Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: Variations on a failed Republican party

Maintained by: David Wasserman @Redistrict

Bob Cesca on failure of the GOP base to adjust to losing:

In the wake of the election, there's no doubt the Republican Party is capable of making some adjustments to rebrand itself. If nothing else, the party has demonstrated its proclivity for sloganeering and marketing and there are plenty of ways it can adjust its messaging. But it's obvious to anyone paying attention that the base simply won't allow the party to change in any meaningful way.

Robert Shrum on the failure of the GOP House on fiscal cliff negotiations:

The fiscal cliff fight can play out in different ways'but in any scenario, the Bush tax rates for the rich are gone. Obama may make some concessions to the GOP, but he'll end up victorious, just as he did in November, says Robert Shrum.

Joe Conason on failure of the GOP to own up to failed policy:

If President Obama honestly wants to negotiate an agreement with Republicans before the year-end fiscal deadline, he must be deeply frustrated. And if he doesn't really want to negotiate with them, then he should be delighted, for the same reason: Their latest "offer" laid before him by House Speaker John Boehner demonstrates again their refusal to reveal their true intentions ' and their inability to do simple arithmetic.

Jonathan Alter on Senate Republican's sanity failure:

Cruelty, fear, cowardice, xenophobia and disrespect invaded the inner sanctum of the U.S. government this week, bringing embarrassment and dishonor to what was once the greatest deliberative body in the world: the U.S. Senate.

On Dec. 4, former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole, an 89- year-old Republican whose right arm was shattered in combat during World War II, was wheeled into the Senate chamber by his wife to rally support for a United Nations treaty that should have been entirely unobjectionable.

Reid Wilson on the Republican campaign failure:

In the wake of unexpected losses last month, Republicans are going through the classic stages of grief. Some are denying that conservatism was their downfall. Most are depressed at the prospect of another four years of an Obama administration. A few, including some pollsters who missed the mark badly, are bargaining to keep their jobs. All are angry ' at the results, at the fact that they didn't see it coming, and at the position in which the party now finds itself: badly trailing Democrats when it comes to the technological and political savvy required to run and win campaigns.

Many Republicans say that there is a skills gap between the two parties, based on neglect within their own ranks and advances on the Democratic side. Acceptance, and adapting to overcome the deficit, will be critical to rebuilding the Grand Old Party.

Mark Thoma on failure of supply-side economics:

Why the GOP Won't Admit Supply-Side Econ Has Failed

The failure of Republicans to deliver on their promise that tax cuts would be mostly self-financing is a large factor in the deterioration in our long-run fiscal outlook, and it is putting considerable pressure on programs such as Social Security. In fact, the Bush tax cuts can be thought of as a loan from the Social Security Trust Fund that was supposed to be paid back with the revenues from higher economic growth, a loan that is presently in default.

Greg Dworkin on failure of Citizen's United decision:

America remains a Golden Rule country. Those that have the gold make the rules. Thanks to the Supreme Court's meddling and bungling of the Citizen's United decision, the only way to lower money spent on campaigns now is to lose a string of expensive ones. Small donors will be motivated to give when big donors threaten to buy the election, so less campaign money by big donors likely means less campaign giving by everyone.

The money spent on this campaign will perhaps teach a few oh-so-smart billionaires that their strategy was terrible and their return-on-investment was poor. It certainly made no one feel sorry for them, which actually helps Obama pass his tax proposals for those on the high end scale. It also helps Democrats run on the inequality issue (see definition of Golden Rule). Of course, the big money boys and girls remain unaccountable for their poor business/political decisions and will simply forward the costs to everyone else. After wasting everyone's money, for example, Karl Rove will just get another job doing it again.

I suggest all that Masters of the Universe money would be better spent studying up on Henry Ford, who raised his workers' wages so they could buy his cars. If they learned that lesson, it'd be a win-win for America.