In a recent commentary, I noted that during the past three decades the Republican Party has been jerked from its historic position of mere conservatism… to right-wingism… to today’s kooky crackpotism.
The media establishment, however, doesn’t want us to notice this ideological devolution, so it’s still referring to the current crop of corporate-funded, hate-the-government extremists as “conservatives.” Trying to squeeze this bunch into that moderate concept is a worse fit than trying to dress a bull in a pink tutu. So I asked you readers to give us a more honest term for them – and you promptly generated hundreds of apt monikers!
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Many of your suggestions play off the Republican brand itself, including Republicons, Republicants, Repugnicans, and Replutocrats. Others went straight to the convoluted ideological twist being propounded by the right-wing Republican mutants, offering such names as Regressives, Paleocons, Destructivists, Theocans and Kleptocans.
Then there were entries based on the discombobulated distortions of the new know-nothings, including Confusionistas, Confabulists, Fearists, Naybobbers, Suppressionists, Munchkins of Mayhem, and the old Spiro Agnew phrase: Nattering Nabobs of Negativism. Less friendly were several labels referring to the fact that deep down, a bunch of this year’s GOP stalwarts are shallow – a fact captured by such names as Delusionaries, AbsurdiTeaists, Ignorazzi, Moronicans, Knuckle-draggers and Jingofunditarians.
The unabashed willingness of the candidates to front for the corporate agenda also produced vivid offerings, such as Corporativists, Corpservatists, The Forked Tongues, and Scroogicans. Ooo, Scroogicans – that’s even fun to say!
Good job, people. Thanks for sharing.
“Hundreds” of emails from listeners and readers.
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