Bush Drinking Again? Conservatives Get Their Groove On

Paul Krugman
Michael Kinsley
George Will


I was standing in line at the supermarket yesterday and happened to glance at the tabloid rack at the checkout counter. There was the Globe Magazine with its headline: Bush Suicide Drama

"JUST weeks after leaving the White House, depressed and paranoid George Bush is suicidal, insiders fear. In a blockbuster world exclusive, sources tell GLOBE the ex-President is boozing up a storm - and reveal why he is terrified of Barack Obama and his own wife Laura. Don't miss a single word!" Among the allegations were: "He's paranoid and deeply depressed." "Says Obama is "Out to Get Me." and my favorite, "Accuses Laura of DESTROYING him in tell-all book" No need to go out and buy it, there's not much more than contained in these headlines... Though, with all of the policy reversals and changes the Obama administration is doing to make things more honest and open, perhaps George can be allowed some drunken paranoia...

In an interview with the Washington Times this week,  the very conservative, very Republican Governor of Utah Jon Huntsman described the GOP as a narrow party of angry people, with the younger generation not as much concerned with being anti-gay, anti-abortion, and being Whites only.

The Political Animal comments: "Now, I've seen quite a few descriptions of the Republican Party of late, but "a very narrow party of angry people" is one of the more apt. Matt also noted that Huntsman's contingent also probably includes Charlie Crist and David Brooks, making up a reformist branch looking for a bigger, more inclusive party.

What's striking, though, is just how small the contingent is. Just a couple of weeks ago, 95% of the Republicans in Congress voted for a stimulus package that didn't include any stimulus. Rush Limbaugh said no one should criticize far-right Republican Bobby Jindal's national address, not because it was good, but because he's a far-right Republican. RNC Chairman Michael Steele is openly discussing the possibility of withholding support from Republican lawmakers who stray from the conservative line. A GOP leader in the House is openly discussing emulating the Taliban, and no one in the party denounced the comments. It's the Palin-Pence-Plumber Party.

Huntsman's perspective stands out in large part because most of the party isn't even willing to consider the possibility of veering from its current course."

And more comment on the CPAC conference in Washington:
"Yesterday, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, right-wing activist Cliff Kincaid suggested that "President Obama is a communist, then suggested Obama was not born in the United States -- to which the crowd cheered wildly."

It's a reminder that conservatives, anxious to reclaim their forgotten glory, haven't quite adjusted to the current political landscape.

I'm not at CPAC this year, but I've been fascinated by the reports from the convention. It's not just the breathtaking right-wing worldview -- though the ugliness and hatred is interesting -- it's also the fact that a lot of conservatives just aren't ready to face a new day. They liked the old day just fine, thank you very much, are content to stay there, even as the country moves forward.

What was the message on CPAC's first day? Government is still the enemy; Iran still wants to kill us; it's still a conservative country; tax cuts will still solve every problem; Democrats are still radicals; the media is still victimizing the right; and Republicans can still win if they shift from being a conservative party to an extremely conservative party."

I guess we will just have to wait for the old farts to die off, except these young farts are sounding too similar to the Old Ones. No wonder zombie movies are making a popular comeback. Slum love! Slum love!