Can the GOP Find a Path Forward?
In much the same way the Democrats started banging their heads against the wall after the disappointing 2004 election cycle, when the hated George W. Bush won re-election and the GOP improved its majorities in both the House and the Senate, the Republicans have gone through a similar concussion-inducing exercise following the disappointing 2012 election. Arguably, however, the GOP is better positioned today than the Democrats were after the 2004 defeat.
Both the Democrats in 2004 and the Republicans in 2012 were facing the role of minority party in the Senate with 45 seats, the Democrats having lost four seats in the 2004 elections and the Republicans two in 2012. In the U.S. House races, however, the GOP held its majority in 2012, while losing eight net seats, to wind up with 234 seats to 201 for the Democrats.
After picking up 63 seats in 2010, to only lose eight in the subsequent cycle when the president won re-election fairly decisively (by 4% and 5 million votes) was not a bad performance. Due to effective redistricting after the 2010 census, particularly in Pennsylvania and Ohio, the Republicans maintained their House majority in 2012, despite losing the overall House popular vote nationally by 1%. The median House district (#218) was a 52% Republican district in 2012. It will not be a slam dunk for the Democrats, however effectively the president and his media allies demagogue the GOP, to win back control of the House in 2014.
In the Senate, there is far more potential for the GOP to pick up seats in 2014 than exists for the Democrats, though the two most recent Senate election cycles in 2010 and 2012 suggest the Democrats are far better focused on nominating candidates who can win in the states where they are running and who will not self-destruct with inane comments on divisive social issues. Finally, the Republicans also hold 30 of the country’s 50 governor’s chairs, and are the majority party in more state legislative bodies than the Democrats are.
The 2012 elections demonstrated that the Republicans could be successfully portrayed by their opponents as a party largely made up of old white male voters who are protective of the wealthy and big corporations and hostile to the aspirations of minority groups, gays, and women. It mattered little that every one of these characterizations is largely or completely false. The GOP provided enough ammunition to keep some of these arguments alive.
When Rush Limbaugh trashed Sandra Fluke, he elevated the Georgetown law student from a one-day political non-entity to a cause. The Todd Akin and Richard Mourdock discussions of rape and abortion damaged Mitt Romney and other GOP candidates. Mitt Romney’s comment about the 47% dependency rate suggested a callousness to the needy.
The reality is that the GOP has far more minority group members who have been nominated and won in state elections than the Democrats have — governors in New Mexico, Nevada, Louisiana, and South Carolina; senators in Texas and Florida; and an appointed senator from South Carolina (the only African American senator, who was welcomed after his elevation from the House by an almost complete media blackout). The Democrats have only a New Jersey senator, a Hawaii senator, and the governor of Massachusetts who are members of minority groups. By and large, the Democrats are afraid to run minority group candidates statewide, and only nominate them to run in congressional districts where the minority makes up a majority of voters.
The Republicans’ position in Congress is stronger today than the one the Democrats held after 2004. However, it is, at best, a position that will enable them to be part of the legislative process, not to dictate it. The GOP behaved after the 2010 election as if it could dictate terms to the other party, which still held control of the Senate and the White House and had a media megaphone to broadcast its side of the debate. The overreach, particularly on the debt-ceiling debate, damaged the Republican Party.
The end-of-year resolution to the “fiscal cliff crisis” turned out better and was much more of a win for the GOP than a defeat, at least in terms of the substance of what was accomplished. If one compares the tax rates now in effect for 99% of the population, including estate taxes and taxes on dividends, to where they were before the Bush tax cuts went into effect with their ten-year life in 2001, they are substantially lower (to the tune of $3.6 trillion over ten years) and are now permanent, without any more expiration dates that can be gamed by the president.
There are, of course, some in the party who believe that any tax increases will destroy the economy and are a sellout, but much larger cuts in spending will have only a positive impact on the economy. One can not argue with purists. It seems to me that given the almost complete lack of leverage held by the GOP in the lame-duck negotiating session, Senator McConnell got a pretty good deal — certainly better than the one the president campaigned for, which included lower levels for the new top rates to kick in, ordinary income treatment of dividends, and lower levels of estate tax exemption and higher rates for estate taxes.
