And I agree. In fact, quite a few of us have been saying almost exactly the same thing.
The key thing to understand about that rally is that it wasn’t a fringe event. It was sponsored by the House Republican leadership — in fact, it was officially billed as a G.O.P. press conference. Senior lawmakers were in attendance, and apparently had no problem with the tone of the proceedings.
Oh yeah, the dots have been connected. Not only does the GOP now own the tea party movement, they’ve embraced them. And the sad thing is they really don’t have a choice. Their fringe is busily collecting scalps, and the pure, unadulterated pleasure they derive from purging is palatable. Basically, they’d rather purge than win – as demonstrated by NY-23. This latest tea party/press conference strikes me as the point of no return.
The point is that the takeover of the Republican Party by the irrational right is no laughing matter. Something unprecedented is happening here — and it’s very bad for America.
All of this makes me uneasy, and has for quite some time. And while both parties have always had their fringe base, what’s happening in the GOP is unprecedented. The far right has taken over, and I’m afraid it’s too late to rein them in.
What’s amusing is how much time I put into choosing the picture that appears next to this post. Do I use the crazy elephant photo? The tea party tea cup photo? Or the GOP logo. I decided on the GOP logo, since there really isn’t any difference between the three anymore.