Colin Powell: GOP has a "dark vein of intolerance"

After decades of being the quintessential "team player" or loyal soldier for the GOP, Colin Powell has opened up to express his current concerns regarding the Republican party.

So, Mr. Powell, please tell us what you really think.

Colin Powell did more than defend Defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel on Sunday morning TV. The former secretary of State also strongly condemned his Republican Party, calling it out for a "dark vein of intolerance."

"There's also a dark – a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party. What do I mean by that? I mean that by that that they still sort of look down on minorities," Powell said. "When I see a former governor [Sarah Palin] say that the President is 'shuckin' and 'jivin,' that's racial era slave term. Another former governor [John Sununu] after the president's first debate where he didn't do very well, says that the president was lazy … now it may not mean anything to most Americans, but to blacks, the second word is shiftless and then there's a third word that goes along with that


Why do senior Republican leaders tolerate this kind of discussion within the party?” he asked.

"I think the Republican Party right now is having an identity problem and I'm still a Republican," Powell said on NBC's Meet the Press, as he lamented a "significant shift to the right" that has resulted in losing presidential campaigns in 2008 and 2012.

"If it's just going to represent the far right wing of the political spectrum, I think the party is in difficulty," said Powell, who said he voted for a GOP presidential candidate seven times in a row before voting for President Obama twice. "I'm a moderate, but I'm still a Republican."  source

Powell could not be more correct: The far right wing, via a coup de etat, has overthrown the mainstream GOP establishment. In an effort to resurrect the party of Ron Reagan they have morphed into the party of Rush Limbaugh. And since the GOP controls the House of Representatives, by default, the Tea Party wackos are driving the House agenda.

The far right is obstructing or blocking sane gun control legislation, economic recovery, Wall Street regulations, immigration reform, American infrastructure investment and the list goes on. And with these truly morally and mentally imbalanced folks calling shots (just think Allen West and Michele Bachmann types) America's future remains in a tenuous position -- up the creek without a paddle.

Even as we speak, Tea Baggers are calling for another economic shut down unless President Obama and the Democratic congress concedes to GOP demands that were soundly rejected in the 2012 election.

Hopefully, the GOP grown-ups can restore order in their asylum. If not, my fellow Americans, we have 2014 (mid-term elections) to show these clowns our collective disgust and rage.