House Speaker Boehner also skillfully managed to set the sequestration deadline ahead of the date when the debt-ceiling extension expires. As was proven in 2011 and 2012, the perception of the Republicans playing games with the debt ceiling, and risking the commitment to upholding the full faith and credit of the United States, was disastrous politically. But spending cuts gather far more political support and are a core Republican principle. If the GOP can hold the line on the defense cuts in sequestration, as much as many in the party do not like them, Boehner will have gained leverage with the Democrats due to the president’s passionate attachment to discretionary spending. The threat of across-the-board sequestration cuts to discretionary programs could force the Democrats to offer up some modest entitlement spending cuts as a replacement, maybe even more than one-to-one for the discretionary program cuts restored.
The GOP has also shown some moxie in the initial negotiations over immigration reform. While the ideas of amnesty and a path to citizenship are repellent to many on the conservative side, these steps already occurred with immigration reform under President Reagan. The four GOP senators who have been participating in the immigration negotiations have linked the ability to even apply for a green card to a trigger based on improved border security, as well as a “last in line” concept of placing the undocumented behind all those already in the queue for legal immigration.
As no bill has been written but only broad principles outlined, the GOP in both the Senate and House can certainly work to make the bill a better one, and limit the president’s role to his normal hectoring of the Republicans. If Chuck Schumer and Robert Menendez are working with John McCain and Marco Rubio, the president’s hectoring of Republicans will not accomplish much in terms of securing passage of any bill. Rubio has shown the ability to speak directly to the American people on this subject despite the media filter most GOP members of Congress face when trying to discuss policy or defend their approach.
Hopefully, the GOP has learned that most voters regard compromise as a good thing politically, and the split in government control gives the GOP a seat at the table but not control over the process. This is not like the six-month period in 2009 when Obamacare was rammed through with 60 Democratic Senate votes. The GOP’s success in the 2010 elections was in large part a reaction to that unpopular bill and the unseemly process by which it was passed. The bill is no more popular today, and there is a very good chance that the rollout of the exchanges in 2014 will be a political nightmare for the administration. At that point, the GOP needs to do more than say “I told you so”; it needs to offer substantive alternatives that address the program’s many defects.
Similarly, the GOP needs to advance a growth agenda. It was remarkable that the president never mentioned the issue in his inaugural address. Dividing up the pie is all that matters to him. The GOP has to make economic growth a factor to all its policy initiatives — in immigration, tax reform, and health care reform. Being part of the sausage-making enterprise in Congress is better than being on the sidelines. Getting to yes at times is also better than being seen as the party of no.
The GOP should also insist that its new faces — Rubio, Cruz, Scott, Jindal, Haley, Susana Martinez — get their time on the Sunday talk shows, not just the old guard. The media are happy to have the GOP’s s old men show up to make the case for the party. In the personality-driven culture we live in, the party’s image will change faster if its spokespeople defy the image the Democrats and the media have tried to create for them.
The GOP is dead to me. My bulb only burns at 50 watts, but it burns much brighter than anything I’ve seen from the GOP.
I can understand the despair in evidence on the comments I have read here so far. It is way too soon to throw in the towel. Perhaps we are all susceptible to pundits and their propaganda, believing too that we are already finished. I tried to straighten out our political terminology here: http://clarespark.com/2013/02/02/totalitarianism-polarization-and-single-issue-politics/. Everyone is understandably confused, as our political talk is muddled, but not irreparably.
I’m sorry but the Republican party is in horrible shape going forward. The current leadership has shown a remarkable propensity for caving without a fight on issue after issue. Rubio would not be in the senate if the party leadership had its way, remember they backed Crist over Rubio in the primary. As for electing people just so they can have an R next to their name please explain to me what a great thing it was to have an Arlen Sphincter in the senate when you had the chance to be rid of him and get Toomey in the primary in 04. I must also completely reject the idea that Mittens lost because of his 47% comment and those of the wack job rape and abortion statements when he failed to gain as many votes as McCain. No Mittens lost because not many people really wanted to vote for him, a vast majority of his vote count were people voting against Obobo but very few were votes for Mittens. Are you next going to try to convince everyone that Bush was a hard core Conservative.
Couldn’t agree more. The R’s always cave when any pressure or “bad publicity” is applied. After a dramatic reaction and big wins by the “Tea Party”, R’s like Boehner were quakeing in their boots. The enemy is not necessarily the D’s it’s the media: some broad wants her birth control in the thousands paid for by the govt. should have brought her intense ridicule, instead the press went after Limbaugh. There is where the problem is, the Press! We have to quit kicking good people out of the party just because the media, which is about as far left as you can get, made fun or criticized them. They have great power, but we only encourage that when we quake in fear.
