Do y’all remember William Bennett, the guy who made a good living as a public morality scold until it was discovered he had millions of dollars in gambling debts? He hasn’t entirely gone away, but he gets less attention than he used to.
You might remember that Bennett was so disappointed that the American people weren’t more outraged by the Clinton-Lewinsky that he wrote a whole book about it, The Death of Outrage. He saw President Clinton’s popularity as a sign that the American public was morally depraved. (Big Bill averaged a 61 percent approval in his second term, and his high point in December 1998 was 73 percent, according to Gallop.)
I thought of Bennett this morning when I saw this piece at National Review, whining about the Republican base. Kevin Williamson calls that part of the base that is putting Donald Trump at the top of the GOP polls the WHINOS, because they whine about the Republican establishment.
What’s generally misunderstood on the left is that the tea-party movement did not arise as an alternative to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Democrats but as an alternative to the Bush-McConnell-Hastert Republicans, who were judged to have spent too much, warred too recklessly, and — most significant — to have been too ready to make themselves complicit in the bailouts. …
…You know the RINO — Republican In Name Only — but you may be less familiar with the WHINO. The WHINO is a captive of the populist Right’s master narrative, which is the tragic tale of the holy, holy base, the victory of which would be entirely assured if not for the machinations of the perfidious Establishment. Never mind the Democrats, economic realities, Putin, ISIS, the geographical facts of the U.S.-Mexico border — all would be well and all manner of things would be well if not for the behind-the-scenes plotting of Mitch McConnell, John Boehner, and their enablers, who apparently can be bribed with small numbers of cocktail weenies. The WHINO is a Republican conspiracy theorist, in whose fervid imaginings all the players — victims, villains — are Republicans. Barack Obama? Pshaw. The real enemy is Jeb Bush….
…Which is to say, the WHINO loves Trump not because Trump confounds the Democrats or because he constitutes a serious threat to a Democratic victory in 2016, but because he confounds the Republicans and constitutes a serious threat to a Republican victory in 2016.
Williamson manages to write this whole column without dealing honestly with the one issue that is earning Trump so much WHINO love, which is immigration. I well remember even during Dubya’s first term, when he was still coasting on the false impression that he actually knew what he was doing about terrorism, there was grumbling on rightie blogs that he was soft on immigration. The fact is, the Republican base is cemented together with a whole lot of nativism, along with racism and resentment of anyone comfortable with diversity. It was the Right, not liberals, who lashed out and killed Dubya’s immigration reform efforts.
The GOP establishment thought the baggers were grand when they could be mobilized to shut down town hall meetings about Obamacare. Then they ran Jeb up the flagpole, and the baggers failed to salute. Instead, they are flocking to Trump, who is speaking their language and throwing them red meat in quantity. Because, ultimately, that’s all baggers want. They aren’t interested in actual government policy. They want leaders and spokespeople who will validate their bigotries and give voice to the howling, ugly hate and demented envy that gnaws at their souls.
And now, having chased anyone who actually cared about governing, or even America, out of the party, the GOP is faced with a base that no longer understands, or cares, how the game is played. And the GOP establishment is beginning to realize they no longer control the Frankenstein’s monster they cultivated all these years.
Somewhat reminiscent of the Sarah Pailin fiasco. I know I have been wonering for quite a while about just how the GOP will dismount that tiger.
The Republican establishment has long cultivated obstruction and sabotage, with a side dish of classist arrogance and short-sightedness. So they’re SHOCKED when their pet mouth-breathers turn the obstruction-and-sabotage machine on THEM.
Grab the popcorn.
“the tea-party movement did not arise as an alternative to the Obama-Reid-Pelosi Democrats but as an alternative to the Bush-McConnell-Hastert Republicans”
Bullshit, the dimwittedteabaggers never said a word until that colored fella got elected!
“who were judged to have spent too much, warred too recklessly, and — most significant — to have been too ready to make themselves complicit in the bailouts”
More bullshit, first off the GOP (specifically the bushes) have been warring recklessly since 1991 yet they still elected another in 2000. Secondly the GOP was not just complicit in the bailouts they purposely enacted the foreign and domestic policies that caused them. It really is amazing that even when the GOP seems to be taking a look in mirror they still can’t resist re-writing recent history. The GOP has the base it deserves and the one they created!
