WASHINGTON, DC—Republican officials are blaming tonight's GOP losses on Democrats, who they claim have engaged in a wide variety of "aggressive, premeditated, anti-Republican campaigns" over the past six-to-18 months. "We have evidence of a well-organized, well-funded series of operations designed specifically to undermine our message, depict our past performance in a negative light, and drive Republicans out of office," said Republican National Committee chairman Ken Mehlman, who accused an organization called the Democratic National Committee of spearheading the nationwide effort. "There are reports of television spots, print ads, even volunteers going door-to-door encouraging citizens to vote against us." Acknowledging that the "damage has already been done," Mehlman is seeking a promise from Democrats to never again engage in similar practices.
Says Atrios:
This is barely satire. I've seen wingnuts say stuff like this.
He's right, this is basically the message that many Republicans have sent out: that Democrats, by running for office and trying to go from the minority to the majority party, are unpatriotic and have somehow crossed a line by criticizing Republicans. If you oppose the party, you oppose the US, so to speak. It's a vein of thinking that really permeates the GOP. I remember at the beginning of the Iraq war, many Republicans (and MSM commentators) began saying "You know, it's fine to criticize the war before it starts, but once it starts then you have to show your support." The consequence of which is that all you have to do to justify a war is start it. Starting it ends all the discussion. Similarly, it is unpatriotic to question or challenge the party of power during war, by their thinking. Put this together and you have a recipe for permanent power. Start a war, call those who criticize it traitors because they don't support the war, and make any criticism of the governing party a criticism of the country itself, which is unpatriotic. They tried to make the Republican Party synonymous with America, so that any criticism of it and its endeavours is unpatriotic. What Americans did on Tuesday is tell them, loud and clearly, you don't speak for us. The GOP is not America.
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