Lastly, who did we nominate for President, a nice guy I’m sure, but he’s a northeastern liberal who gained the Governorship once in order to install the very system we were fighting frantically and never won an election after that. And his one conservative statement about the 47% was right on point. The press and the democratic party have made buying votes a righteous act!
We have to know who our enemies are and fight them instead of taking cover or reversing our opinions.
The GOP will never win another national election. They are as dead as dead can be. The article just shows that there are people who still refuse to see this yet. But they will. After the 2014 elections proves that people are not going to vote for the failed approaches that the GOPe has foisted on their base ever since the GOPe gave Reagan the finger and elevated the “compassionate conservative” Bush clan. Ever since the election and re-election of the monster Hussein and the Marxocrats, there is no reason to vote for the Republicans. They’ve already lost the war. The Constitutional Republic of old has ceased to exist. And this happened right under the noses of the GOPe, who continue to allow the massive and systemic voter fraud to go uncontested over three months after the last national election was stolen. There will never be another legitimate national election from here on out. The GOP has allowed themselves to become the supine collaborators of the destruction of America. They are truly nothing more than the “tax collectors for the welfare state.” Its all over for the GOP. And for the America that existed just 5 short years ago.
The only thing left for those of us who value our freedom and liberty is to begin the process of nullification and secession to liberate the “red” states from the oppression of the “blue” states and return some small part of this benighted land to respect for and adherence to the Constitution and the Rule of Law. Such a thing will never happen in the “blue” states any longer. The question is will the remnants of the failed GOP in the states that are still “red” be stupid enough to expect that today’s GOP will support such an endeavor, or will they finally leave the GOP behind and begin the work we all know must be done.
Nah.
I think the GOP candidate–if they are not a useless compromiser who thinks reaching across the aisle is worthy in and of itself–will win in 2014.
Not one Dem candidate has shown up yet who is remotely plausible.
As long as it isn’t some pointless, useless if elected establishment drone like Herbert, Dole, McCain, or Romney*, the GOP candidate will win.
*RE Romney, remind me again, please, you Mitt boosters at PJMedia; why was the man who prototyped Obamacare and never disavowed his act a good guy to run against Obama? Obama won with many fewer votes than he did originally. The implications should be obvious.
I believe the people who didn’t vote for Romney stayed home because they knew he didn’t offer the 180 degree turn we need. I did end up voting for Romney, I can’t say why. I don’t even know that a NE liberal like him can be counted on to try to preserve the 2nd amendment, or undo Obamacare entirely when he plainly thinks it or something like it is a good idea.
I told you so’s can be unpleasant and be seen as petty. So what?
They are valuable if they keep people from committing the same mistake over and over again.
A 180 degree turn away from Progressivism and towards the constitution is actual progress. It needs to be undertaken. Return to what was best in 1775. Return to what was best in 1787, and in the civil war amendments. It is drastically uncomfortable for the establishment GOP, not much less so than it is for the Dems who will be undone by it. So what?
We need the 180 degree turn, we don’t need the current establishment GOP. We need a new one.
As for “blackelkspeaks” I think he’s pretty dumb. To go by history, what would be far better than the partition/secession he proposes, would be a civil war killing some several tens of millions of Americans, one which yes, I think constitutionalist forces would win, that’s why I think it would be worth it.
Once the constitution is ignored by its only supposed champions, in endorsing in bulk the partition of the nation contrary to the constitution, it’s a dead letter entirely and the Revolution begun in Lexington failed.
I would rather kill and die than see that.
The GOP elite has no interest in reform. Conservaties are the battered wife, sticking around hoping the jerk will change. We have to break those chains and create a party that wiil take the fight to the enemy and offer an alternative to the bipartisan criminal syndicate that runs DC/Wall St. Let the GOP split the idiot vote with the Marxist-Facists. The lagest denographic is the Fed Up. Economic and currency collapse are coming. We have to be ready to fight for our constitutional republic. The GOP will be worse than useless in the face of a total takeover by the Obama dictatorship who won’t let such a crisis go to waste.
“The GOP elite has no interest in reform.”
So why should we let them stay being the GOP elite?
Why is that a given?
They own the deed to the country club and they make the rules. They are dug in and have turned it into a cess pool. But they aren’t the only game in town. Let’s take that spot on the hill with that nice fresh spring. I think I see the Tree of Liberty up there.
