They tipped their hand...

The GOP's fatal mistake?



They tipped their hand when not a single member voted for the stimulus bill in the House of Representatives. You can argue that the other side is being too partisan if just a few members of your side vote for their bill (say 15-20). But when not a single one of them does, it's clear that your side is principally interested in sending a message. In other words, your side is merely politicking. Of course, it didn't help the GOP that this all happened in the context of Rush Limbaugh publicly announcing that he wanted Barack Obama to fail. It didn't help that the only GOP legislator to publicly criticize Limbaugh for this statement went on his show the next day to apologize, genuflect and kiss Limbaugh's ring. It didn't help that the GOP leadership commanded the troops to vote against the package even before speaking with the president who was on his way to meet with Republicans in an attempt to garner bi-partisan support. The GOP announced that while they'd hear Obama, they would not be listening.

The economy is in a freefall and millions... literally millions of jobs are being shed every few weeks. People are scared. The GOP base of moderate income blue-collar workers from rural Southern states is scared. And the GOP is playing politics instead of working for a solution to the crisis that confronts us.

The simple fact is this: if the GOP is seen to be hoping for an economic catastrophe with the expectation that such a result will lead to the party's eventual resurgence, they're going to get slaughtered in 2010.

...one can only hope.