Gasp! The Last Breaths

I have never been much of a joiner. Oh sure, I have belonged to organizations, but throughout my life time I have observed that the 'organizational heart of organizations' (honest to God, I came up with this phrase all on my own) always seem to be occupied by persons with three characteristics; a specific agenda, a passion for that specific agenda, and the desire to impose that agenda on everyone else in the organization. The president of our local condominium association in Michigan serves as an excellent example. His agenda is that he wants to be known as the president and to enjoy the special privileges that come with that position. His unit is the first to be painted, shoveled, pruned, etc. You get the idea. He has the passion for that agenda. He moved into our neighborhood after having been the mayor of a local village for several years. He still carries the flashing light on the dashboard of his automobile as one of the perks of that former position. As hard as I try, I cannot fathom a reason for his having this flashing light except for him to say "In my mind, I am better and more deserving that you." The net result is that he imposes his agenda on the rest of us. So long as we are willing to fulfill criteria one and two, he is ready and willing to serve as our president by imposing his agenda on the rest of us, probably because no one else wants the job.

As I mentioned, I am not a joiner. I have never considered myself a Democrat or a Republican because of the aforementioned agenda issues. As an example, I do think that Democrats generally tend to go overboard to provide things for people that I think they should provide for themselves. The agenda can be summarized as "more, more, more." In some instances, of course, assistance to others can be provided, but the Democrats never seem to know when to stop. Labor unions, as another example, did a wonderful thing for workers in America by providing a mechanism to bring some balance into the employee employer relationship. But unions also never know when to stop. Enough is never enough. The best example at the present is the hefty surtax on American automobiles for health care which is a major contributor to the potential demise of the industry. The Republicans, on the other hand, are a series of splinter groups each with their own special passion-filled agendas. The right-to-lifers are the best example. At all levels, this is seemingly the only issue that counts for these people. The NRA bunch is another example. If these splinter groups can find a politician who promises to support their specific agenda, members of these groups give votes and money. The best present example is the NRA's support of denying the District of Columbia's right to place reasonable restrictions on handgun owners inside the District. What might be a sound and logical reason for gun owners in rural areas of the country simply has no place in a urban environment when lunatics are authorized to walk into gun stores and purchase deadly weapons with no purpose other than to kill or maim fellow human beings. I may sound like I am meandering here, so let me get to the point.

The Republican party is in deep trouble as an organization because it cannot be all these things for all people because of the inapplicability of passion-filled agendas to all persons. There is no bend to the organization because the people that have moved to the top have had to pass the litmus test for each of these splinter groups. Example, lower taxers are the solution for all economic problems, all abortions are murder, a gun including assault weapons, in every household. There is a breaking point to each of these agendas, much like the breaking point of the impact of unions on the automobile industry. Because these breaking points have been reached in a variety of the multiple issues which the Republican party has traditionally espoused, leaders sound "incredible" for continuing to mouth the party line. When forced to justify the continued flagging on these issues, they need to search for justifications; Limbaugh fills the vacuum with hate-filled rhetoric rather than substance. It is intellectually lazy and much simpler to demonize those who disagree with you rather than offer solutions of substance. Steele fills the vacuum with simple empty rhetoric. My friends, there you have the Republican party in utter disarray at this moment in history when the need for sharp, critical analysis by a credible minority party has never been stronger. Those who recognize the importance and power of compromise are demonized and threatened. The current construction of the party absolutely prevents a person of substance and integrity from emerging to assume authority. Until credibility is restored, the Republican party is dead in the water. From all indicators, it looks like its a permanent situation unless a uniter, not a divider, appears to reshape its direction. The Republican political party is like a living thing. It will fight to the death to survive. As it is currently constructed, it is taking its last breaths.