Goal is not destruction of GOP

[Hermit-The-Prog]

The destruction of the GOP is not my goal; it may be collateral damage for which I will not mourn. My goal is to advance what I believe is the primary function of government: the protection of the nation which creates that government.

A nation consists of people, the space they require to live, and the framework of rules by which they regulate their interactions. Protecting a nation is not limited to arms for defense. A government which does not protect individuals within a nation is failing its duty. A government which does not protect the space -- air, land, water -- its people require to survive is failing its duty. A government which distorts the framework of rules regulating the interactions of its citizens in order to favor one group of citizens over others is failing its duty.

Our government is failing its duty. We need to wrest control of government from those who are using it for their own selfish benefit. We need to then make our government do its best to protect our nation, equally and zealously. We can't survive as a nation if we do not protect our people -- regardless of economic status, race, religion, gender, culture -- and protect what humans need for survival and protect our laws.

This is not a short term struggle. It's a long term fight for positive goals.

Those who fight to use our government to suppress, exploit or destroy some of our nation in order to secure wealth or power to themselves should be no more than obstacles in the way of a government of, by, and for everyone who wants and works for an ideal government. Removing those obstacles is not the end goal; it's just one more step along the way.

[Funtatlaguy]

1. I'd just like a sane gop. If we are to remain a two party system.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

7. that would be good

I'm not sure there are any sane ones left, at least at the top.

When I was a kid, I remember the old folks at the time debating politics. It could get heated but I don't remember any of them wanting to use government as a tool to obliterate the other side. Democrats wanted government to do something; Republicans wanted government to stay out of the way of business. Of course, that's a mostly-disinterested child's perception -- it may have been more severe than I remember.

Having two parties is not a bad thing -- one to push and one to be cautious. We just seem to have a malignant, malevolent party to deal with now. The billionaires' propaganda machine has pushed GOP to extremism.

[lancelyons]

39. There are some.

Charlie Dent, Charlie Sykes, Jolly, Evan McMullin, etc.

Dems need to stop playing nice and start playing serious hard ball.

[backscatter712]

61. Judging by Steve Schmidt and others, I'd say the sane Republicans have already left the party.

All that's left are the red-hatted bigoted choadies.

[DownriverDem]

12. Long time ago

repubs use to be about the economy and defense. They did not take on cultural issues. The cultural issues brought the religious folks and it's been downhill ever since. It goes back to reagan.

[Merlot]

19. It was actually the other way around re: religious folks

The cultural issues didn't bring the religious folks to the table, the cultural issues were exploited with the explicit intention of getting the religious folks on thier side. They had no other way of holding a majority. Abortion is a prime example. It wasn't an issue until republicans made it one.

[cannabis_flower]

22. It goes back farther than that.

I remember back when the Dixiecrats had their panties in a wad and left the Democratic Party because they wanted to continue segregation and Jim Crow. They didn't like LBJ and his policies and eventually found a home in the Republican Party .

[MurrayDelph]

34. It's part of their "enemy of my enemy" fallacy

They keep inviting the next group of crazies in, expecting that they'll be able to control the crazies. Soon, the crazies are in charge, looking for the next bunch of crazies to bolster their numbers.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

46. a coalition of extremists

Those crazies are the most easily fired up via hate radio and hate tv and they never notice that each gang receives promises that are incompatible with the promises the other gang got.

Then they use the power to suppress votes from all who are not in their coalition of extremists.

[Initech]

35. I'd like to see the GOP return to being the party of Lincoln.

Instead of the party of Putin and Fox News, which they currently are. Can we have that party please?

[Trust Buster]

2. They control all three branches of government. That is reality.

[dwayneb]

3. In many ways, the GOP has already been destroyed

Our two party system worked fairly well from WWII up until the Reagan era, when the radical Right began taking over the GOP. I would posit that the GOP in many ways has already been destroyed, not by Democrats but by Trumpism. Their next step is to destroy the Democrats and move the country toward one-party rule. Kavanaugh was a big, big step in that direction as the SCOTUS can help to ensure delivering more power to the Executive branch.

[LBM20]

28. But they need to be wiped out at the ballot box. VOTE next month and bring friends with you.

[LBM20]

4. Yes, WIPE THE GOP OFF THE POLITICAL MAP! It is a radical racist CULT now and will not change.

Enough of the jelly spined nonsense. Weakness has ruined us! The GOP is a radical racist sexist cult and no longer the party of Lincoln.

