The Republican Party Class War

David Brooks is among several conservative columnists -- like George Will and Kathleen Parker -- who came out against McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as a running mate, something we've discussed quite a bit on the show (and in the clip below). As the McCain-Palin rallies become more angry and hate-filled, Brooks is now saying McCain, Palin and the Republican Party have stoked a class war, noting that Palin's attacks on intellectualism and educated people are attacks on many Republicans as well. He charts a bit of the history of this in the party (though doesn't admit that he and others allowed it to fester over a long period of time, as long as it benefited them and the Republican Party).

Suddenly, the ugliness that conservative elites stoked for years is coming home to roost, with all of its racism, homophobia, jingoism and ignorance. The people the party inspired with hate are now literally attacking McCain himself at his rallies, booing him for not pumping out more hate. At an event last week Brooks called Palin a "fatal cancer on the Republican Party." (Someone remarked, rightly, that, no, she is just a tumor; the cancer began long ago). We discussed much of this on the show on Friday, after first playing a clip from people interviewed at a McCain Palin rally. Below is a clip of a bit of that discussion from the show.