Rebuilding the Republican party

If anything needed a redo it is the Republican Party. It has been too long the hostage of the ultra-conservatives.The disgusting spectacle of Cheney and Limbaugh holding forth at a "Republican" convention and being cheered as they proclaimed the necessity to see the Obama program fail demonstrates beyond a doubt the need to reject such blather.

Colin Powell recently called for the Republican Party to move more toward the center. Republicans claim their platform is Capitalism, smaller government, and lower taxes. We have seen very graphically what the neo-con notion of "smaller government" means, deregulation. Allowing the full force of greed and avarice to reign unfettered in our ecomomy. Greenspan, said in his bland defence, "I thought the market would have more sense than to kill itself" or words to that effect.

Undoubtedly capitalism and the entrepeneurial spirit has made our country great. It is the lack of personal responsibility on the part of those in key positions to live up to their responsibilities that creates or enables the unscrupulous to prosper. As an example of deriliction of duty the bond rating firms of Moody, Standard and Poor, etc. succumbed to the profits from giving triple A ratings to securitized mortgages that were totally deficient in soundness. So far that malfeasence has not been assessed.

The Republicans will have to own up to their failure to control their most rabid operators. This will require identifying the leaders who are at fault in their notions of what is allowable under the supposed platform of Republicanism. If the ultra conservatives want to hang tough let them haul ass and have their own party.

Of course, what is in a name? Any thinking person, despite registration in a particular party should feel free to decide who has the better ideas and vote acoordingly. I've been registered as Republican all my life but find I really should own up to being Independent.

Currently the Obama agenda is running into the realities of political recalcitrance.
Despite the overall necessity of maintaining a coherent plan the various components are being picked apart. If this goes too far the whole idea will be vitiated. Last night on Hardball I heard an analyst point out for the first time that the concerns over the high cost of the various programs always leave out the consequences of not funding the programs. Of course people don't like the spectre of high taxes but that doesn't obviate the necessity of fixing what is broken. The "broken" includes the health care system, the educational system, the entire enconomic system, the environmental system, as well as a great percentage of our infrastructure. That is just for starters so lets stop bellyaching about the cost and own up to the need.

Where will the money come from? Where it always has, us. If the Republicans continue to follow Norquist and his "cut taxes" mantra there will be no solutions to the problems of what is broken.