They must be politically KILLED!

[crazytown]

5. "I believe in the power of good

I will fight for the right to be right
I will kill for the good of the fight
for the right to be right

David Bowie
Cygnet Committee

[LBM20]

26. I will fight to obliterate and raze to the ground the Trump Cult that was once the GOP.

[FakeNoose]

6. Charles Koch has already destroyed the GOP

I'm not sure where you're going with this.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

8. forward

I believe that somewhere the Kochs and other background billionaires have crossed the line in their quest for more power. Those who have used criminal activities to advance their agenda should be caught and face consequences.

However, I don't think that dealing with the criminals should be our main focus when educating the electorate and getting people to vote. It can be a motivator in the near term but probably won't last as long as it will take to repair the damage that has been done.

IMO, positive goals work better at getting people into the -habit- of voting. It's going to take several elections to straighten this distortion out.

In other words, GOP is just roadkill. We don't need to stop and poke the carcasses. Just pedal to the metal and get on down the road. If we take back government and make it work for all, rounding up the criminals will be just a part of its normal work.

[DemocracyMouse]

20. I understand what you're driving at: eyes on the prize, on good government, not bloodlust

I might add this:

The goal is to continuously reform, and therefore strengthen, the Democrats (redressing grievances is enshrined in the 1st Amendment), and push HARD to install that better party. We must remind our base that Democrats are better precisely because of self-renewal.

We learned that eliminating the Glass-Steagal Act was dangerous to the economy and Elizabeth Warren and many other Democrats have proposed ways to fix it. We evolved on LGBTQ rights. Black Lives Matter is embraced by the Democrats and dozens of police and economic reforms are being put forward by Democrats. Al Gore has researched environmental issues extensively and brilliantly lead the charge for sustainability. The Democrats are the only party that sees women's rights as American rights.

BECAUSE we continuously analyze, propose and debate we offer the very best solutions. The Republicans have collapsed under the weight of their medieval superstitions and complete inability to be self aware and reform-minded. The party must be halted in its tracks through aggressive communication and political gusto. But the people calling themselves "Republicans", who seem to know little about how the 1% is using them, need an education. What needs destroying is their bogus, self-righteous ideology.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

23. construction vs destruction

You give good, specific examples.

The modern GOP is a party moving in lock-step toward destruction of government to feed power and greed.

The Democratic Party is a giant, diverse construction crew. We want a better world, together.

[DemocracyMouse]

41. Well put again!

[KY_EnviroGuy]

14. Aww, come on, Noose. Give credit where credit is due.

You're gonna hurt Murdoch's feelings real bad. And, Adelson's, Mercer's and dozens of other good and faithful oligarchs.

.......

[LBM20]

27. But they need to be wiped out at the ballot box. VOTE next month and bring friends with you.

[rampartc]

9. a righteous rant, and a worthy cause

count me in!

[mtnsnake]

10. Fuck the GOP. As they exist today, they most certainly NEED to be destroyed, not co-existed with

The GOP and their conservative and evangelical minions who voted for them are out to ruin this country forever. Our goal SHOULD be the destruction of the GOP.

[Oneironaut]

11. The GOP can't be destroyed in a literal sense. I hope for a "destruction" instead.

We have two parties (basically). One has gone too far to the right, and is sliding even further right. It’s also trying to ensure its survival through authoritarian tactics.

When the “GOP” is “destroyed,” it will still be the GOP. However, a new crop of candidates will come in with more moderate views.

Political parties morphed many times in American history. The GOP is like a derelict house full of rats that needs to be gutted and renovated.

[Liberalhammer]

13. Mine goal is to destroy the GOP

They have proven themselves traitors and totalitarians. They have no place in our Democratic republic.
#destroytherepublicanparty

[RobertDevereaux]

15. I completely respect your viewpoint AND...

...our goal MUST BE to destroy the Republican Party.

Here's the opening of my new book (see my signature for Amazon link):

%%%%
WHEN A POLITICAL PARTY, whose primary and essential task it is to represent all of its citizens and to pursue the common good, goes south and sour, that party forfeits its right to exist.

