Rats Jumping Off The Ship

A few days ago I wrote about Matthew Dowd (the President's chief campaign strategist for his reelection... the one who told him to ignore the country at large and just rile up the base) speaking out in newfound opposition to the failed leadership of his old boss, and now another former true believer throws in the towel.

Former GOP campaign operative-- and friend to the Bush and Cheney families-- Vic Gold has a book coming out entitled "Invasion of the Party Snatchers: How the Holy-Rollers and the Neo-Cons Destroyed the GOP" (note: Mr. Dowd, however, hasn't written a book; he's just speaking out in general). Here's what he has to say about the Grand Old Party nowadays-

..."For all the Rove-built facade of his being a 'strong' chief executive, George W. Bush has been, by comparison to even hapless Jimmy Carter, the weakest, most out of touch president in modern times," Gold writes. "Think Dan Quayle in cowboy boots."

Gold is even more withering in his observations of Cheney. "A vice president in control is bad enough. Worse yet is a vice president out of control."...

OMG!!1!! What a moonbat!!

The article also notes-

Under Bush and Cheney, he argues, the GOP has moved away from principles of small government, prudent foreign policy and leaving people alone to live their private lives — all views Gold associates with his hero, Goldwater. "Invasion of the Party Snatchers" makes plain Gold's contempt for the direction of his party and the guidance of its leaders.

Bold added by me... because I need to point out that Bush/Cheney may have exasperated those problems, but the larger fact is that the GOP hasn't believed in any of those things since the 1970s at the latest.

The Bush/Cheney crew have been the worst by far, but they just took what their recent predecessors started and took it to its most grandiose, incompetent, and undemocratic extreme. Until former Bush agonistes like Mr. Dowd and Gold acknowledge that, the GOP will never be able to fix itself.

[PS- White House reaction to Dowd? Ignore him, he's obviously psychologically disturbed.]