The GOSPEL

Inspired by the title of this post over at Existence Is Identity, I propose that we replace the old nickname and acronym for the Republican Party -- Grand Old Party -- with a new one: Grand Old Spending Party Echoing Limbaugh. The GOSP-, from the title of the post mentioned earlier, reflects the party's newfound fiscal liberalism. The -EL reflects three qualities it shares with the iconic Rush Limbaugh: (1) By continuing to mouth empty pieties to capitalism and small government, the party formerly known as the GOP is "echoing Limbaugh". This is in the sense of the radio personality's penchant for noting reverberations of his pronouncements in the various news and internet media as "Limbaugh echoes". Too bad they don't mean these particular echoes. (2) The party's recently noted and escalating addiction to spending money further resembles Limbaugh's past addiction to painkillers. It is out of control and must be stopped. I'm sure that Mr. Limbaugh does not wish to be imitated in this fashion. (3) And finally, the party more and more succumbs to the religious right. Here, I part with Limbaugh: This, too, should stop.

This last is important enough to warrant repetition within the acronym as a whole: GOSPEL.

Barring the unlikely resurrection of the intellectually bankrupt Democrats, at least part of the ultimate cure may be, to use a Biblical reference, Solomonic: Split the party in two. And as with the Biblical story, the important part is not the verdict itself, but who would oppose it, and why.

-- CAV