Republicans Down on Their Own Party

In our last post entitled "R.I.P. Ruinous Right?!" we discussed the declining G.O.P. image and a possible hope for moderate Republican leadership. We stated the belief that the influence of the "Ruinous Right" was growing weaker and pointed to several articles supporting that belief. We also referred back to an older post entitled "Ignorance and Name Calling Prominent In Right-Wing Blogs" that highlighted divisive right-wing blogs and their demise.

Unfortunately, political zealots who have no room for compromise or mutual understanding are part of our cultural fabric and are here to stay. Even as many members of the Republican party criticize it's ultra-conservative stance, misguided leaders and divisive pundits, some members continue on with their far-right rhetoric. It's doubtful we'll ever be able to celebrate the death of all far-right (or far-left) individuals who thrive on divisive rhetoric and misinformation. Our only hope is that their self-serving agendas and influence over others will diminish.

In April 2009, several polls conducted attracted attention for their notably low levels of self-reported Republican voters. In particular, ABC/WaPo reported the number of Republicans as 21 percent, CBS/NYT at 20 percent, NBC/WSJ also at 20 percent (not counting "leaners"), and Pew at 22 percent.

So, how have things progressed since this past April? A recent Gallup poll offers up the following:

"Almost 4 out of 10 (38%) Republicans and Republican-leaning independents have an unfavorable opinion of their own party..."

"Fifty-three percent of Americans today have a favorable opinion of the Democratic Party, compared to just 34% who have a favorable opinion of the Republican Party."

"... a substantial minority of Americans who identify with or lean toward the Republican Party also have negative views of the party. Almost 4 out of 10 Republicans say their opinions of the party are unfavorable, and a number of Republicans volunteer that the first thing that comes to mind when they think about the GOP is "unfavorable" or "lost its direction."

Only time will tell if sensibility and a cooperative spirit will prevail over selfishness and divisiveness within the Republican party. Hopefully, the ideas from Republicans like Colin Powell and Tom Ridge will prevail over those being offered by Dick Cheney, Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity and some far-right bloggers.

Republicans Down on Their Own Party
GOP needs to listen to Colin Powell
Colin Powell fires back at Rush Limbaugh, Dick Cheney

R.I.P. Ruinous Right?!

The Ruinous Right blog launched over a year ago to help combat the policies and propaganda coming from the real "ruinous right" - far right conservatives, far right media outlets, far right blogs and far right pundits. Today marks President Barack Obama's 100th day in office and it may also mark the beginning of the end of the divisive and narrow-minded politics of many members of the Republican party.

The influence of hate mongers and bigots, such as Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Michael Savage is diminishing. These authors and pundits seem to appeal to a dwindling audience of mostly white folk who still cling to guns and/or gated straight white communities. Fox News is recognized more and more as simply a propaganda tool of the right and not 'Fair and Balanced' as they like to claim.

Far right members of the Republican party are also losing their charm. Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Newt Gingrich and the likes may still wield strong influence within the G.O.P., but many sensible moderate Republicans are beginning to realize their detriment to the party. The nomination of John McCain seemed to be a step in the right direction initially, but he caved to the far right and voting Americans made their feelings known by handing Barack Obama a decisive win along with shifting the balance of power away from Republicans in Congress.

Many of the far right blogs that posted headlines of hatred or distortions regarding socialism are now offline or rarely updated. I'm very happy to report that many mentioned in my article "Ignorance and Name Calling Prominent In Right-Wing Blogs" are now defunct.

Today, only 20% of Americans identify with the Republican party. The barbarous rhetoric and divisive politics is finally taking it's toll.

Now, as Barack Obama and the country reflect on the past 100 days since the historic election of the first African American President, G.O.P defections and a possible change in party strategy share the headlines:

Republican Party on brink of irrelevance?
Specter defection a wake-up call to GOP
GOP in search of change of its own
GOP set to launch rebranding effort
Pelosi to Republican voters: 'Take back your party'
Longtime GOP Sen. Arlen Specter becomes Democrat
Specter explains why he switched
Steele: Specter 'flipped the bird' at GOP
Analysis: GOP learning to be opposition party
GOP Debates Its Future: Broaden or Contract?

CNN Poll: Obama not making U.S. less safe

A new poll indicates Americans don't agree with former Vice President Dick Cheney's recent assertion that President Barack Obama's actions have increased the chances of a terrorist attack against the United States.

Seventy-two percent of those questioned in the poll released Monday disagree with Cheney's view that some of Obama's actions have put the country at greater risk, with 26 percent agreeing with the former vice president.

In a March 15 interview on CNN's "State of the Union with John King," Cheney said the Bush administration's anti-terror strategies "were absolutely essential to the success we enjoyed of being able to collect the intelligence that led us to defeat all further attempts to launch attacks against the United States since 9/11."

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