Make no mistake, the Republicans have an extremist problem. This is the weakest GOP field in decades. Republicans would be well-advised to say goodbye to the nutcases and stop advocating torture, denying science and trying to destroy Medicare.

May 23, 2011 at 18:54:35

GOP has an extremist problem

By Brent Budowsky (about the author)

Now Rick Santorum attacks John McCain on the issue of torture. It is amazing -- a major party has a pro-torture wing. Santorum has the audacity to attack a war hero who knows more about torture than he will ever know. Now Santorum backs off, but we know what he really thinks.

This is revealing. The president who made excuses for torture allowed Osama bin Laden to escape from Tora Bora. The president who opposed torture ordered bin Laden's death.

Besides the pro-torture wing, the GOP has a global warming denier wing and a birther wing. The denier wing denies science, the birther wing denies the citizenship of the president.

Then there is the racist wing, a minority of the GOP that recently had its own candidate, who is a former bankrupt being sued in multiple states who ran for the Republican nomination questioning the president's birthplace and school grades.

Now we have the destroy-Medicare wing, which might be a majority of House Republicans, who want to eliminate one of the best and most popular programs in American history and replace it with windfall profits for insurers and devastating higher costs for seniors.

That wing was recently attacked by the Newt Gingrich wing. Gingrich said, correctly, the destroy-Medicare wing is radical, then backed off, though we know what he thinks.

Perhaps there is a secret Republican conspiracy to make Sarah Palin, who could not tell Katie Couric what newspapers she reads in the morning, look qualified.

What's worse? A torture advocate who attacks a war hero and former POW? A party that wants to destroy Medicare? A faction that denies science? A radical who calls a Republican plan radical? A former bankrupt who wants to run the nation's finances and then attacks China while he sells Chinese-made ties? A faction that denies the president's American birth?

There are some impressive Republicans, such as Jon Huntsman and Mitch Daniels, though the weirdo factions and hyper-partisan wings attack Hunstman for serving his country in a diplomatic post, and slime the wife of the most electable Republican to prevent him from running.

Even Mitt Romney, who once said he was more liberal than Ted Kennedy, who was claiming credit for the health-care mandate before claiming credit for being against it, is qualified to be president.

Make no mistake, the Republicans have an extremist problem. This is the weakest GOP field in decades. Republicans would be well-advised to say goodbye to the nutcases and stop advocating torture, denying science and trying to destroy Medicare.

Brent Budowsky is a regular columnist on thehill.com. He served as Legislative Assistant to U.S. Senator Lloyd Bentsen, responsible for commerce and intelligence matters, including one (more...)

The views expressed in this article are the sole responsibility of the author
and do not necessarily reflect those of this website or its editors.