GOP abandoning moderates for the 2010 race

The wingnuts hate moderate Republicans almost as much as they hate Obama: they are deliberately attacking the centrists. Scozzafava would have held the seat for the GOP in NY, but Hoffman hated that idea so much that he took her on in a third-party run, risking time, money, reputation, career because the fight was worth fighting.

The wingnuts ran off Specter, they put in Hoffman even though he’s a clueless out-of-towner who can’t even field questions from the media, they are attacking Snowe, and if Hoffman wins they will be launching attacks against moderate Republicans across the country, thus accelerating the process of shoving the GOP so far to the right that in the end they will only have southern rural old white people – the cast of Hee Haw and that’s about it (or perhaps the cast of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”).

Another thing that will accelerate the process of pushing Republican candidates to the right, is the fact that the national Republicans scrambled all over in their haste to support Hoffman instead of defending their own party nominee: with blazing speed Hoffman won the support of the Club For Growth, Kristol, Fred Thompson, Dick Armey, Bachman, the Wall Street Journal editors, Forbes, Santorum, Pawlenty, Beck, Rush, Hutchison, and lesser-known Republicans across the country.

The stunning thing is how far, and how fast, the GOP has moved to the right. Fifteen years ago Newt Gingrich was the Darth Vader of the far right, the Republican that Democrats loved to hate. Now, because Newt joined party leaders like Boehner and Steele in doing the sensible, expected thing of endorsing Scozzafava since she was the party’s nominee – now the true party faithful are screeching that Newt Gingrich is practically Chairman Mao.

Newt is now too liberal for the GOP base. Wow. He could actually be too liberal to win the GOP nomination in 2012!

Now, think about the ads the Democrats can run next summer:

“Hey, moderates, independents, centrists! The GOP and the wingnuts have declared war on you! They don’t want to hear your voices, they want to make you extinct! So come home to us! “

And THAT may be why Obama is playing footsie with Snowe, showing incredible patience with Lieberman, and thinking about giving in to the Blue Dogs on health reform. Sacrificing some ground on health care with an eye toward long-term strategy for 2010, 2012 and beyond.

“Look at us and our Big Tent! Your voices will be heard if you come over to our side!”

Hey, Newt, you can come too!...Um, maybe not.

Elsewhere on Planet Wingnut: Fox is showing how clearly they are owned by the GOP and the wingnuts, by giving Rush a half-hour platform from which to screech about Obama. I think that is great, because it shows Fox for what they are, and shows Rush for what HE is: he looks angrier, crazier, and sillier on television, which may be why he doesn’t make the obvious jump to TV. His physique is actually part of it: his chin wattles, neck wattles, arm wattles and beer gut shaking in every direction like an incredibly tacky Jello sculpture for a white-trash wedding, spittle flying in all directions, eyes bulging, as he hollers that Palin is ready for the White House and that the GOP is headed for disaster if it gives in to country-club moderates.

The new face of the GOP.