Republican Nihilism Has Infected The Entire Party

David Gergen used to be the attractive public face of partisan Republican seriousness, so much so that he won pundit status and was sought after everywhere for his opinion. His latest column, however, regarding what he believes is Obama's overreach, struck me as so detached from reality, so nihilistic, so blind to obvious facts, that it must be viewed as Exhibit #1 in highlighting the complete bankruptcy of the Republican Party. Because if David Gergen is no longer capable of coherent thought, what can we think about everyone else in the party?

There just aren't any serious people left in the Republican Party. Last week, Obama and Geithner gave a detailed version of their opening position in the Fiscal Cliff negotiations, in the hope of teasing out a serious response from the GOP. Obama and Geithner gravely misread the situation. There will be no response, other than a temper tantrum. The Republicans no longer have anyone capable of detailing a coherent reply. They are children who no longer possess the cognitive skills. They were so used to overawing their opponents over the last generation that they don't know how to respond to a situation regarding thought and skill. So, off the Cliff we will go!

Gergen suggests that Obama is unreasonable in even thinking that Susan Rice might be a good Secretary of State. Why would Gergen think that? All Obama wants is the right to decide who his administration's nominees should be (rather than first passing muster Republican Senators like John McCain and Lindsey Graham). You know, the same right all Presidents should have, and have always had in American history (until this 'Benghazi' thing). Everyone knows why McCain and Graham are promoting Massachusetts Senator John Kerry so hard for the post: because they reason that recent GOP Massachusetts senatorial candidate Scott Brown could pick up the empty seat cheap and easy in a special election. In other words, a typical, cheeseball Washington power play.  Why should Obama play into their hands?

And remember, unless action is taken, we will sail off the Fiscal Cliff! Obama isn't 'pushing' anyone over the Cliff. These events were set in motion by George W. Bush a decade ago with the legislative maneuvers required to pass his initial tax cuts. It's a lot like rafting towards Niagara Falls in a barrel. If no one takes action, sailing over the Cliff is inevitable. No pushing required! Obama isn't trying to humiliate anyone: he is simply pointing out that the tax barrel is in a river of time that will inevitably spill over the Falls. If pointing out the obvious now counts as humiliation to the childish GOP, there truly is no hope for the party:

Instead of turning the GOP willingness to deal on taxes into a win-win, the White House seemingly wants to humiliate them by insisting they cave entirely on increasing tax rates -- or take responsibility for going over the cliff. Instead of sitting down and negotiating directly with leaders from the other side in private getaways, as presidents like Lyndon Johnson and Ronald Reagan did, the president launches a campaign-style offensive against them.

The proposal that Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner put before Republicans on Thursday, as reported by The New York Times, was clearly intended to score political points with Democrats rather than entice Republicans into serious negotiations. It was full of nonstarters. One example: It demanded that Republicans lock in to $1.6 trillion of higher taxes in December and in exchange said that spending cuts one-quarter that size would be the subject of talks next year. Come again?

...Old White House hands from the GOP side -- people who like our Presidents to succeed --are privately warning that if the White House and allied Democrats keep pushing so hard-fisted on deficits, Susan Rice and Senate filibuster rules, relations with Republicans on the Hill will become even more poisonous in the next four years than in the past.