t r u t h o u t | David Frum | Waterloo

t r u t h o u t | David Frum | Waterloo: "Is it too early to announce the demise of the Republican party as we’ve known it these past 30 years? By becoming ever more marginalized, by allowing the hysterical fringe to take over, the Republican brand has become synonymous with angry, antisocial behavior--cynical greed. It didn’t used to be that way. They got more than a little too cocky and hubristic after 9/11 and allowed this charlatan faction to take control. It was an ephemeral coalition to be sure--fundamentalist Christian conservatives, Wall Street fee trade libertarians and neoconservative cold warriors who banded together to thwart the needs and security of modern America. Like General Lee at Gettysburg, they attempted a Pickett’s Charge that led to their demise. They overreached. Now they are viewed as the unreasonable fringe movement, not realists who see the future and offer pragmatic solutions to today’s problems. Of course, they won’t disappear. They’ll regroup to fight another day. Perhaps another terrorist outrage, some series of scandals involving government bureaucracy and abuse will turn voters back to the soothsayers of the right (think Reagan during the Carter years). People will always be tempted by confident voices offering simple solutions to the current daunting issues. Hopefully it won’t require the wreckage of events like World War II, the Cold War or the Great Recession to nurture wisdom and reject fantasy.
by JRuss