They can’t own it. Whoever takes control of the local party machinery owns it.
Conceding the GOP apparatus to them confirms DEM gain in 2014 and the Oval Office to them in 2016. Eights years we may skate by, twelve or sixteen we won’t, too many bills will come due by them. How those are written down is the ball game, ’cause they won’t get paid as promised.
That’s the Liberty Tree, girdled and ready for burning.
“…a civil war killing some several tens of millions of Americans…”
It may come to that eventually but to recommend it is crazy & unreasonable. A very strong, constitution-abiding, patriotic leader forging a large enough group with the idea in mind of undertaking a secession would be a far better approach & is not “dumb” in the least. JMO.
“To go by history, what would be far better than the partition/secession he proposes, would be a civil war killing some several tens of millions of Americans, one which yes, I think constitutionalist forces would win, that’s why I think it would be worth it.”
That a pretty serious comment! Not the words themselves but rather, the rationale used to put those words together. The really sad thing is, that theres a small minority of GOP trea partiers who do think like that and no doubt one of them is the guy in AL whose hold up in preppers cave with law enforcement surrounding it at this moment.
Useful idiot.
@ Bobcat and Zeke,,
To concede to the enemy that the constitution is null and void in part, and pretend it is whole in part, this is it’s abnegation. I would rather there was war.
The secession of any part of this nation, absent an amendment for it, is the end of this nation. It means every brave stand at Lexington, every bleeding foot at Valley Forge, every desperate second at Cowpens, each drop of sweat at Monmouth, and every grim yard dug at Yorktown, they may as well have not bothered.
And Zeke, we already know from your comments about the 2nd amendment that you’re a pretend American like the President, that you are not culturally American and that you’d love to have the guy in Alabama have anything to do with the tea party.
Will you admit when it turns out he has nothing to do with it, the same way McVeigh got thrown out of every militia meeting he ever attended?
Just relating what the guys neighbors in AL had to say about him — anti government, walks around his property at night with flashlight and gun looking for the bad government agents to come get all his guns, etc. Seems he was shooting at his neighbors (probably progressives) and was do in court the next day had he not gotten sidetracked with killing a bus driver and kidnapping a 5 year old child off a school bus. Had a prior gun assualt in FL that got dropped. Just the kind of anti government gun toting ‘warrior’ so many here ellude to, albeit nobody has ‘quite’ stepped over the line to suggest killing a school bus driver and kidnapping a five year old. Advocating a civil war for the sole purpose of killing millions of people is getting close to clinically….
As I’ve stated before to others, your only enemy is the constitution which allows for the will of the majority to rule and by a constitution that grants an electoral process to make that majority rule. From 2000 through 2008, it was the radical progressives of the democrat party ranting all their vile anti government hate and now the table has turned and its the GOPs evangelical social reformists turn to do their anti government ranting. The constitution is working exactly as it was designed to work only you don’t like the outcomes chosen by the majority of citizens. Again, suggesting a means of killing millions of citizen to achieve your perceived righting the wrong is……
No Zeke, admit what I actually said if you dare. I don;t think you’re that brave. I don’t think you ave the moral courage.
I said that rather than have the country come to an end, I would rather have a civil war that would realistically kill tens of millions of people. Killing them isn’t the goal or the point, settling the otherwise insoluble political questions is. It’s no more “clinically” anything than saying the Civil or Revolutionary wars were worth it.
And as long as the people of your political persuasion are defeated, they will have been.
“As I’ve stated before to others, your only enemy is the constitution which allows for the will of the majority to rule and by a constitution that grants an electoral process to make that majority rule.”
No Zeke, you really don’t get it. The whole point of the constitution as it is written is that it prohibits mere majorities from ruling, large geographically well distributed super-majorities are required to change the constitution, and until and unless it is changed, we remain a place where idiocies like Obamacare and gun control are not law, they are the pretense of criminals with government paychecks.
Tom, I understand your dancing around your original comments which were nothing short of extremist radical points of view. Back to the constitution and majority rules. He/she who wins the most votes in the most districts, in the most states and the most electoral college votes wins the election for the presidency by a majority — not a minority! He/she who wins the most votes in the polling districts of any congressional district in a state wins a congressional seat by a majority — not a minority! Both houses of congress have a majority party and a minority party represented and all conference, subcommittee, committee and floor votes require a majority vote to pass — not a minority vote! Also, as you correctly stated, it takes a super-majority to amend the constitution — not a super-minority! But for either of the congressional procedural ‘houses rules’, it takes a simple majority to pass ‘most’ bills on the floor which of course both parties abuse the ‘house rule’ of a simple majority. Again, that is all by design of the constitution so any attempt to say that a majority doesn’t rule is fantasy!
