There is nothing as predictable as the modern Republican Party. After eight years of blindly following President Bushes lead (in everything from war, to reduction of rights, to stonewalling oversight) the Republican Party has been content to support their man in the White House. Sure, there were a few such as Sen. Lugar that risked apostasy by making some speeches (but very few votes) about problems with his administration, but they are far more the exception than the rule. Now that Mr. Bush (War Criminal, Earth) is Ex-president Bush they are gathering around to brand him with that most feared of Republican monikers “Not a True Conservative”.

In that laugh-fest that is the RNC Organizing meeting the true believers are taking the long knives to Mike Duncan. From today’s Washington Post:

Duncan "has never criticized Bush when the president was wrong," said Shawn Steel, an RNC member from California. "He’s the agent of the establishment, and we need a change in personnel."

That just makes the Dog laugh out loud. At first blush you might think that the Republican Party is ready to look at where they are and how they got there, and make real changes to be relevant, right? Not in this Republican Party Bub!

In a further sign that the group wants to signal its displeasure with Bush policies, members are expected to adopt an unprecedented resolution attacking "the bloated bank bailout bill" that Bush championed and demanding that the committee "take all steps necessary to oppose bailouts of industries, individuals or governments."
The resolution also calls for strong opposition to the stimulus plan before Congress, which it labels "President-elect Obama’s public-works program."

That’s right the guys (and make no mistake it is predominately men) that control the national Republican Party are going to vote as group opposing the very popular Renewal and Reinvestment Act. They are writing the campaign commercials for 2010 as we speak. The Party that has proven time and again that they have only one idea, cut taxes, cut taxes, cut taxes is going to make it clear to the country that this is where they will stay.

Instead of doing the things that might assure relevance, like saying that while they have concerns they will put them aside for the good of the country or electing a minority to their highest post, they are going to shoot themselves in the foot by saying that the guy they backed with a messianic fervor is was not really one of them. Is it just the Dog or does it seem they should suffer from massive cognitive dissonance on a regular basis?

It must be hard to be a true believer in that party. It has an almost 1984 quality where the hero from yesterday is turned into a betrayer of the movement today. What is sad is the there never seems to be any questioning of the collective judgment that someone they all supported turns out not to be one of the “Good Fella’s” after all. If you can do that with your presidential choice, what does that say about the ideas of the Party? But even worse, to the Dogs mind anyway, is the level of fear that it must create within the Party structure. A failure to toe the line could very quickly lead to being a pariah. It is hard to imagine how you could have a strong commitment to the party, under those circumstances. If you lose an election they will say that you lost because you were not “Conservative” enough.

Just look at this quote:

"People in this country are more conservative than what has been shown," said Cathie Adams, an RNC member from Texas. "Republicans have lost because we were playing the me-too game of growing government."

Did Ms. Adams live in a bubble for the last two election cycles? Is all she reads Red State? The party that has just gone from controlling both Houses of the Congress and the White House to complete minority status in a little over two years is the conservative one. That she can not see it is startling in its lack of reality. It completely ignores that what the people want is effective government, what ever size that is, they have shown that they want it. But that is a completely alien idea to most of these Republicans.

It is not that they do not have some folks that see the writing on the wall;

"

I think we’re becoming a regional party," said John Feehery, who was a top adviser to then-House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.). "It seems like we only want to appeal to Southerners. We seem too far to the right, and I think we need to have a better understanding of principles that appeal to people in all 50 states."

Mr. Freehery gets it. But if past is a clue to the future, the Dog bets that Mr. Freehery will be drummed out of the leadership in short order. Maybe he would like to come on over to the dark side and become a Dem?

The floor is yours.