GOP Goes Goofy

It's become almost impossible to tell if you're reading the news or an Onion parody these days, but this is apparently real. The RNC wants to rename the Democratic Party

A conservative faction of the Republican National Committee is urging the GOP to take a harder line against both Democrats and wayward Republicans, drafting a resolution to rename the opposition the “Democrat Socialist Party” and moving to rebuke the three Republican senators who supported the stimulus package.

It seems to me they've already done that unofficially and it's unclear how they intend to force the Democrats to adopt it. As the Kool Tweeps say these days -- laughing and pointing. Meanwhile, on a related note, the GOPers are threatening to go all obstructionist if the Democrats use reconciliation to pass health care reform. Among their threatened tactics:

The GOP might first go after White House nominations. Republicans could require each appointee to get a separate hearing and a separate roll call vote. They could stop attending committee hearings, and decline to provide "unanimous consent" to move forward on even the most benign issues or routine Senate business. Republicans could also demand that the text of bills, which are often hundreds of pages long, be read aloud.

Not sure anyone would notice the difference from what they're doing already and I actually love that last bit. I've been thinking for a long time reading the bills into the record should be required. I hope the Democrats are smart enough to call their bluff and let them go through with it. Guaranteed self-destruction.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]