So you don’t like that the founders, through the constitution, left to the majority of people, the shaping of the nations destiny. The constitution left to the people through their congressional representatives, things like the size of government, government spending and borrowing, social issues, foreign relations, commerce, government subsidies, foreign trade, taxation, etc. Anything else, relative to the Bill of Rights Amendments only guarantee equity for all citizens of those ‘expressed’ amendments of constitutional rights.
As described by historical experts of the constitution, they say “the work of many minds, the Constitution stands as a model of cooperative statesmanship and the art of compromise.” This constitutional model has never faled to be the case in the governance of this nation.
In 2010 at the height of the tea party movement, polling was done to reflect on the ‘positive image’ of socialism. Conservatives was 20%. Moderates was 39%. Liberals was 61%. During the past 80 plus years, the nation, by a majority representation of the people, have systemically moved the nation towards socialism and their is nothing unconstitutionally prohibitive in any socialist enactments to date, by congress. On the other hand, any attempt to govern on behalf of any particular religion or their religious practices will be blocked. Any attempt to to enact any laws in which the government will appeal the second amendment and collect all citizens arms will be blocked. Likewise, no enactments will be allowed in which infringe upon all citizens right to free speech within certain defined limits.
If some don’t like the constitutional outcomes, they’d better be all about ‘civil’ reeducation of the majority rather than rejecting the majority and perpetuating division and hate among them. The latter is certainly a losing strategy! The progressives have learned this, but some in the GOP still have to learn it — or remain losers in the longer run.
“Tom, I understand…points of view.”
I understand your not acknowledging they were no different than saying the Revolutionary or Civil Wars were worth it, your side has to decieve to win.
“Again, that is all by design of the constitution so any attempt to say that a majority doesn’t rule is fantasy!”
The majority does not rule, or should, the constitution forbids it. The constitution rules. The majority is empowered to decide the mere details of legislation, how a task should be accomplished, it can not arrogate to the
national government new tasks, or ignore the constitution. Not legitimately.
Changing the constitution requires a large and well distributed super majority.
This fact destroys your next paragraph, wherein you lie, writing, “So you don’t…of constitutional rights.”
No they did not, some of those things are in fact the tasks of the three branches of government, but the size of government is not up to the government of the representatives in it–it is set by the constitution, and it is governed by supermajorities, and the government is far larger than authorized.
“In 2010 at the height of the tea party movement, polling was done to reflect on the ‘positive image’ of socialism. Conservatives was 20%. Moderates was 39%. Liberals was 61%. During the past 80 plus years, the nation, by a majority representation of the people, have systemically moved the nation towards socialism and their is nothing unconstitutionally prohibitive in any socialist enactments to date, by congress. On the other hand, any attempt to govern on behalf of any particular religion or their religious practices will be blocked. Any attempt to to enact any laws in which the government will appeal the second amendment and collect all citizens arms will be blocked. Likewise, no enactments will be allowed in which infringe upon all citizens right to free speech within certain defined limits.”
If you think 2010 was the height of the TEA party movement, wait ’til we have to start paying normal interest rates on the debt. And of course the socialism of FDR and LBJ is unconstitutional, they had to threaten the court with packing to get it, and it unsupported by any wording in the constitution. There is no such thing as a constitutional moment, absent an amendment. And as far as your stupidities claiming the first and second amendment will not be abrogated, they’ve both been abrogated further in my lifetime, and in the unlikely event Obama can just one justice as he pleased, they’d be gone–and the constitution ignored.
“If some don’t…the longer run.”
There is no difference of worth to me, between a GOP which thinks majoritarian democracy is ok, and the Democrats.
You have already shown you’re true colors, Zeke, and you have shown your ignorance is steadfast.
I have noticed you adopt the volume strategy to argument when you are losing a discussion, here is my argument, I think as condensed as possible.
