Dem
51
GOP
49
For those who don't know it, allow us to present what is probably the most famous joke in the repertoire of the comedian Emo Phillips:
Once I saw this guy on a bridge about to jump. I said, "Don't do it!"
He said, "Nobody loves me."
I said, "God loves you. Do you believe in God?"
He said, "Yes."
I said, "Are you a Christian or a Jew?"
He said, "A Christian."
I said, "Me, too! Protestant or Catholic?"
He said, "Protestant."
I said, "Me, too! What franchise?"
He said, "Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Baptist or Southern Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist or Northern Liberal Baptist?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region, or Northern Conservative Baptist Eastern Region?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region."
I said, "Me, too! Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1879, or Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912?"
He said, "Northern Conservative Baptist Great Lakes Region Council of 1912.
I said, "Die, heretic!" And I pushed him over.
We offer this as prelude to discussing the nastiness that has developed around the competition to be the RNC Chair.
As readers will recall, Ronna Romney McDaniel would very much like to keep her job for a third term. However, some members of the Republican Party don't support that, either because they think she is not sufficiently fanatical enough, or because they are unhappy she has overseen three straight poor elections for the Party, or both. Consequently, she has drawn two "name" contenders: MyPillow guy Mike Lindell (who is now also selling poor-quality slippers, incidentally) and Donald Trump lawyer and adviser Harmeet Dhillon.
McDaniel remains the frontrunner, and the only real hope that the challengers have is if they can consolidate the entire anti-McDaniel vote. So, advocates for both Lindell and Dhillon have taken to arguing that the opposition is not sufficiently committed to Republican Party values. Team Dhillon is pointing out that Lindell is a nutter (which is true) and that he has some very un-American and unconstitutional ideas (which is also true). Team Lindell is pointing out that Dhillon is a Sikh (which is true) and that "Sikh values" are not American values (which is narrow-minded prattle).
We are not fans of bigotry around here, of course. However, this is a party that has spent much of its energy in the past decade (or two, or three) talking loudly about all the people they hate (LGBTQ+, Antifa, Black Lives Matter, RINOs, most/all Democrats, the Clintons, Nancy Pelosi, AOC, etc.). And both Lindell and Dhillon have been enthusiastic participants in that process. The problem with movements that are obsessed with figuring out who the "other" is, and consequently with increasingly narrow "purity" tests to decide who is still acceptable, is that the various factions eventually turn on each other, deeming one another to be insufficiently loyal/authentic/committed, etc. See, for example, the Jacobins in late 18th century France, Russian communists after the revolution, or the current House Republican Conference.
Now, the finger-pointing is taking place not only in the House, but at the highest levels of what was once the Party of Lincoln. And the leadership, which has done its best impression of two-thirds of the proverbial monkeys (See No Evil, Hear No Evil) really has nobody to blame but themselves. As ye sow, so shall ye reap. (Z)