Grand Old Party not so grand anymore

Jaime Carrillo

Even as a guy who doesn’t like parties, I get melancholy when one ends. Sen. John McCain probably gets the same feeling, considering his own party is slowly collapsing into itself.

 Because of the government shutdown McCain’s party so effectively orchestrated, the GOP has the lowest approval rating since the Gallup Poll started gauging popularity in 1994. As of Oct. 14, the Republican party has an approval rating of 28 percent among Americans polled. 

The poll was taken Oct. 3-6, right on the heels of Sen. Ted Cruz’s 21-hour long psychosis strained screed. However, McCain is doing his best to save face as he watches his party slowly but surely crumble.

 If you missed McCain’s scolding, it was quite a sight.

 “Let’s have a little straight talk, Martha,” said McCain to Fox News anchor Martha MacCallum in an interview Oct. 10. “We started this on a fool’s errand, convincing so many millions of Americans and our supporters that we could defund Obamacare.”

 Of course, because McCain was in the truth void that is Fox News, MacCallum couldn’t accept the reality that Obamacare would not become defunded.

 “Well, we’ll see,” said MacCallum. It justifiably prompted McCain to laugh in a “you’re so delusional it’s almost adorable” manner. McCain also echoed in the interview, despite his own disapproval of Obamacare, President Barack Obama ran on health care reform and won the election in 2012.

 “We fought as hard as we could in a fair and honest manner and we lost,” McCain said, recounting the recent presidential election. “One of the reasons was because we were in the minority, and in democracies, almost always, the majority governs and passes legislation.”

 Still, the majority of McCain’s party remains in a vacuum of ignorance. McCain’s colleagues couldn’t wait to pounce on his recent scolding of the government shutdown. Texas Rep. Louis Gohmert spouted off Friday Oct. 10 at the Values Voter Summit. 

On a side note, “What is Values Voter Summit” would be the Jeopardy style answer to “A collective more obscene and god-awful than The Legion of Doom and Three’s Company reruns combined.” 

 “[McCain is] A guy that liked Qadaffi before he wanted to bomb him,” Gohmert began. “A guy that liked Mubarak before he wanted him out, a guy that’s been to Syria and supported Al-Qaeda and rebels…he was saying today the shutdown has been a fool’s errand and I agree with him. President Barack Obama and Sen. Harry Reid should not have shut this government down.”

 Of course, because he was at the Values Voter Summit, connecting McCain – distinguished senator and war hero – to terrorists was met with applause. I wish I could put a quip here, but really, the action is far too shameful for words. 

McCain (hopefully) takes control of his party and builds it back up smarter once it’s died a dog’s death, I only wish he demands satisfaction from his colleagues, preferably in a dark alley.