November 14, 2006

Has Ragnar Gone Stark Raving Loony?

In the words of Tyler Durden, "Only after disaster can we be resurrected."

Friends, we have now experienced a disaster. We can only hope that THIS disaster was sufficient. If it wasn't, then it will take a bigger disaster--a REAL disaster. A REAL disaster could mean the end of our country as we know it, with left-wing political majorities for years to come. I don't believe I'm exaggerating.

We will now get to experience at least two years of the circus freakshow of political insanity I predicted a couple months ago.

Thanks, W! Appreciate that. Really.

Yes, I pretty much knew this particular disaster was coming. No, I didn't do that much to avert it. I'm comfortable with that.

Yes, that probably causes some of you to hate me. Perhaps you even think I'm completely, bat-shit insane. I'm comfortable with that, too.

If the members of our current leadership team retain their positions of power within the party, I anticipate others will come around to see it my way looking back from 2008. Only time will tell.

Of course, by 2008, it'll be far too late to change course. If we're still meandering around two years from now, we might all get to watch the Dems solidify gains in the House and Senate and occupy the White House.

Doesn't that sound like fun?

If we want to avoid that fate, we have a lot of work to do between now and then.

Some appear to be concerned that open and harsh criticisms of the existing party leadership will harm broader post-election GOP morale.

The stakes could scarcely be higher, and some are worried that we may hurt somebody's feelings, or that lefties might get a chuckle out of our infighting,

I just don't get that.

I agree that morale is important--but my concern isn't that GOP morale is too LOW right now. Quite the contrary.

I'm concerned that it's still too HIGH--especially within the leadership ranks.

Some are peddling that these losses are just what's to be expected in the middle of a President's second term. If someone's peddling that line to you, that's a pretty good sign that they're part of the problem.

Only after the GOP rank and file accepts the full meaning of what just happened to it and sinks to the appropriate level of despair and introspection can we begin to rebuild.

We're not there yet.

Some seem to want to throw a new coat of paint over the existing rickety structure, because they apparently think the party can win if we just dress it up and help it limp along for two more years.

The structure is seriously rotten. Accept it. Rather than fighting us, I ask you to join us in pulling out the rotten studs and replacing them with some solid support.

Not only can this party NOT win again in its current form, it doesn't deserve to.

To paraphrase one of my favorite flicks : "The Republican Majority is dead, and that is a tragedy. But it is dead because it lost its principles--and the voters were watching."