This past day has been given over to the idea that the GOP, the Grand Olde Party, The Republican Party is finished.  Buried under the Democratic avalanche of voter retribution.  I even promoted it with my choice of several images attached to several articles that essentially or expressly stated as much on the current front page of Freedom's Phoenix. 
Well, first let me concede for this editorial the idea that everyone's votes were actually counted.  I do not want to argue that point here.  But for many months the GOP blood bath was obvious.  Taxpayers were furious with the Republicans. Republicans were furious with the Republicans. Government tit suckers -- a majority of Americans -- were not particularly grateful to the GOP as well.  Toss into that the anti-war crowd and the civil libertarians, and that adds up to election defeats no matter how many 'save marriage from homos' and 'save babies from abortionists' initiatives you place on the ballots. 

 

It doesn't help matters much that the captain of your team is reviled and despised by many members of the team.

 

But does this drubbing at the polls, this massive wave of discontent with a Party that had control of the purse strings for twelve years, control of the Executive branch for eight years, and control of the Judicial branch even now signal the end of the Republican Party?

The world sure does like its sports.  Soccer seems to be the main one that caught on globally.  Every nation seems to have its soccer teams, and they even have a national team that they compete against other nations for pride and some sort of prize.  The formula for most sporting events is the same.  Two athletes or two groups of athletes take the field and battle it out.  Oh, there are events where individuals take the field in groups to compete against each other to demonstrate whom is the best.  But I wanted to discuss soccer... or baseball, basketball, hockey, football for that  matter.  Two teams compete, one wins, the other loses.  But both return to play again, and again.  Neither completely defeats the other.  Both teams agree to play by a set of rules.

Can you imagine what the game would look like if three teams, four teams, five teams, six teams ... took the field and played each other at the same time?  What fun?  What chaos? 

Well, in many parts of the world you have such a system of politics and elections.  Where a hundred different political parties and individuals may be on the ballot competing for a single office.  But in America, our system quickly adapted itself into the familiar and logical two tribe system.  Good and Evil.  Yin and Yang. Black and White.  Us and Them.  With everybody lining up on either side of the rope and pulling to see who would get dragged through the muck flowing in between.  Simple.  Tribal.  Efficient.

There have almost always been two parties in American politics.  Oh, there have been "third parties" -- groups usually formed to espouse a single issue -- that have had varying success in promoting their cause for a few years before they fade away.  But actually spoiling the game of either of the two parties, well that is quite rare.  In fact, both of the parties have logically used the rule book that they write to make sure no other team can ever threaten their political domination.

Democrats NEED Republicans, like Republicans NEED Democrats.  They take the field to battle with one another over who controls your wallets and lives, and one of them comes away with the prize while the other gets a fairly generous consolation prize for agreeing to compete.

And whether you agreed to participate or not, you my dear readers get the sports fan's thrill of cheering on your team, and booing the other team on a national stage with all kinds of entertainment.  It is the only thrill allowed.  And all it costs you is everything you own or ever will own.

So is the Republican Party dead?  How could it be?  The Democrats won't let it die.  If need be, a poorly performing team can always change its name.  Dump some managers and players.  Get some new players.  Even arrange a trade with the Democrats.  All in the spirit of competition; two team competition.  Why it could become the Libertarian Party.  Yes, I can see it now, The New Libertarian Party formed from the ashes of the Republican Party nobly locked hand in hand in the grand game of political combat with the Democratic Party.  Wrangling to secure your wallets and your lives in the best traditions of political parties of old.  And everyone cheering them on.  God, how we love to be distracted by our sports.

Pepsi or Coke '10.