There Will Be Much Wailing And Gnashing Of Teeth

Republicans are having a tough day.

Giuliani is gone.
McCain is clearly in the lead.
Romney is suspending his campaign, just as we all had to suspend disbelief when he tried to pose as a real Conservative.
And Huckabee is getting almost nowhere fast.

Bush is now saying (without mentioning the name John McCain) that he thinks all Republicans should rally as a group behind the nominee, and not fracture like a herd of wild cats at a Pit Bull convention.

This as national commentators continue to balst McCain for not being god enough to deserve any Conservative's vote.

What do they want?

They want complete adherence to their version of The Republican Party Line.

They want absolute conformity to their ideas of the party's ideals.

They want the power that comes with control.

Influential members of the Conservative media and political cadre don't want to allow the ascent of a Republican Presidential candidate who is not in lock step with them on all the issues they deem to be curcial:
Abortion
Gay Rights
Gun Policy
Strong Defense Policy Including:
Torturing Whoever We Want and Invading Any Country We Please
Secrecy in Everything
Eavesdropping on Everyone
Limited Government
Balanced Budget
Tax Reduction
Personal Initiative
Personal Responsibility
Morality Standards Set High in All American Life
(Except For Politicians)
Health Care For All Who Can Afford It
Thivery, Thuggery and Lies For All CEO's and Politicians Who Can Get Away With It
Prayer In Schools
God In Government
Complete Freedom of Speech in All Campaigns, But Not Necessarily Everywhere Else
(No Campaign Reform Allowed)
No Dissent, No Deviation, No Independent Thought Allowed
War Is Peace
Freedom Is Slavery
Ignorance Is Strength
History Is To Be Concealed, Rewritten, and Scorned

Hate Is Love

But they're not really bad guys, they have just been handed too much power and it has corrupted them in too many ways.

The Democrats will inevitably do the same thing when they get their chance.

The Pendulum swings.

But back to the race!

McCain is not pure, so says all the pundits, talking heads, fire and brimstone preachers and Right wing nutcases.

This is still a good thing for McCain.

When all the fringe Right hates him, it can only mean more votes from the vastly larger middle ground.

Now the Moderates of both parties can vote for him.

The Right Fringe is so small compared to the middle ground, there is no question what McCain should do:
Exactly what he has been doing!

He is known as a straight shooter, a guy who doesn't bend much with the wind.

The very few times he has done so, he has been castigated for it much more than other politicians who practice such behavior regularly.

And it is ironic for Bush to be pleading with the Far Right to get behind "the nominee" (without mentioning McCain by name) because Bush at the very least let his supporters smear McCain in 2000 horribly, grossly calling into question McCain's service record when Bush was such a pansy-ass he skipped actual service completely. Bush may even have known about it ahead of time. It likely came from Rove, as it seemed to bear his hallmarks, but that is not known for certain.

Anyway, now Bush wants unity. After he divided the party to win in 2000.

Policitican can be so two-faced it turns the digestive system.

I actually like the way the party has used coercion, intimidation and power plays to force a Far Right agenda on the party at large, and now it is backfiring on them.

They all forced Bush on us because he was the most rigid Conservative Right Republican. He fit the mold the best. He is Born Again Evangelical. God told him he wanted him to be President.

Too bad God didn't want Bush to be a good President, or even average.

So Republicans are harvesting that which they have sowed.

The lesson?

The Fringe can hold power for only a short time. When those in control think they know what's best for everyone, and other views be damned, they will and do abuse power. When those abuses of power are brought to light, the vast middle of America loses it's fascination with that minority and looks elsewhere for different leadership.

Although the Republican control of Congress ended, the citizens still want and need a strong leader.

We will not vote for a Jimmy Carter (who is a much better ex-President than he was a President, and who is al much better ex-President than Bush is a President).

We want and need strength to face some serious issues that have the potential to damage our country even more.

We want and need honesty and straight talk.

And for some time now, we have apparently been happier with a divided Federal Government than with one party rule.

We like the President to be from one party and the Congress to be in charge of the other.

It keeps them from doing too much for or to us.

When it comes time to cast our ballots in November, the most likely outcome is that we will keep Democrats in control on Congress, and make McCain our next President.