Majorities in the national government cannot redefine the constitution, they can not give the government new tasks or powers. This has been done, especially since FDR’s administration, and all but solely by Democrats, although GOP opposition to it has been weak. This illegitimate assumption of power is the Blue Social Model, and it is grinding to a halt and passing into abject obsolescence, because math works. Ultimately, if a civil war were required to remove the carcass of socialism from the US, if the constitutional side won, it would be as worth it in the long run as the Revolutionary and Civil wars were.
Your idea seems to be that mere majorities can do whatever they want, and that in spite of that you claim the 1st and 2nd Amendments are safe despite the fact McCain-Feingold tried to gut the one, and the NFA and like state and federal gun control laws prevent the militia from having the tools relevant to its task, although the controlling SCOTUS decisions like Heller and Miller show all such are null and void.
Your belief in the counter-factual is impressive, but cuts no ice, and does not change reality.
“the size of government is not up to the government of the representatives in it–it is set by the constitution, and it is governed by supermajorities, and the government is far larger than authorized.”
An Edsel salesman wouldn’t even try presenting such a fantasy!
Article I, Secetion 8
“To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.”
Name any federal department, agency or corporation that is unconstitutional!
On the other hand, leaving any matter of constitutionality aside, there are plenty of appropriate and justifiable considerations that could be made to downsizing a portion of the executive branch without impugning their ‘core’ necessary functions of national benefit. The Departments of Labor, Education, Energy, Interior, Agriculture, EPA, Arts, CDC/NIH, Transportation, could well be redefined and streamlined. I would certainly agree that theres far to much policy making rather than data collecting for federal and States legislative purposes purposes. However, non of the needed changes will ever come about so long as private sector special interest groups have a special open access and influence over the government. When such special influence access is barred, leaving them with no more access means than the common citizen, maybe then the government and the nation can recover from all the corruption failing the nation, the government and the people.
Conservative Republicans will NOT take back the White House until economic times become so bad that the American public has no other option but to put a conservative Republican in the White House.
How did the liberals win the elections in 2006 and then again in 2008? By promising more of everything to everybody. More money, more entitlements, Obamacare, more food stamps, more welfare, more subsidies, more money for education, more money for union workers, just more money for whatever anybody wanted. That is the only reason Obama won a slim majority in 2012. He keeps promising the low information voters that government will take care of everything, and they not only believed him, they embraced him and his thinking. And Obama has rewarded these morons with over $5 trillion of spending over the past four years. Not a bad return on an investment, right?
The only problem is, what happens when we finally do go bust, like Greece? What happens when the checks stop coming, when the benefits stop being paid? Then you have all of the social unrest and riots that are now taking place in Greece. Only then will Americans be ready for a change at the White House. Oh, you may get a “compassionate conservative” like Chris Christie in the White House, but all that will give you is a RINO Republican that doesn’t spend money as fast as a liberal. It will do nothing for our massive debt and deficit. So you can blow all the wind you want, but until this country hits rock bottom, like it did under Jimmy Carter, a real conservative is not going to get elected to the White House.
There is more to it that just that. The Republican Party has been devoid of a true leader who is very adept at communication & carries the charisma to the point that said attributes transcend the very strong influence imposed on the American people by the leftist-driven media outlets. The latest example of such a leader, of course, was Reagan. Until such a time that a leader of that caliber emerges again, expect the Pubs to be firmly nestled in its place suckling on hind teat in the national arena of ideas & policies.
I agree that a near financial collapse will have to occur before there is even a chance for the Democrats to lose the Executive branch or both house and senate. But there is another issue that comes into play and many socially conservative Republicans just do not want to hear it. So long as religion, abortion, gay rights, family values, etc. are part of the platform, the GOP will never win. Demographics and trends on the coasts and in large cities are against it. These people fear discrimination and lifestyle intolerance way more than they fear fiscal problems. To them, the lower living standard inherent in socialism (to the extent that they even understand this) is preferable to being a loser in the game of capitalism favored by white and/or rich people. Seriously, the GOP needs to re-make itself but it won’t until they see that even the aforementioned financial collapse won’t get them the election.
I’m 70 years old. I’ve been a registered Republican since I was first eligible to vote. Since Reagan I’ve held my nose and voted for the RINO “lesser of two evils” as have so many other conservatives. Where has it gotten us? Further and further down the path to serfdom. And still we bleat like the sheep we are about civility and moderation. No more for me. I did vote for Romney as my token last personal effort to try to avoid a civil war or a collapse of the country. But no more. I’m changing my voter registration to unaffiliated. And I probably won’t bother voting again anyway because I believe that the Democrats have so completely corrupted the voting system that we will never have a legitimate national election again.
