The GOP's death throes

Richard Mourdock, this morning, on MSNBC:

I certainly think bipartisanship ought to consist of Democrats coming to the Republican point of view.

If one is tempted to dismiss that drivel as light-hearted banter in the radiant glow of a Senate primary victory, here he is, again, on CNN:

I hope to build a conservative majority so bipartisanship becomes Democrats joining Republicans to roll back the size of government, reduce the bureaucracy and get America moving again.

The second part of Mourdock's politico vomitus is a bit milder than the first, but the core message is the same: We in the GOP cannot and will not function within a two-party system; we reject that system, and we'll sabotage government to the point of societal meltdown until we possess abiding control.

Jonathan Bernstein:

[B]y most accounts, Mourdock isn’t really part of the crazy faction of Republican politics. A recent New York Times profile compares him more to Utah Senator Mike Lee than to flaky and failed 2010 nominees Sharron Angle and Christine O’Donnell. That is, Mourdock is part of the new normal in Republican politics ... [which] reject[s] the kinds of co-operation and compromise with their opponents that a Madisonian system depends upon.

Which creates a mammoth paradox. Earlier I quoted Mourdock as saying that "both parties are so opposed to one another that one side simply has to win out over the other." He said, perhaps, more than he cares to ponder. For to prove Mourdock essentially wrong, he and his party must be proven essentially right--that is, only the GOP's utter annihilation in November can reopen the two-party door.

The United States never has and never will entertain the kind of fascist, totalitarian politics about which Mourdock & Co. fantasizes. It's been tried by the best of right-wing demagogues, from Joe McCarthy to Karl Rove, and each has had his head handed to him in rather short order. And as the GOP withers from demographic strangulation, its madness will experience a brief, sputtering and final acceleration--as in, precisely what we're witnessing now.

So have fun, Mr. Mourdock, while your fun can last.

Comments

[Peter G]

Well it is, at the very least ideologically consistent. If you perceive government as the problem and never the solution then gridlock serves your purpose and proves your point.

[Emile]

PM,

You seem convinced that the GOP will be badly defeated in November. I admire your optimism, but you need to take into account the superior messaging of the GOP to get their supporters out. Even when they are wrong on the issues they win on rhetoric.