The Quixotic Enterprise of the Republican Party

I was listening to a lecture given by a prominient rabbi recently, and he stated that the solution to the Israel/Palestine problem must necessarily be a political solution reached through a rationalist dialogue. He went on to state that a solution never could be reached if religious issues came into play because if they did, neither side would be able to compromise because compromise would imply the fallibility of their beliefs and/or their respective diety.

Last take a second and make the necessary extrapolations. If we are to reach a solution to the problems this country faces, that solution must necessarily be a political solution; as long as religious or moral issues come to bear, we will simply remain at an impasse.

I think, for the most part, the country sees that now. The election of Barack Obama and the victories of the democrats in the last election perhaps confirm that. Bush’s ascension to the presidency was aided by playing to the far right and using these religious and moral issues to turn out the conservative base. However, the Bush administration in its abject ineptitude then unwittingly exposed the ugly truth about such issues; they might fire up the crowd, but the real issues a government leader faces require rational, reasoned judgement. Religious and moral issues are based primarily on emotion and abstract expressions of faith; emotion and abstract expressions of faith are not necessarily commensurable with reason.

But while most of the country sees that, the republicans cannot. In fact, if I am to believe this article over at Politico, the loyal republican base is becoming even more conservative and desires a leadership that is even more conservative as well. Do they not get it?

Reason requires constant introspection. Reason requires that when the rational human being is confronted with something that contradicts their views, they weigh this new information and adjust their views accordingly. However, it appears that when republicans in general and conservatives in particular are confronted with new information that might challenge their views, they do no stop to adjust their views but become even more obstinate and obdurate in their thinking.

I believe this signals absolute doom for the Republican Party. On the one hand, if they give in to their base and become more conservative, they risk becoming a marginal party. However,if they don't give in to their base, the conservative right just might form a third political party, thereby taking much of the republican base with them. What a conundrum they face. But if you live by religious and moral fervor, you die by religious and moral fervor.

I believe that in order for effective political dialogue to take place, there must necessarily be more than one political view represented. However, at the rate the Republican Party is going, they are going to conservative themselves right out of relevancy. They will become modern day Don Quixotes, jousting against the windmills of reason.

Negro, Please!: Exhibits B & C

I had not intended to devote another post to Michael Steele and his foolishness. However, as more bits and pieces of his weekend media forays come to light, I find myself in a position from which I cannot help but comment. Let me repeat, each and every time Steele opens his mouth, foolishness seems to gush out in a massive torrent. I am almost apt to agree with those who just a few weeks ago charged that Steele should just keep his mouth shut and work to build the RNC.

Earlier I commented briefly on Steele’s comment that he had attempted to engage President Obama in a dialogue, but thus far the president had resisted. When it was suggested that he was in someway jealous of the president, he stated that there was not reason he should be jealous. After all, he was the chairman of the Republican National Convention, and that both men were at the pinnacle of political power. (See Exhibit B below) He quickly catches himself and states that he does not equate the two, the presidency and his chairmanship.



And now this clip from the same interview (See exhibit C below) when he lapses into a long colloquy about how he partied during his freshman year of college which led to him being expelled. But then he seems to catch himself and tries to fashion some type of redemption story around it.



Who is he talking to? Is he admitting his screw-ups and asking for a second chance to redeem himself? I know that he is responding to the interviewers question; however, I'm not able to understand where it fits in to his whole agenda.

The question becomes does he think before he speaks? What exactly is he attempting to accomplish? Because each time he goes in front of the camera, each time he does an interview, he seems to dig himself in a deeper hole.

It is not that I want Steele to fail. In fact, it is quite the contrary. All African Americans have a stake in Steele’s success or failure whether we realize it or not. If Steele does fail, his failure will be accorded to certain shortcomings inherent in African Americans. If he does succeed, his success will be accorded to a certain singularity in his being, or, in other words, he is simply an exceptional human being.

I can only hope that Steele pulls it together. It certainly pains me to see another African American male thrash about so.

Negro, Please!

When Michael Steele was selected chairman of the Republican National Committee, I must say that I was more than a little skeptical. I mean, this followed right on the heels of the elections. The country had just selected its first black president and the republicans had been trounced. Then, Michael Steele is selected. Sounds a little suspicious, does it not?

But I wanted to give him a chance. I wanted to believe that he was selected on his merits and not just as a token. But things quickly fell apart.

I will not recapitulate the whole sequence of events that led me to believe that Michael Steele is but a figurehead, but let’s just say the whole Rush Limbaugh debacle caused me to lose any respect I had for him.

Everytime he opens his mouth he loses credibility. He showed up on CNN this weekend claiming that the whole Rush Limbaugh episode was part of some master plan. This makes no sense. For one, if this whole thing was planned, what was the end result supposed to be? It did nothing to further Steele’s cause. In fact, it made the whole Republican Party seem like a ship of fools. Secondly, if it was planned, why was it that Steele emerged from the whole affair looking like a complete punk? Why would anyone put themselves in such a position for any reason? See the video below for a glimpse of this foolishness.



Steele also claims that Obama has rebuffed all his attempts at a dialogue. This I believe. Why would anyone want to be caught up with a negro like Steele?

Steele states further that he does have political aspirations for the future that might even involve the presidency if God gives him the go ahead. If Steele really believes that he has any political future after the events of late, he is more disillusioned than he was when he allowed himself to believe he was really in charge of the Republican National Committee.