The GOP Is Dying. Even In Power, They Have Stopped Effectively Legislating

On the evening of July 14, 2016, crowds gathered in crowds along the seashore road in Nice, France to enjoy the annual Bastille Day celebration. And in the middle of the celebration, a crazed Islamist drove a 19 ton truck down the boulevard, sending people flying like bowling pins before finally being killed by the police. The tragedy was officially labeled as an act of terrorism.

Pop Quiz! If the same thing were to happen tomorrow along Ocean Boulevard in Miami Beach, what would you call it? Well, if Florida GOP Governor Ron Pissantis decided that the crowd was a rioting mob, they’d call it civil liability exempt behavior!

That’s right. Pissantis just signed a law that exempts drivers from running over protesters who just happen to be standing in the street. Not only that, but the same law also says that it only takes three fucking people to be considered a mob. So, if you’re sitting at a stop light, and there are eight people crossing the street, go ahead, plow on through! You can always just claim that they were an unruly mob! Under the new Florida law, you can’t be sued for personal injury or damages.

It’s not just in Florida either. In GOP controlled states all over the country, GOP legislators are now passing new, restrictive laws governing the ability to protest. And the simple fact  the matter is that not a man-jackin’ one of them can stand up to a federal court challenge!

Because each and every one of these laws tries to restrict the ability of American citizens to gather in public places to speak their minds. That is in direct violation of the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Everybody always keeps thinking of the First Amendment by it’s opening salvo, the right of free speech for every citizens. But that same amendment also allows for the right of free assembly by US citizens in public places. And that is what the GOP is trying to restrict, the right to peaceful assembly in public places.

The GOP is dying as a party. If I were a GOP controlled legislature, with my party bleeding support and voters, and I wanted to turn things around, I would try like hell to pass laws based on sound conservative principles, move the state forward in a positive direction, and show that conservative governance can work.

But the problem is that today’s GOP doesn’t have any guiding principles, nor do they have a legislative agenda. As Trump crystalized the Republican party further and further into an us vs them mentality, The GOP has retreated back into its shell and begun once again to deal exclusively with the whims of their white, racist, evangelical base.

And it’s not working. A recent poll showed that 40% of registered voters aligned themselves as either Democrats, or independents leaning Democratic. Only 29% identified as Republican or leaning GOP. And a poll released today showed that 55% of independents would never vote for Trump again while only 37% said that they would vote for him again. The base be damned, most of the country is more than ready to move on from Trump.

The GOP is dying. I mean, the entire purpose of a political party is to get the most like minded individuals together in order to push a common agenda. But the GOP has no agenda, and they have no principles, conservative or otherwise. Unless someone steps in and turns this around, the GOP will continue to spiral into irrelevancy. Which would be tragic, because we need two functional opposing parties to maintain balance in government. Don’t touch that dial.

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