Republican Rage

Obama did not win the election, the Republicans lost it. Or that is the way humorist and conservative sage P.J.O’Rourke sees it in a blistering assault upon his own party. The GOP wasted the last 30 years and have left the country in ruins, he writes. “Where is this land of freedom and responsibility, knowledge, opportunity, accomplishment, honor, truth, trust, and one boring hour each week spent in itchy clothes at church, synagogue, or mosque? It lies in ruins at our feet, as well it might, since we ourselves kicked the shining city upon a hill into dust and rubble.” The likes of Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich were constantly barking up the wrong tree, particularly in their vendetta against the Clintons. “We impeached Clinton for lying to the government,” writes O’Rourke. “To our surprise the electorate gave us cold comfort. Lying to the government: It's called April 15th. And we accused Clinton of lying about sex, which all men spend their lives doing, starting at 15 bragging about things we haven't done yet, then on to fibbing about things we are doing, and winding up with prevarications about things we no longer can do.” But he has a kind word to say about those who brought the financial system crashing down on our heads. “The people on Wall Street never claimed to be public servants. They took no oath of office. They're in it for the money. We pay them to be in it for the money. We don't want our retirement accounts to get a 2 percent return. (Although that sounds pretty good at the moment.)” All both funny and true.