Tuesday, September 14, 2010

Randi Rhodes: Don`t Drink The Kool-aid Tea

It’s Election Day, again—this the last round of primaries before the big dance in November. It’s been interesting so far, thanks to Tea Party extremists. Seven candidates supported by the National Republican Senatorial Committee have already fallen this year. The Republicans have a bigger problem with the Tea Party than the Democrats do. The Democrats have to defeat these nutbags to survive. The Republicans have to accommodate these nutbags to survive. If Democrats face barbarians at the gates, Republicans are facing barbarians inside the gates. And it may be a Tea Party, but they’re serving Kool-Aid.
Nobody is doing more to make Tea Party Kool-Aid the drink of choice for the Republican Party than Newt Gingrch. Recently, Newt said that Obama has a “Kenyan, anti-colonial” view of the world. Does that make Newt Gingrich’s view of the world colonial? Vote for Newt—he’ll put Gunga Din in his place! Newt’s “Kenyan” comment is just part of the latest rage in conservative circles—to paint President Obama as some sort of “African colonial.” In other words, to paint him as black as possible. I suppose that’s all pretty scary to people who think the biggest thing the world has to fear at this point is a Zulu uprising. It’s called “highbrow birtherism.” There’s an oxymoron. Highbrow birtherism? Is that anything like “the thinking man’s racism”?
Can it get any worse? The answer to that is “Glenn Beck.” While the rest of the rightwing is living in a 19th century colonial pipe dream, Glenn Beck has taken it a step further and moved back to the 18th century and the French Revolution. Glenn Beck is trying to convince his followers that the left is about to explode into an orgy of violence if we don’t get our way in the next elections. It’s like the bubbling pot is saying the kettle is about to boil over! The left is going to get violent? Glenn, if we were able to sit on our hands through the nightmare of the Bush years, we can put up with anything. Besides, the left doesn’t need violence. In every imaginable demographic, this country is getting more and more progressive. It’s happening slowly, but inexorably. We’re getting more progressive… well, progressively. As Jim Morrison said 40 years ago, “they got the guns, but we got the numbers.” This coming election may be a setback—or not—but it won’t be a change of course.

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