Base Appeal

David Corn of Mother Jones puts it best when he describes Republican ideology as religion. I think he puts it best because that is the way that I have described it myself. Republicans have shifted so far to the right that they have become calcified. It is hard to tell which ones are just toeing a line and which ones believe what they say when they say "taxes are bad" and "the auto bailout was bad" and "the middle class can only grow if you coddle the wealthy."

Let's look at what would happen if smart people like John Boehner and Mitt Romney ever tried for a second to talk sense. Perhaps they'd want to test the waters by ADMITTING that the largest tax increase in U.S. history was simultaneous with the largest economic expansion in U.S. history. Perhaps they'd want to experiment by ADMITTING higher taxes did not prevent "job creators" from "creating jobs." Perhaps they'd want to survey the ramifications of ADMITTING having the lowest tax rates in over 60 years has had no effect on spurring employment. Perhaps they'd want to have a look see of the implications of ADMITTING the connection their party has been making between taxes and "job creation" is bullshit. 


What would happen is that they would be drummed out of the party and into oblivion. Again, today's Republican party is not about being right. It's about control. In the case of the "job creators" blather they have created a flawed doctrine and as with any doctrine, it does not have to be right to be relevant. It just has to be adhered to by enough people. And that is the problem for the GOP. This "job creator" mess is only adhered to by the Republican base. No one else is buying it. Just check out these polls.