Extremist Republicans Provide Reasons To Vote Contrary To Polling Predictions

If the vote turns out as predicted in the polls, the Republican Party should take control of the House and possibly the Senate. There are some factors which might keep this from coming about, including the facts that even those saying they plan to vote Republican have a very low view of the GOP and  so many of the Republican candidates are bat-shit crazy.

Many of the candidates are extremists who hold views which no thinking, rational person should support. The Republican candidates often hold views denying evolution, denying the scientific consensus on climate change, denying our heritage of separation of church and state, and opposing abortion even in cases of rape or incest. While such extremist views have become commonplace as the GOP has moved increasingly far to the right, some of their candidates continue to make statements which a few years ago might have been surprising, and which fortunately are not yet held by all Republicans. Here are two examples of Republicans who advocate extreme measures if they do not get their way, demonstrating hostility towards our system of separation of powers and hostility towards the democratic process.

One Republican candidate advocates defunding the Supreme Court if they don’t approve of its decisions:

CONSTITUENT: Keith, I have a question concerning the courts. It seems that the courts are having the final say on these matters, the Supreme Court. But isn’t it the Congress that can ultimately override the Supreme Court, the checks and balances?

ROTHFUS: Yeah, there are different checks and balances you can do. Congress’s ultimate weapon is funding. If the Supreme Court rules you have to do something, we’ll just take away funding for it. You can always pass a constitutional amendment. I myself have several amendments I’m thinking of. One is to tell the Supreme Court that when you consider American constitutional principles, American constitutional rights, you cannot rely on foreign law to adjudicate those. We have certain members of the Court who want to draw from Europe, and draw from Europe, Europe, and Europe. They’ll never want to draw from Saudi Arabia or something. They talk about these international evolving standards of decency, and they’re always talking about western Europe, which is dying. They want to incorporate really socialist principles into our constitutional regime.

Another Republican candidate even called for violent overthrow of the government:

Republican congressional candidate Stephen Broden stunned his party Thursday, saying he would not rule out violent overthrow of the government if elections did not produce a change in leadership.

In a rambling exchange during a TV interview, Broden, a South Dallas pastor, said a violent uprising “is not the first option,” but it is “on the table.” That drew a quick denunciation from the head of the Dallas County GOP, who called the remarks “inappropriate.”

Comments from the current leadership are not this extreme, but serious voters might still have qualms about voting for Republicans when a membership of the leadership states that compromise is not on the table:

Republicans aren’t interested in compromising with President Obama on major issues if they retake the House or Senate, a senior GOP lawmaker said.

“Look, the time to go along and get along is over,” said Rep. Mike Pence (Ind.), the chairman of the House Republican Conference. “House Republicans know that. We’ve taken firm and principled stands against their big government plans throughout this Congress, and we’ve got, if the American people will send them, we’ve got a cavalry of men and women headed to Washington, D.C. that are going to stand with us.”

Pence said his party wouldn’t compromise on issues like spending or healthcare reform, two of the weightiest items on Congress’s agenda next year, when the Republicans could control one or both chambers.

With Republicans holding views such as these, hopefully once they get into the voting booth voters will have second thoughts about voting for Republicans. Perhaps the prospect of such people taking control of Congress will even get some of those unenthusiastic Democrats to turn out to vote.