Why the GOP has to go away once and for all

Last night, after the networks had called Ohio for the president and it was clear Romney was going down, I posted my reaction on Facebook.

“The Republican Party is too damaged to recover from this loss. It has to do what the Whigs did in 1856: Throw in the towel. Dissolve. Form two new parties -- a moderate but progressive party that will attract centrist Democrats who are concerned their party is moving too far to the left, and another party where all the people who consider abortion to be the #1 issue facing America can gather together. The party of Lincoln, which was formed from the remnants of the Whigs, is kaput.”

I was blown away by the number of people who agreed with me.

I’ve been joking that I, who write a blog followed by fewer than 500 readers, am America’s Only Objective Journalist®. It’s my way of expressing disgust with the way the media have fawned over Obama, not holding him to the same standards of accountability to which it has held previous presidents, but I’ll come clean here: I’m a Democrat. Who voted for Romney.

Why? For the same, fundamental reason more people voted for Obama than for my candidate -- because Romney stood up for me, personally, just as Obama stood up for women, the poor, African-Americans, Hispanics, gays, et al.

Romney validated what I am -- a small business owner. He recognizes -- recognized -- the value of small businesses in terms of fueling our economy. And, for 30 years, I ran one. As much as I’d like to think I built it myself, I know full well I didn’t. I had a handful of incredibly talented, dedicated, hard-working, fiercely loyal employees who believed in me, and gave it their all. Without them, I would have been a freelance writer. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Romney got my vote because of the tone in Obama’s voice when he said, “You didn’t build that.” The disdain the president, who has never worked in the private sector, has for small business owners is unmistakable and disturbing. It was every bit as off-putting to me as Todd Akin’s comments on “legitimate rape” were to women. On social issues, I agree with the president. That’s why, years ago, I left the Republican Party and became a Democrat.

I hope the GOP, which is clearly under the control of people who don’t understand that most Americans are able to separate their religious beliefs from their political beliefs, will hold a meeting, vote to disband, and, from the ashes, form two new parties.

Akin, Michelle Bachmann, Rick Perry, Richard Mourdock, Rick Santorum, Sarah Palin and all their self-righteous cronies can form a Theocratic Party, hold conventions, wring their hands, pray and, for all I care, go straight to hell or, as the case may be, heaven. They’ll have a built-in constituency of voters who will assure their party stays in business – at least through the next few election cycles.

Those who are left can reach out to Americans like me, who think both the Democrats and Republicans have gone off the deep end, and form a new party that believes in fiscal responsibility and in respecting human rights and dignity.

That’s what the Whigs did in 1856 when its members were hopelessly divided between pro-slavery and anti-slavery factions. One of those new parties they founded was called the Republican Party.

Which, after freeing the slaves and accomplishing many other good things for which America is a better place, died of self-inflicted wounds on Nov. 6, 2012.