It was interesting to watch General Powell’s endorsement. It is clear that Powell thinks the modern Republican Party has stretched way beyond where he’s willing to go in terms of its race rightward. The concerns he laid out about the current GOP extend from the selection of Gov. Sarah Palin as VP, to the prospect of two more conservative judges on the Supreme Court, to the steady increase of Islamophobic fear-mongering that has characterized the Party since 9/11. Now, it is fair to say that Powell — himself always a rather moderate Republican — may have simply been pushed off the edge as the party lines shift direction. And the Republican base will not take his defection as a repudiation, because Powell is precisely the type of fellow that they want out of the Party anyway. The purification process may soon give the GOP the unanimity of a political graveyard, but God help them if they aren’t redoubling their efforts to excommunicate the insufficiently-zealous.
UPDATE: Good Lord, it’s been formatting hell on this post!