Whither the GOP?

Or should that operative word be "Wither?"

One of the fine people over at DailyKos crafted this new logotype for the Republican Party in order to better exemplify its rather retrograde movement over the past two electoral cycles. I'm not saying that I or my fellow Republicans have their brains in their tails (although some members of the Taliban Wing act like they have the same basic brain structure as planarians), but you can't argue with certain facts.

Like the Party's current philosophical leader, Rush Limbaugh, the Party has become extremist, bloated in its own excesses and only willing to puff itself up even larger with gargantuan helpings of its own increasingly crazy rhetoric. So far we've heard members of this New GOP calling Obama Socialist, Fascist (both mutually exclusive terms, by the way), gay (which is a really interesting meme to try and bruit about), anti-American and - well, everything but the N-word.

Some of their lesser commentators go farther than that.

And if you want to argue with me about Limbaugh being the New Party Philosopher, a la Alfred Rosenberg, allow me to point out all of the GOP politicians and bigwigs who've had to publicly apologize to this globulous fraud whenever they say anything that might contradict the Party line's he laid down.

And the 'mainstream' (read: Not Quite As Stupid) brain trust that's assembled to find a "new direction" for the Party - consisting of fresh thinkers like Gingrich, Bush (Jeb!), and McCain - is currently having to tread very carefully in order to avoid the fire-breathing wrath of the Taliban Wing.

You really can't blame them, though - the Taliban Wing, I mean.

They slavishly stuck to George W Bush like gum to his bootheels, as they did to Their One True God Reagan, in hopes that their theocratic Christian Iran dream could be realized. They feel betrayed and they're likely to take it out on anyone in the Party establishment who dares try to moderate their views on such social issues as gay marriage, abortion and women's rights - issues that the bulk of the American electorate are not conservative on.

Five states - with more on the way - are passing laws to allow same-gender marriage, and it's only a matter of time before some wiseass takes a "full faith and credit" suit before the US Supreme Court in a landmark case that will make such civil liberty monuments as Roe v Wade and Lawrence v Texas look like minor squabbles.

The vast majority of the American people think that abortion and a woman's right of reproductive choice is and should remain the law of the land.

And the ancient idea that a woman should not vote, should stay in the house, and should only be a chattel servant to "her man" is long dead except in the hearts, hopes and dreams of certain people in the Taliban Wing of the GOP.

I wrote a letter a while back to GOP Chairman Michael Steele, urging him to purge the Party of these extremists. Let them go their own way and they'll soon wither away and die off.

Much like the dinosaur that has become the new face of the once-Grand Old Party.