people will call them out on their BS now.

EDIT:
* actually, the trick is an honest media. "Balance" is not a good thing when one side is nothing but lies, slander, and garbage.

[zeemike]

9. In short, very little

Because the rank and file will still maintain that bush is one of the best presidents we have ever had, no matter what the facts say or how many times he lies and deceives us. There faith will not be shaken.
I once had a friend that was a second generation alcoholic that relayed a bit of wisdom passed down from his father. He said "don't admit to anything" no matter if they catch you red handed never admit to doing anything wrong.
And that is where the rethugs are right now. It is sad I know, but also makes change harder.

[DadOf2LittleAngels]

11. The Dems have a solid 8 years before the GOP begins to recover

Bush has been *at least* as bad for the GOP as for the nation as a whole and he has used the same politics against the party that he has used against the public...

Systematically playing one side against the other (Fiscal Conservs, Social Conservs, Small Govt Conservs, and Military Conservs) whenever it suited him which is why Thompson failed so badly in the primaries. He was the GOP's best hope in November because he made all these groups a little happy. They are left with a bunch of guys who at most satisfy two groups and piss off everyone else.

November is going to be a landslide and it will pull in at least a half dozen senators and 30 congressmen..

[luckyleftyme2]

14. the republican party sold out

the republican party sold out to corporate america in the late 80's. what little conservatism that was left in the party after the Nixon era was lost in the Reagan
administration.
Lets face it you can't win without a big war chest and the media.
we must stick together and turn out in force election day to keep them from stealing the 2008 election like they did the 2000 election.
and if we change some of the import laws we can get big businesses attention.

[Tesha]

19. You might research the brief career of Jim Florio as the Governor of NJ...

> The Dems have a solid 8 years before the GOP begins to recover

You might research the brief career of Jim Florio as
the Governor of NJ before you make such a claim. Democrats
are routinely tossed out on their ears when they implement
the tough changes necessary to recover from a period of
GOP ascendancy.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Florio

Tesha

[Zorra]

15. More than Nixon. Unfortunately,

Bu*h moved the country so far to the right that the Democratic Party has also suffered significant damage.

[snooper2]

17. Don't forget folks like Marc Foley

and our friend Larry Craig :evilgrin:

[Tesha]

18. Not enough yet. (NT)

[radfringe]

20. a simple illustration

this is the republican party:


this is the republican party with bush:


any questions?

[leftofthedial]

21. seriously splintered the rich elitist snob repukes

religiously insane fundie repukes

and left the idiot "conservative-principle"-based repukes twisting in the wind of his majestic flatulence



But he has killed the mythical America of freedom and democracy and justice altogether. It is DEAD. Gone. Ain't ever coming back.

[bdamomma]

22. Not enough damage if they are still following him off the cliff!!