De facto leader of the Republican party Michael Steele was successful today in getting RNC members to drop the powerless resolution that would formally ask the Democratic Party to rename themselves the Democrat Socialist Party.
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RNC drops resolution to call Democrats “Socialists”
By Jimmy Orr | 05.20.09
No one was talking about anything else.
The Republicans were meeting for what? The only thing being reported was that powerless resolution proposed by members of the RNC that would — if passed — formally ask the Democratic party to change its name to the Democrat Socialist Party.
No matter how hard Michael Steele — the sole de facto leader of the Republican Party* — tried to get his message out, interviewers on even Fox News were focused on one thing: the resolution.
As we mentioned yesterday, even after Steele told Fox and Friends hosts that the GOP’s strategy wasn’t to rebrand the Democrats, he faced two more questions on the resolution, all the while the Las Vegas-like text box on the TV screen was flashing: “RNC rebrands the Dems: The Democrat Socialist Party.”
There was no way around it. That was the news.
Whew
Today. Peace. They found a way to kill it. Thereby finally getting the resolution out of the news flow. Had it been introduced and passed, Steele would have been further marginalized and talk of the resolution would have lasted all summer.
Instead, they agreed on another meaningless resolution. A resolution that carries with it no sound bite or controversy.
“Resolved, that we the members of the Republican National Committee recognize that the Democratic Party is dedicated to restructuring American society along socialist ideals,” it reads.
Dodged it
Steele was happy.
“I am pleased that the committee adopted a resolution that focuses on the Democrats’ policies and their destructive effects on America’s economic engine, rather than attempting to rename our opponents. The RNC and the entire Republican Party is moving forward with strength and unity,” he said in a statement.
Put it on TV
But not everybody was. Sure, the most fervent on the right don’t see an issue with the original resolution. But politicos on the left embraced it. In their minds, the resolution amounted to childish name-calling and further diminished an already-diminished GOP.
Walk over to Crooks and Liars, a left-leaning web site. If it was up to John Amato, the news networks would have broadcast the RNC meeting. The resolution debate in particular.
“…If they really wanted to show us what the RNC is all about, why didn’t they televise the debate they had about their resolution which would have branded the Democratic Party the “Democrat Socialist Party”?
“This would have been a much clearer window into the minds and hearts of the Republican Party, which has been the party of know-nothings and do-nothings and extremist rhetoric since the day Obama took office,” he writes.
Socialists
The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) weren’t happy either. But they didn’t like it because it stole their name. In a statement released earlier today, the national director of the DSA, slammed the effort.
“[The resolution] demonstrates the extremist views that now dominate the RNC. This is a continuation of the silly and surreal socialist baiting that Republicans engaged in during the 2008 Campaign (when they equated progressive tax reform with socialism!) and which the voters soundly rejected,” Frank Llewellyn said.
*Steele is now the only de facto leader of the Republican Party as the other de facto leader, Rush Limbaugh, announced earlier today that he has officially resigned.
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2. bob | 05.20.09
Steele is, indeed, the “in fact” leader of the republican party. I assume, in your use of the epithet “de facto,” you are making a point, in which case, don’t you mean “de jure”?
3. zken | 05.20.09
RNC name calling–give me a break————this guys are out of their minds. RED BAITING in 2009??? These guys are showing America why they should never be in power again…….ever!
5. basementfrog | 05.20.09
Any party that is promoting guns on campus and guns in national parks is the party of the Anti-christ.
Prolife my whazoo.
6. bozo superman | 05.20.09
Republicans are dead–thats spelled D_E_A_D–they were given the china shop, and then ran amoke and broke ALL the china. Time to look min the mirror and suk it up!
8. Keith | 05.20.09
I truly believe that the Democratic Party is Socilalist in about all of its messages and its proposed legislation. President Obama appears to love the power, and it was reported so in by Newsweek, recently. Regardless, history will surly say that this was the tipping point in American politics. I, for one, see no way out for our Nation, except splintering and more and more damage to our freedoms and Liberities. Soon, not ony individuals will be truly decrying their loss of handed-down Liberties from our Founding Fathers, but so will the individual States - to the point that one day they will feel more and more the iron grip of a few people in the Nation residing in Washington D.C., tightening around their necks.
Prepare yourself Amaerical. Your best days are not ahead. Only just another failed Europen State is this Nations future.
Once our finances are able we can apply to join the Eurpean Union. At this time, we are too much of a debtor Nation.
9. Frank Delano | 05.20.09
Does that mean we have to stop using the term ‘fascist’ to describe republicans?
10. Vincent | 05.20.09
The more time goes on the more I’m seeing that the Republican party has lost its way. As a Christian, I’m ashamed to have been a member of that party! They are just using us to get votes. They care nothing about Christ and his teachings and anybody that cannot see this is blind to the TRUTH!
