Monday, May 23, 2016

A Letter To A Party That Has Lost It's Way

Dear GOP, I think we need some time apart. Yes, yes, I know we've been together since the 1980s. We used to have so much in common — winning the Cold War, free enterprise and, most of all, a can-do attitude about America.
Our closest friends — the Reagans, the Bushes and later the Romneys — were admirable, and how proud we were to be in their company. What nice, upstanding types they were. We believed in standards, civility and — how quaint! — facts.
Sure, there were stressful times. Not every four years was a victory party, but there were so many witty and interesting people to lift our spirits — William F. Buckley Jr., Irving Kristol, Jeane Kirkpatrick — and what fun we had defending Western civilization and skewering moral equivalence. It was inspiring. And along came the younger idealists — that nice Paul Ryan and the whip-smart Arthur Brooks.
The surly ones were on the left. Nothing was ever good enough for them. The grass was always greener on the other side of the Atlantic.
Then our relationship got, well, difficult. In lieu of interesting discussions, there were arguments. Yelling. Accusations. Feelings of betrayal. Instead of fighting the Democrats, we spent precious time and energy fighting one another. No more "Firing Line," not even "Crossfire." It got worse: One book after another by know-nothing talk show hosts, the loudmouths in talk radio, the conspiratorialists in the blogs. Suddenly it became chic to be angry and ignorant, and awkward to step outside the conservative cul-de-sac. Folks who had been preaching the gospel of personal responsibility became professional victims. The MSM! The MSM! Enough with all the whining.
Between all the nasty language about our immigrant neighbors and the ranting about China, it has become tiresome. Everything's a conspiracy. Scientists, journalists, foreigners and the miscellaneous elites — can they all be out to get us?
You really need to get the whole Trump thing out of your system. The denials and lies, the name-calling. One day it's cut taxes, then it's raise them. One day wages are too high, and the next day Trump can't see how people get by on so little. Yes, release his tax returns; no, then again, don't. I get a headache just trying to keep up with all the excuses and contradictions. Pretending to be someone else, admitting it and then denying it — that's all too weird.
Read the rest of Jennifer Rubin's op-ed HERE.

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1 comment:

cimbri said...

Yeah, whatever. The Bushes subverted Reagan's legacy at every turn, and Romney just tracked whichever way the wind was blowing. Now we have Trump, who will set forth a new era. Peggy Noonan doesn't seem to be too worried.