Republicans and members of the TEA Party never admit the mistakes they have made; everything is always the fault of Democrats and President Obama. I believe the core problem is poor leadership. Someone should have stepped forward and become a voice for the ideals and principles of the GOP. Instead, it devolved into a party of extremists and a search for destruction replaced ideas which would enhance our nation’s future. The involvement of the TEA Party, or Freedom Caucus, and special interest groups including the Christian religious right and the NRA have divided the GOP and are the reason government is broken.

An article yesterday in the Washington Post by William M. Daley claims that the beginning of GOP dysfunction began with the vice-presidential nomination of Sarah Palin in 2008. It immediately became obvious that she was totally unqualified and that her knowledge and intelligence were insufficient for a position which placed her one heartbeat away from the presidency. However, I blame John McCain for his desperation. He had many good choices as his running mate, but he gambled with Palin and lost.

Mr. Daley is 100 percent correct when he said that the biggest mistake after the election was made by the Republican Party itself. He rightfully states that leadership should have been honest about the debacle and admitted to the American people the following: “This is not what our party stands for. We can and must do better.”

In 2000 I supported John McCain in the primaries. Questionable tactics by the Bush campaign ousted McCain from an opportunity to receive his party’s nomination. In 2008, and age becoming a concern, McCain was obviously aware that this was his final opportunity to seek his party’s nomination and reside in the White House. He allowed his ambition to replace sound judgement. When Palin couldn’t answer a simple question by Katie Couric about which newspapers she read, the campaign was doomed. Voters went to the polls facing the realization that if McCain were elected, and became incapacitated or even died in office, we would have a president who was unqualified to lead a Girl Scout troop.

Recently the majority of the GOP in Washington allowed a minority to blackmail the entire party. I do not consider John Boehner’s resignation a loss for the GOP, he was incapable of performing his job, but the manner in which and the reason why it occurred is somewhat frightening. The TEA Party has become increasingly disruptive and are nothing but unqualified extremists.

The mere fact that Palin and others of her ilk continue to be allowed to speak in front of and for the GOP proves a total lack of leadership. Witnessing Donald Trump and Ben Carson as the standard bearers for the GOP is equally unsettling. Being less qualified is not acceptable, but having no qualifications at all is unforgivable.

After the election Palin immersed herself into the ideology of the TEA Party. They had and have no ideas; they have but one philosophy, ‘never compromise.’ This is not how politics works in a democratic society.

Extremists revealed their hatred for the new black president, and the situation was fueled by Palin, Limbaugh, Coulter, O’Reilly, Hannity, Beck, Cheney, and many more. In a very short time the GOP lost its way. They presented no ideas and slipped farther down the road leading to special interest support and a lack of concern for the working class.

Failing to deliberate across the aisle resulted in the 113^th and 114^th becoming the least productive in history. Although Palin is part of the TEA Party, she alone is not to blame. One solution exists; the GOP must find a strong and aggressive leader. Then the TEA Party must no longer be funded in elections by the GOP and therefore become a third party. They are a time bomb waiting to explode and render our government forever broken.

Op-Ed

By James Turnage

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Photo Courtesy of DonkeyHotey