13. Rod House | 05.20.09
As a proud liberal Democrat, I’d suggest that we accept the name change IF the GOP will change its name to the much more realistic: Economic Terrorist Party
14. Hyppias Minor | 05.20.09
Re comment 2: yes, he should have written ‘de jure’, I’m not sure if there is a de facto leader of the GOP but it sure isn’t Mr. Steele.
To the point: it’s sad and pathetic to see a former, and presumably future (politics is cyclical) ruling party engage in silly name-calling instead of a policy debate.
How about the RNC put forward resolutions how they would reduce health-care costs? Get the deficit down? Take care of Guantanamo bay? Deal with Iran? Anything?
Bah, humbug.
15. James | 05.20.09
I think that the republican party is a so called “Christian” party. Give me a break! Christian? I don’t think so… My goodness, I’m a Christian but I believe in the Democratic philosophy. Might as well call the Republican party “The Extremist Christian Republican Party”! These worthless words of war won’t help the country! I am a Democratic Christian and proud of it!
God Bless the Democratic Party!
17. James D. | 05.20.09
I think that the Republican party is getting out of hand. The country has always advance with a Democratic President. Always.
18. Paul | 05.20.09
First they ask Asians to change their names because “Chinese is a rather difficult language” and now they are asking the Democratic Party to change their name. Is “Democratic Party” really that hard to pronounce?
19. Imajicka1 | 05.20.09
Keith, your argument would carry more weight if everybody would suddenly get amnesia and conveniently forget the past eight years of Dubya rule. You can slam Obama’s administration if you want… keep in mind, its just starting. But no amount of revisionist history you can come up with will cover up the flawed, regressive, economically wasteful administration that we just had.
20. Al | 05.20.09
Wow. It has come down to this. Unbelievable. The economy is in crisis, the country is falling apart, we are in sore need of real solutions, and the Republican party wants to play the label game.
21. Skip Mendler | 05.20.09
Well, let’s see here…
“Republican Theocrats”? “Republican Fascists”? “Republican Plutocrats”?
How about “New Crusaders Party”?
Oooh wait, I’ve got it!
The GOP will henceforth be known as the “Capitalist Christian Conservative Party” — or the “CCCP.”
22. Todd | 05.20.09
The republicans sounds more like highschool student council members than like the leaders of a major politcal party.
23. Kubota Jushin | 05.21.09
I am apalled. No, really.
The GOP used to be capable of… more than this.
On the positive side, it looks as though Obama’s policies (which may not all be good per se, but far better than most of Bush’s at the very least) won’t have that much opposition, if these are the people doing the opposing.
Ah, fair GOP, how you have fallen. It used to be dominated by canny, cunning men, with no scruples and a sure grasp of their power. Now what does it have? A psychotic, bombastic talk show host (who has resigned)? A weak leader?
Woe betide the GOP should its leadership fall to Hannity or O’Reilly.
Such a sad sight.
24. Vince | 05.21.09
Amazing. All this time taken by the RNC to figure out how to rename the Democrats… Have they given any thought to what ideas the RNC can offer that actually might help the US out of the ditch the RNC and its buddies dug for all of us?
Btw, Todd nailed it more succinctly, “The republicans sounds more like high school student council members than like the leaders of a major political party.” Yep, indeed.
25. Air Force Vet | 05.21.09
1. The resolution would have been just like the pot calling the kettle black.
2. The republicans changed the name of the “democratic party” to the “democrat party” 15 years ago and it didn’t help them.
3. It should be the democraps and the republiclowns.
26. jct | 05.21.09
It’s unusual because the Republicans usually play the word-game quietly, using a subtlety that at least half of the country can’t detect, and will vehemently deny even exists.
Now they’re being so overt and obvious with the word-game. They should know better. I wonder if there is some underlying motive to all this.
27. Paul | 05.21.09
CCCP. That is funny. In the roman alphabet that would actually be SSSR, Soyuz Sovetskava Sovietichesky Respublika. (Rember the Apollo/Soyuz mission? Soyuz means “Union.”) I was thinking the GOP might want to rebrand itself the “Repugnant Evildoer” Party. REP. Unfortunately, that is not close enough to RIP. I have five words of advice for the GOP, “Give it a rest, already.”
28. jjs | 05.22.09
The Republican Aristocrat Party has finally taken to groping for attention.
Pathetic.
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Jimmy Orr has worked in politics for the majority of his professional career working for two U.S. Senators, two Governors and one President. Most recently, Orr served as White House Spokesman and Internet Director for President George W. Bush and Special Advisor to Governor Schwarzenegger for Internet Communications.
David Cook is Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor and host of the Monitor's newsmaker breakfasts. He was the Monitor's editor from 1994 to 2001. Cook is a graduate of Principia College, served in the U.S. Army, was a Bagehot Fellow at Columbia University, and is a member of the Gridiron Club, Washington's oldest journalistic organization.
1. Cardinal | 05.20.09
Wow, this is the first I hear of this. Things are getting pretty sad, I hope the GOP can someday recover from this and be respectable again.