Such a political party, fallen absolutely into toxicity, ought therefore to be destroyed by any and all non-violent means possible, its infamy deeply etched into every subsequent record of our nation’s history. Etched as well into the hearts and minds of the nation’s people, passed on to all future generations.

Moreover, safeguards need to be put into place to ensure that we never allow such a craven political party ever to exist again.

Republicans have turned their backs on science. They are willing to bring on the destruction of the planet and the human race in exchange for obscene, short-term profits for the ultra-rich, for billionaires who bear no love for life, who are void of all humanity, greed-heads who care nothing for the survival of the human race, let alone the well-being of this nation.

It is incumbent upon us to do all we can to destroy the Republican Party before it’s too late.

We must save ourselves and the planet. We must step up to become the new Greatest Generation, for the sake of ourselves and of our children and grandchildren.
%%%%

[kimbutgar]

16. Until we get rid of citizens united and make pacs illegal we will never have a sane GOP

They need to be held accountable. We need to return democracy back to the people and not corporations.

[world wide wally]

17. I worry more about the GOP destroying us

[sandensea]

18. Well said. Mend it, don't end it.

As we keep telling our Republican friends.

[lastlib]

21. We have to destroy the GOPee in order to save it.

The insane radical corporatist oligarchical cancerous clique that has infested the Party of Lincoln must be burned to the ground, and the ashes tossed to the wind and the sea, before we can allow the GOP back into the democratic fold. They want to destroy us so they can impose their one-party fascistic vision of America ruled by the corporate (white) elite. They want the masses uneducated, uninformed, servile and docile, dependent upon their largesse, with no recourse to protection by government or contract that they didn't write. When they disavow that vision and accept the common good as their goal, then, and ONLY then, can they come back to the body politic.

Until that time, my torch will be burning, ready to light the bonfire.

[elmac]

24. The destruction of the Government Of Putin, the GOP, is my goal as long as I live. nt

[lunatica]

25. Fantastic post!

I’ve been trying to articulate this exact concept for years but felt like I always fell short.

I call it a concept because it necessitates the understanding of what a fundamental purpose of government is when you’re talking about government as a democracy build deliberately for the direct benefit of all the people of the country.

We The People is a deliberately worded phrase of the secular (not religious) definition and purpose of our government as it relates to the alpha and the omega of our wellbeing. Put in another way, to illustrate my meaning, our government should start and end with the smaller concept of that same phrase. We The People are who starts this Democracy in order to serve all of We The People.

There will always be those who are not evolved enough to understand that concept and who will crave personal power over others. Personal power at the expense of the equitable distribution of power which the Founding Fathers listed as inalienable rights.

Thanks for writing this so well. It has helped me add depth to what I’ve been trying to clarify in my own concept of government done right.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

29. thanks for the kind words!

Our government is a covenant and contract among people.

The most egregious crime of the modern Republican Party has been the distortion of voting. This delegitimizes the very government they now control.

[LBM20]

30. Yes it is! Burn that cult to the fucking ground!

[qazplm135]

31. The goal is control and power

pure and simple.

Then you can worry about long-term goals, or positive goals.

[JudyM]

32. Great post. We need to make the country safe for women, workers, POC, children and democracy

itself to flourish.
I offered more thoughts about that pro-protection “crazy mob” refuting messaging over here https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211252134

[Hermit-The-Prog]

36. thanks for the link!

I missed that thread.

That lays it out clearly. You could substitute "works for" in place of "stands for" and it would still be correct.

The inverse (converse?) is shown very well at
https://www.democraticunderground.com/100211143812

DU shows the brainstorming, activism, and diversity that is the Democratic Party.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. The primary function of government can't be restored unless this GOP is destroyed.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

37. emphasis on "this"

This GOP is a ruthless, vile barricade to good, representative government. It has to be taken down on the way to restoring our ability to choose our government and make it represent us.

There are many thousands who will have no voice on November 6th due to deliberate action by this GOP to silence them. I won't mourn if this GOP gets trampled in the stampede.

[lancelyons]

38. i am ok with the destruction of the GOP

I am not going to sugar coat this.

We need to kick the GOP to the curb and when they start crying... kick them a few more times.

[TwistOneUp]

40. I agree.

Just rip the fundagelicals out of the GOP and restore the party to a more Goldwaterish basis. Then Americans can have a *real* choice.

Now the only choice we have is whatever our blue wave cooks up or Father Knows Best. Not a real choice, is it?

