GOP?

I have to admit that this was my first year following the mid-term elections or for that matter anything remotely having to do with politics. Originally it was an occupational hazard of taking a political science class which kind of meant knowing politics.

As things progress, I’ve begun to realize how little I knew—and how little it mattered to me even though there are decisions being made that could change my life . Sometimes in class when someone would mention an issue or a name I didn’t know much about, I would almost feel like I spent the first 20 years of my life in a vacuum totally oblivious to events that affect ,my life

So when the mid-term elections began, I found myself constantly looking up things that were previously unknown to me. And I’m not just talking issues and agendas.

Case in point. One thing that drove me nuts was when people kept referring to the Republican Party as the GOP. I’ve been hearing the term for years and probably even used it a few times—all without ever knowing what it stood for—figuratively and literally. Rather than take the normal approach and simply look it up on line I felt compelled to try and “Figure it out” on my own. After all considering who they put in the White House, how hard could it be?

So I started guess and came up with many definitions. General Opposition Republic, Great Obtuse Rational, George Orwell Renaissance (tribute to 1984), Get On Policy, German Ostracizing Place, and or as my father constantly says Get Out President. After looking at all these explanations I realized none of them made sense whatsoever.

So I threw what little pride I still had in the garbage and chose to look it up on line. Needless to say I felt like I what I was doing was the equivalent to looking up the word President. To sum it up this was a Political Science low—but one that I learnt from just the same.

So I logged onto Google and typed in the phrase “What does GOP stand for” then clicked “I’m feeling lucky” and struck gold.

The date of the search was November (3rd last week). Coincidentally CBS news had an article about this on the same day 4 years ago. It said that the majority of America does not know what GOP stands for. This meant one thing for me…… I’m not alone!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2002/12/03/politics/main531460.shtml

This was a mega relief for my political pride. But the article is as interesting as the saga itself. It said that the Wall Street Journal will stop using GOP when they refer to the Republican Party because many Americans don’t know what it means, therefore they will not know the article is about the Republican Party.

So what does GOP stand for? Well the widespread meaning is Grand Old Party. But Republicans say it means Gallant Old Party or Get Out and Push. These are stereotypical traits of the Republican Party. The Republican Party is a clichéd as old rich men drinking whisky (or bourbon) and laughing at the “working class”. They are also known for getting out there and just getting the job (aka their agenda)done. Whether its with campaigning when they make an ridiculously offensive ad, or with a policy they want, they get it their way because money talks way louder than democracy (except during this years election)

So to conclude I think we can realize the obvious from the acronym. The Republican Party insists on being referred to by this name, everywhere from their website to the White House. So we can see that the Republicans are indeed a Grand Old Party, unfortunately their interests are solely to benefit keeping the “guests” at this party “grand”. Hopefully the most recent election showed them that sooner than later would be a good time to start thinking about “expanding the guest list” --or soon they may not have much to “party” for.