the party of no gets its just desserts

We are approaching the mark of Obama's first 100 days in office and. Pretty soon, the media will be weighing in with report cards to grade not only Obama but Congress on what they've been doing since the new president was sworn in. Some news agencies are taking it straigh to the people in the court of public opinion. In a recent WaPo/ABC News poll, 69% of respondants approve of Obama as president. Almost 70% of people approve of what Obama is doing internationally, particularly with the war in Iraq.   Nearly 60% of people polled approved of what Obama is doing for the economy.  Congress as usual got low approval ratings, but the ratings were much lower for Republicans (45% for Dems vs 30% for GOP).

What I thought was particularly interesting was that the poll revealed that fewer people (than ever in the history of this particular poll) consider themselves Republican. Only 21% of respondants identified as such (vs. 39% for Dems).

I usually take polls with a grain of salt unless they tell me what I want to hear. Granted, the hardcore liberal in me is doing a little happy dance over this poll. Given the context of current events, I am completely not surprised by the results.

[Total aside, but I'm completely surprised that Obama got such high marks, especially in light of those tea parties (aka Obama hate fests) two weeks ago. This only goes to show what I've suspected all along--the crazies on both sides make the loudest noise.]

So, let's talk about how the GOP got here. Well, first off, there was 8 years of Bush 2. Then there was that whole 2008 election debacle, resulting in Democrat majorites in both chambers of Congress. And then there was the race for RNC chair (Michael Steele vs. the guy behind the 'Barack the Magic Negro song' and the guy who had been in an All-White country club but quit before running). And then there were Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh complaining up a storm, spreading their hate, and NOT OFFERING ANY SOLUTIONS. And then there were the Republicans in Congress, refusing to vote for anything Obama supported. And then the GOP governors started refusing stimulus dollars despite their states' rising unemployment rate. And then there was/is the use of those Karl Rovian scare tactics which most Americans seem to be immune to now.

And then there's this poll.  Americans just said no to the Party of No.

I'm not going to put that much weight on this poll, but the truth cannot be denied--the GOP is on a decline. They are the Party of No, the party against change (and not just Obama's Change™ but any change). The party is led by a bunch of old white men (Michael Steele will not lead until he grows a pair) that refuse to change or adapt to the changing political landscape. The party is split in two: there's the Old Guard (led by Rush Limbaugh) and the New Guard (led by--dare I say it--Meghan McCain). And the Old Guard is currently in charge of the Party and refuses to listen to those young whippersnappers in the New Guard.

So how will the GOP change? The New Guard needs to find some strength (in numbers) and be heard.

If the GOP doesn't change? Well, then, the GOP presidential ticket in 2012 will be Palin/Limbaugh.

And, being the proud Dem that I am, I totally won't have a problem with that.