While I agree with the premise of what’s behind these Whino’s, even more than their RINO’S, their overwhelming blind hatred is towards us Libtards, minorities, LGBT folks, non-Christians, and those of us who accept ALL people who aren’t blinded by hatred and bigotry.
The Whino’s blame their RINO’s for not stopping Obamacare, for not riding all “illegal” aliens back across he border in un-air-conditioned/un-heated cattle cars, and then back to their own countries.
And, they blame them for Obama himself.
The GOP wasn’t crazy and obstructive enough!
They’ve been pleading for Obama’s impeachment since he was elected in November of 2008.
Somewhere between 25% and 30% – usually pegged at 27% – are stark-raving Authoritarian uber-“Christian” loons.
Depending on where you live, that means anywhere from 15% to 40% (or more) of the people sharing the roads with you, would be glad to eliminate you if that order came from the “right” source.
I’d love nothing better than to see the GOP mutually destroy itself.
The sooner, the better!
I live in Upstate NY, in the mid-Hudson Valley, so I think the number of loons is under 20%.
You go further up into really rural NY, and you’ll get about the same percentage as in the rural South.
To paraphrase “Rummy da Dummy:”
You don’t go into elections with the base you want.
You go into elections with the base you have.
Which is a collection of stupid, evil, ignorant, hate and fear filled, dim/nit/half/fuck-witted and bigoted uber-“Christian” rubes.
Aka: “MORANS!”
The only shred of decency within the Repuglican party are the WHINO’s.
Galatians 6:7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
@gulag –
“Somewhere between 25% and 30% – usually pegged at 27% – are stark-raving Authoritarian uber-“Christian†loons.”
Yes, the canonical value is 27%, and it popped up just the other day in connection with Confederate-flag holdouts.
The original source of this magic number has been pretty much buried with time, but it still makes a good read, so here it is –
http://kfmonkey.blogspot.com/2005/10/lunch-discussions-145-crazification.html
Porlock,
Yeah, I read that back then, and it’s stuck with me because it makes sense, and that number comes up all of the time.
Fox News bears large culpability in all this; they won’t stop giving Trump air time and their content basically mirrors the Donald’s (although possibly dumber). I have heard that Rupert Murdoch is beginning to get annoyed at Roger Ailes’ fiefdom.
Imo – the GOP base needs to stop free-basing!
They mix hate and fear to get their high.
And they need ever more hate and fear to achieve the same high!
Or, as we look at it, a new low!
I have heard that Rupert Murdoch is beginning to get annoyed at Roger Ailes’ fiefdom.
Murdoch is 80-something and becoming less involved in day-to-day operations. His kids who are taking over management at News Corp are reported to loathe Fox News and Ailes in particular.
Trump is good for ratings and that is motive enough for Fox to talk about him as much as possible.
Mike G–I bet we both hope that Murdoch’s offspring will resist the temptation to keep ratings high the way that Fox has in the past.
“Jeb Bush slams Donald Trump for ‘rhetoric of divisiveness’”
An actual AP headline; I doubt the irony penetrated the AP staff!
We may not have the Donald around to make fun of very long. The drug lord that escaped from prison in Mexico has threatened to go after Trump for the nasty things he said about Mexicans.
The drug lord that escaped from prison in Mexico has threatened to go after Trump for the nasty things he said about Mexicans.
Wow, that’s King Kong versus Godzilla if ever I heard it!
@Lynne: They dismount the tiger by becoming neoliberal Democrats like Jim Webb, who has the gall to wonder aloud where HIS Democratic party went, which has created a whole category of problems for real Democrats who thought it was THEIR party.
These aren’t conservatives; they’re authority worshipers. Authority wh0res. For modern Republicanism (not just the base,) politics has always been about the “Two Minutes Hate.” The rest is window dressing. Like p0rn. It doesn’t matter the opening gambit…”Pool Boy,” “Stern Professor”…”Activist Judges,” “States Rights,” Just a door to the money shot.
Trump understands this better than all of them. And they’re all as embarrassed as a schoolboy who’s mom just walked in on him without knocking.