Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Deadbeat) whines about
image presidential candidates are presenting to the public.
I was sorely tempted to channel Kossack
bubbanomics and just use
hahahahahahahaha for my headline. But then I remembered that Republicans provide at least 50 justifications per day for deploying such a title.
The latest burst of hahaha comes from whining over the damage being caused by the primary battle. Moderates and independents are being driven away by the in-fighting, says Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Her Senate colleague Olympia Snowe, thinks likewise, so much so that she's bailed altogether because of polarization in Washington. The GOP, it seems, just isn't the party they once loved. Ahem, Senators. Please.
It wasn't just yesterday that the GOP turned into a seething morass of remorseless ideological savagery. The party was well down this path the last time those two women stood for election. The Rush Limbaugh wing of the party didn't suddenly come into being in 2010 with the arrival of the tea party freshmen. The reason it has such a lousy crew of candidates blasting away at each other in 20 debates and the double-handful of primaries and caucuses that have occurred so far is because it's been catering ever more to its extremists for years. And that expectant electorate it has nurtured so assiduously has grasped the party by the short-hairs.
But now the likes of Sen. Jon Kyl and Rep. Allen West and Rep. Joe Walsh are all whining about the ditch the vicious primary season has driven the GOP further into as the candidates have striven to see who can tack furthest to the right instead of sticking to important issues, like the job creation they say the party should have as its main mission. Joe "hahahahahaha" Walsh?
“I don’t mind if the primary goes to August, I don’t think that hurts us, but it’s gotten personal and the media hasn’t helped,” Walsh said. “[For candidates to focus] on any issue but the economy and jobs is just ridiculous.”
Riiiiiiiiight. Is this the family values guy who owes more than $100,000 in back child support? The guy whose most recent claim to fame was caterwauling about not being able to send Christmas cards to his constituents with taxpayer-paid postage?
That Joe Walsh? The Joe Walsh who not only doesn't like unemployment insurance but also thinks the whole concept of a social safety net is wrong because it isn't in the Constitution? The guy who called members of the Occupy movement anti-American? The guy who denies the reality of climate change? The guy who, facing a steep uphill climb in a redrawn Illinois congressional district, thinks the presidential candidates should tone it down and stick to issues that matter? hahahahahahaha.
Expect to hear a lot more of this whining about the karma that has arrived on the doorstep of Republicans who have suddenly discovered that a "moderate" label might be advantageous come November.