General Colin Powell, former Secretary of State, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, former National Security Advisor and former man of logic and rationality, etc. has become something of a condescending blowhard.

In an interview with CNN, Powell – speaking about the Republican Party – said:

I think the party has to take a hard look at itself.  There is nothing wrong with being conservative.  There is nothing wrong with having socially conservative views — I don’t object to that. But if the party wants to have a future in this country, it has to face some realities. In another 20 years, the majority in this country will be the minority.

Clearly, this great man thinks the Republican Party needs to become – what? – Democrat Lite – in order to survive.  He seems to believe that one needs to appease in order to be valid.  Change your thoughts, your values to match those of the people you are trying to reach.

Well… considering that 25% of the world’s population is Muslim, would General Powell suggest the United States military abandon the Constitution and, instead, adopt the Koran in order to recruit more troops?

Powell also said the Party used “polarization for political advantage.”  The polarization of which he speaks is a criticism of Sarah Palin for “talking about how small town values are good.  Well,” he said, “most of us don’t live in small towns.  And I was raised in the South Bronx, and there’s nothing wrong with my value sytem from the South Bronx.”

Governor Palin never said there was a problem with South Bronx values.  She was using “small town” as a metaphor for simpler times when people were more civil to each other.  If she had said she liked her mom’s “home made biscuits,” it wouldn’t have been to be disrespectful of General Powell’s mom’s baked goods.

But Powell contends the GOP shouldn’t try to influence minorities by “principles and dogma.”

What medications is General Powell on?  Don’t try to influence people on “principles?”  On what IS a political entity supposed to influence someone – baked goods?  And he had the deficiency in clarity to combine “principles” with “dogma?”  Can there be any cabal of political thought more doctrinaire than liberals?  [Rhetorical question, but the answer is NO.]

He went on, sadly…

I think the party has to stop shouting at the world and at the country.  I think that the party has to take a hard look at itself, and I’ve talked to a number of leaders in recent weeks and they understand that.

Can we continue to listen to Rush Limbaugh?  Is this really the kind of party that we want to be when these kinds of spokespersons seem to appeal to our lesser instincts rather than our better instincts?

“Shouting at the world and at the country?”  Was he napping during the election or, for that matter, during the entire Bush administration?  [Exhibits A and B]  Has he never seen MSNBC, the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, Michael Moore, The View, etc. etc. etc.?  General… would you rather have Charlie Rangel, Keith Olbermann, Bill Maher, Nancy Pelosi or … maybe someone who, like Barack Obama, was elected to office by the state of Illinois – Governor Rod Blagojevich.

Colin Powell is now to the Republican Party what Jimmy Carter is to the South.  A man who has abandoned the values of his heritage as a means to appear statesman-like and be accepted by political fashionistas.

Colin Powell is a great man who served his country with honor and stature.  But I’m saddened by his choosing to bow to political expediency.