The GOP Jumps the Shark

An expression in frequent use this year is "jumping the shark." It traces back to an ancient and sappy TV series called HAPPY DAYS and a character based on Marlon Brando's performance in THE WILD ONE. That character, of course, was the Fonz, Arthur Fonzarelli, who swaggered about in a black leather jacket, rode a motorcycle, and excelled at anything he put his hand to. In one episode of this long running sit com, the Fonz takes up water skiing, goes shooting across the ocean, encounters a large shark and jumps it. This ridiculous, over-the-top encounter was so silly that HAPPY DAYS never filmed another episode, according to myth. (It's safe to doubt that this jump had any real connection to the worn-out series ending as it did.)

So "jumping the shark" means going too far, becoming ridiculous and failing through excess. The GOP Presidential candidates, for example, have jumped the shark. Ron Paul demands we go back to the gold standard. Pretty Rick Santorum, fixated on gay men, has compared their love to "man on dog sex." Newt Gingrich wants to build a colony on the moon and make it the 51st state. Anchor baby Mitt Romney plans to treat 11 million undocumented workers with such cruelty that they will flee back to their nations of origin, particularly to Mexico, where his own father was born.