Dayhoff Soundtrack: GOP still headed for a cliff and other stories of the coming Zombie Apocalypse by Kevin Dayhoff

Monday, March 19, 2012

GOP still headed for a cliff and other stories of the coming Zombie Apocalypse by Kevin Dayhoff

By Kevin Dayhoff, March 19, 2012 http://www.thetentacle.com/author.cfm?MyAuthor=41

I'm still hearing from folks, literally, from all over the world about, "The kerfuffle was no fluke." It must have struck a nerve.

So far in the presidential election of 2012 the only debate among historians is just which national election in history has the opposition party collectively conducted a more inept campaign to unseat a sitting president?

One of the places i wanted to go when I wrote "The kerfuffle was no fluke," was the 1860 presidential election. Fortunately, on March 16, 2012, TheTentacle writer, Roy Meachum picked-up that portion of the story: “Inevitable GOP Tuesday,” “As Tuesday pointed out, Republicans seem headed for the fate that led to Abraham Lincoln’s election, establishing the party on the American political scene.

“

In 1860, Democrats ruled the land. Nomination on their ticket was tantamount to a key to the White House. The great favorite was Stephen Douglas, who had defeated Mr. Lincoln for the U.S. Senate two years before. At their convention in Charleston, South Carolina, they went through 55 ballots before adjourning to Baltimore. Mr. Douglas was the winner of a divided party. The pro-slavery Democrats chose Vice President John Breckenridge, of Kentucky…” http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4978

[…]

The idea that the Republican Party is on a great march, en masse, off a cliff, is starting to be discussed in a hushed tone of voice that is only growing louder as November approaches.

Apparently I am not the only political observer to ponder such matters. Nor I am the only person to have the temerity to actually put it in print. Washington Post writer Chris Cillizza wrote at length last Monday, “2012: The Republican party’s Gotham election.”

[…]

“That idea — that the only way to truly rebuild something is for it first bottom out — is one that some within the Republican party have begun to toy with privately as the divisions between its tea party wing and the more establishment/moderate side of the party become more and more apparent.”

Although Mr. Cillizza illustrated it better; every time you hear a Republican say that they will not support a ‘R.I.N.O.’ candidate, please understand that paradoxically you are hearing the voice of a foot soldier for the Democrats in the costume of a Republican. I mean, let me get this straight, you would really rather endure another four more years of President Obama than support a moderate candidate for office.

I would not give a rat’s behind if Secretary of State Hillary Clinton changed parties and won the Republican nomination, the only criteria for the Republican nominee for the presidential election of November 2012 is that he or she have a chance at beating President Obama at the polls.

For pity sake, forget about all the hand wringing and Exorcist-gyrations about how the liberal media is in the tank for President Obama. We get it. Now get over it because there is not a darn thing you are going to do about it - - except message control and party discipline.

And speaking of that, please do not waste anyone’s time over whether or not the media treatment of Mr. Limbaugh utterly stupid attack on Ms. Fluke was fair or unfair.

Of course it is not fair to suggest that Mr. Limbaugh speaks for rank and file Republicans any more than it is fair to suggest that the crude and vulgar attacks on former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin by Bill Maher are representative of the run of the mill Democrats.

[…]

The only thing I regret about the piece is that I did not emphasize enough that the entire kerfuffle had nothing to do with the Democrat Party – President Barack Obama talking point, the "war on women." This issue, as Ron Miller said better than me, “is manufactured out of whole cloth by a Leftist messaging apparatus that is breathtaking in its coordination, its scope, and its chutzpah."

This more about the war for the women’s vote…

Nevertheless, I’ve written it before and I will repeat it now: at this point, President Barack Obama could kill a puppy on national TV and still win the election this coming November… http://www.thetentacle.com/ShowArticle.cfm?mydocid=4959

I stand in good company with columnist George Will and especially Peggy Noonan who recently observed, “… the Republican nominee will emerge so bloodied his victory will hardly be worth having; the Republicans are delving into areas so extreme and so off point that by the end Mr. Obama will look like the moderate.”

For other columns by Kevin Dayhoff:

March 14, 2012

What is the new business norm?

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Weary taxpayers and consumers, who continue to be frustrated and exhausted by an uncertain future, the ongoing economic malaise, and a ‘new economic normal,’ are in the midst of perpetuating a sea change in how business is conducted in this country.

March 7, 2012

The kerfuffle was no fluke

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Rush Limbaugh and conservatives could not have looked more like total and complete idiots in the recent national discussions over the private lives of individual Americans than if the liberal media and Democrats had written the script for this Kabuki circular firing squad.

February 29, 2012

Opera without the singing or the horses

Kevin E. Dayhoff

It was a warm day last Thursday as I took a left turn off Tuttle Avenue on to 12th Street in Sarasota (FL) and tried to remember how to get into the Baltimore Orioles spring training parking lot at Ed Smith Stadium.

February 22, 2012

The “Magic” of Jackie Robinson

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The first day of Baltimore Orioles’ spring training began Sunday when the pitchers and catchers reported for the annual ritual in Sarasota, Florida.

February 15, 2012

Sad Times for Eastman Kodak

Kevin E. Dayhoff

There have been many tragedies of economic malaise in the last five years. Kodak’s recent filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy seems especially sad; and it is only fitting that we pause for a moment to pay our respects.

February 8, 2012

Eurozone Crisis: It is all Greek to me!

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Now that the Super Bowl is over there may be no better time to focus some attention on the continuing Greek tragedy that is unfolding over in the economic Twilight Zone, known as the Eurozone.

February 1, 2012

Keeping the Farm in the Family

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Legislation to address how Maryland estate taxes inhibit farmers from passing-down the family farm to succeeding generations has gained some much-needed interest in the current session of the Maryland General Assembly.

January 25, 2012

Gas Pains and Rough Roads

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley’s fiscal year 2013 state budget, released a week ago, is a full menu of difficult choices. However, one of the most troubling is the lack of funding for police protection and highway user revenue for municipalities.

January 18, 2012

Let the Veepstakes begin

Kevin E. Dayhoff

The consensus continues to gather steam that the GOP nomination to challenge President Barack Obama for president this fall will be former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney. Perhaps all the drama now moves to who will be his choice for vice president.

January 11, 2012

The King of Hearts

Kevin E. Dayhoff

It is fairly well accepted among keen observers of national politics that the Iowa caucuses of Tuesday a week ago are much more about political and media-theater than a prognosticator of who will vie for the Oval Office this fall.

January 4, 2012

Scenarios Abound

Kevin E. Dayhoff

Next Wednesday, on January 11, the 430th taxing tradition of the Maryland General Assembly opera will once again take center stage.

+++++++++++++++++++

20120319 KED seo GOP still headed for a cliff

*****