Simple and cynical

Tomasky points to some fairly arcane but very interesting stuff about congressional rules where Republicans are just better at putting Democrats in an embarrassing position such as forcing them to vote in support of flag burners (of the horror). Democrats, he notes, are not less cynical, but our issues are more complex--and the Republican base is crazy.

Democrats, in contrast, get all hot and bothered by things like the fourth and fifth amendments. Imagine if they forced an up-or-down that amounted to, do you support the fourth and fifth amendments? Republicans would just vote no, and not only would they pay no price, they'd rally their base like crazy.

And this very good point:

"No fits on a bumper sticker. So does No Socialism, Kill Terrorists, Protect the Flag and so on. Protect the Flag But Also Protect Freedom of Speech and the Right to Protest doesn't really fit on a bumper sticker."

Republicans have a responsibility to try to educate their base on the complexity of the issues we face. But they don't want to, and the base agrees. They seem to prefer outright falsehoods about Obama to anything true. Grownup Republicans, this is your job. You won't become Democrats, and that is fine. But you can't stay Republicans if you don't stop the crazies from running it. As a Facebook friend noted, normal Republicans will find their numbers are dwindling.