[Turin_C3PO]

43. Even Goldwater was pretty bad though.

He may have gotten us into a nuclear war had he been elected. Of course the modern GOP is multiple times worse.

[TwistOneUp]

48. Don't bite off more than you can chew.

Replacing the current GOP with a *somewhat reasonable* GOP is a big enough first step. I do not want to see the USA become Jesusland, which is exactly what the current GOP wants.

[Turin_C3PO]

49. You are correct, of course.

I’d much prefer a Goldwater GOP to a TRump GOP. I’m just saying that the Republicans were never angels.

[TwistOneUp]

50. Nolo Contendere! nt

[Turin_C3PO]

42. I'm in favor

of the demise of the current Republican Party. I think it’s time for a new, center-right, party to take its place. How likely that is, I don’t know. But the GOP needs to go the way of the Whigs, IMO.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

44. break the cult

I don't know how but we need to break the cult. Those immersed in the disinformation cult are not reachable with facts. Repairing the damage can't wait until they are deprogrammed, however.

We've got to be overwhelming on Nov. 6.

[Turin_C3PO]

47. Yes, GOTV Nov. 6th!

Our lives depend on it.

[barbtries]

45. i want them gone

and when they go have absolute confidence that they wiped themselves out. if they don't, if we turn this country around, i will mourn.

[malchickiwick]

51. Political parties come and go. Time for the GOP to go. Join the Whigs.

Something else will take its place to ensure the continuance of the two-party system.

[nini]

52. They're nazi enablers at a minimum

We found a world war to beat them down.

They need to be destroyed.

[still_one]

53. What the GOP has become today I would disagree

[clementine613]

54. Destroy them and lock them up.

I'm for the destruction of the GOP.

They deserve to have their party destroyed and every single of those criminals should be in jail.

[SubjectTrip]

55. Well it's certainly my goal

To quote Chomsky, the GOP are the most dangerous organization in human history. They must absolutely be torn down.

[KentuckyWoman]

56. Do you mind if I stand with you for awhile?

Good post

[Hermit-The-Prog]

58. thanks!

Someday, Kentucky will be blue again. We've suffered enough with McCONnell, Bevins, and the likes of Dan Johnson*.

* https://kycir.org/tag/dan-johnson/
http://longcon.kycir.org/#chapter-one

[47of74]

57. Mine is.

I want to see the GOP totally destroyed. I want to see their leaders locked up in supermax prisons to the point that we have to build extra prisons to accommodate them. They are a cancer that must be removed from our body politic before they metastasize further and destroy this country.

[rtracey]

59. no..

WE have 1 goal this election cycle..... TO GET OUR PEOPLE TO VOTE.

[backscatter712]

60. It should be.

Maybe if the GOP was the way it was in the 80's, maybe they'd be salvageable .

Now? It's too late. They're fully corrupted, they're barely bothering with dog-whistling their bigotry anymore. They know that their base is the fascist right.

As far as I'm concerned, they're almost as far gone into Batshit Land as the original Nazis.

I'm for burning the Republican Party to the ground and salting the earth on which it stood.

Non-batshit conservatives can build a new center-right party after the GOP is destroyed.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

62. agree mostly

The only thing I disagree with is the title to your reply.

The GOP today is not compatible with good government and certainly not compatible with a democracy. They've sold out most people and our resources in order to solidify their power grab. They've distorted the election process so they do not need to gather a majority of votes to have majority control.

They are doomed, in present form, if voters are successful in restoring the election process. The ones who have used criminal actions to achieve their aims are likewise doomed, if voters are successful in repairing our government.

However, if the goal is to destroy the GOP, then it is likely to fail when enough voters perceive it to be done. That would set the stage for a comeback in subsequent elections. If the goal is to achieve rational, inclusive, protective government, then voters can be enthused over and over again with accomplishments toward that goal.

Don't take investigations and consequences off the table and the destruction of what is now the GOP will be, properly, a result of restoring our government at all levels. We just need to not allow organized crime to be excused for wrapping itself in a political party.

Perhaps a new "fiscally conservative, socially liberal" Republican party will be reborn from the ashes. That's not a concern of good government nor should it be a concern of the Democratic Party, in my opinion. I'm not sure the Democratic Party is a big enough tent to hold all those who may eventually awaken from their cult state.