Slap Happy GOP

Why are the Republicans gleeful? They have suffered a total collapse of their governing majority over the last two national elections. They have one last slim bit of control, to filibuster in the senate, but with the Maine delegation not willing to throw away their seats in loyal opposition, that too is basically moot. They have no real power anymore, and demographically, all the trends are for this to continue. Yet they are giddy. It is clear that these Republicans are very happy to be out of power. Somewhere, deep in their subconscious, they know that they are not suited to solving economic crises. Their creed, that government is always the problem, that taxes are always bad, that spending, except on war, is always wrong, is just not relevant in a massive recession/depression. The Republicans are perfect railing against FDR, LBJ, and now BHO. They are happy to be out of power, because they know they want no part of what it will take, in terms of political capital, to try to fix this mess. We can all wring our hands about the size of the stimulus, the nature of the spending, the compromise on tax cuts. We all know it can fail, and we all know the Beltway types, and the slap happy GOP will be very quick to bury the effort. But I am with Obama in his effort, his guts, and his willingness to put his popularity and presidency on the line. He is fighting for a pro-active government, a federal government on the side of the environment, of children, of working people. He may not be able to get us there, but he is willing to articulate where he wants us to go. Let the GOP celebrate, if this economy turns around, they will be out of power for a generation.