TPM is reporting on a new memo from Republican National Committee chief Mike Duncan, saying that the GOP has lost its reputation as a "party of ideas," and needs to do some serious work to change that. Only two problems-one for them, one for us:
(1) (For them): It never was the party of ideas in the first place.
(2) (For us): It didn't matter in the past, so why should it matter now?
Put simply, the GOP has basically had TWO ideas since 1932: (1) Kill the New Deal and anything related to it. (2) Promote Republicans as heroic saviors and attack Democrats as depraved traitors who hate America and are trying to destroy it. (See, for example, Glenn Greenwald's book, Great American Hypocrites: Toppling the Myths of Republican Politics, and/or my diary "Patriotism Smackdown: Barack Obama Vs. Hitler's Ghost? (Hegemony Is The Enemy Special Report--Pt5)".) All the other ideas Republicans have had since then have simply been tactical or strategic weaponry to advance those two basic ideas, split the Democratic base, shift blame, or otherwise gain political advantage, regardless of any real-world policy consequences. In short, Republican ideas revolve around the long-term struggle for political power, based on controlling political and quasi-political institutions, and thus controlling the political discourse.
Their latest effort, to destroy the domestic auto industry is a case in point, which has the added benefit of making it perfectly clear that it's the Republicans who hate America and are trying to destroy it, and that their constant attempts to pin this rap on Democrats are nothing more than plain old projection-the pot calling the kettle black-in its most fundamental manifestation. More on Duncan's memo and GOP hooey on the flip.
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