Forming a new party that is truly committed to the Constitution as it was originally written is our only peaceful way out. But I’m not optimistic about that because of the corrupted voting system and the fact that so many citizens are so ignorant about so much due to our media and our government-run “education” system. The Left is quickly forcing the rest of us into a corner where we can only submit or fight. They are betting that we won’t fight; indeed many of them can’t imagine that we would.
Will we?
Jonn, I think we have to make the attenpt. Both obsolete paeties and the media are so far gone they are easy targets–if we go on offense. People are sick of the corruption and fraud. The KKK/Jim Crow/Bull Conner history of the Democrats needs to be exposed. The encroaching police state is felt by people of all colors and incomes. Obamacare is everybody’s nightmare. Where’s the Border fence? Etc. We have to raise a little hell. March on the HQ of Media criminals like NBC. Contitutional Rights are worthy of a Movement. Back in the day they smeared MLK the way they snear Sarah Palin. We have failed to carry on for Andrew Brietbart. Let’s slap a Gadsen flag decal on the door of every gov’t and media building. Kilroy is back. Let’s mobilize some of those young debt paupers with useless degrees. The Demograts are at war. Why aren’t we?
The democrat party is not obsolete, per se. It has however, become the latest national socialist party of old. With that in mind, it is, unquestioningly, obsolete.
But, throughout history in any nation that has experienced some level of prosperity, the “narrative of blame” becomes the religion of the day. The people become unhappy because they don’t have all the goodies they think they should, which becomes a juvenile rationalization for many other things, which results in (for good or bad) a toppling of the government.
Other people, seeing this trend taking place, capitalize on it (yes, socialist “leaders” are the consummate capitalists) and take advantage of the momentum to seize power and secure a place at or near the top of the food chain for themselves. (See Reid, Pelosi, Obama, Clinton, Schumer, etc) This may be why they hang around the very very wealthy. If you can’t earn it, steal it.
The republican party is one that has lost its core values. Politics trumps reality and good sense. Being popular, or at least allowed to eat at or near the “cool kids’” table is so ridiculously important as to be childish. The duplicity of pretending to be opponents on the floor while then enjoying a meal together after-hours is something the news doesn’t report on.
Being a politician hinges on being elected. It is the popularity contest that has no bounds. The premise is that the people will vote for the one they like best. The national socialists just have better marketers and the people who vote for them vote on the basis if feel-think. “I get a warm fuzzy when I think about candidate X”. The republicans haven’t learned how to do this and are truly the nerds of the group, with the caveat being that the nerds usually have a much better grasp of reality than the national socialist “cool kids” do.
But that matters not when it’s party time. The cool kids get what they want (they always do) and continue to move up and up and up and enjoy their status while the rest of us have to put up with it.
But I learned something a long time ago. I neither wanted to be among them or be respected by them or have ANYTHING to do with them…the “cool kids” that is. This is because they went in directions I preferred not to go. I learned then how to be emotionally independent, to find things I enjoyed doing and to not join clubs, groups or other ridiculous false societies that all had that microcosm of “structure” to it. Where the “chairman” of the club was considered to be the most respected of the bunch, the lackeys and toadies all gathering around them while they “held court” and leaving the club nerds wishing they could be among them.
PHAGH!
I’m going over here to be BY MYSELF and enjoy this alone. Before too long I found I had friends who thought similarly and preferred to get together and just enjoy the activity without any hierarchical structure to it which stratified and isolated people from each other.
Granted, government has its trappings but the trappings have usurped being an adult. Perhaps it’s always been that way but the republicans need to realize that they are going to be disliked by the “cool kids” always and forever. But they have to have the courage to truck on independently and not give a crap what any news entity or national socialist thinks or says or does. And, when confronted with their snarky smart-ass attitude, do as Gingrich did and simply identify it as such and return the discussion to an adult-level one.
It’s not hard. I have management try to do it to me all the time and I respond with, “Well, you can make all the accusations you want. You’re all either lying or you just prefer to believe someone who cannot tell the truth. But, I will go continue to do my job and ignore the fact that you think I’m this or that. I know I’m not and that’s enough for me to just go about my business and when I leave here at the end of every day, I don’t think about you, or this company, or the people who work here.”
It’s simple but does require a backbone.
I love your post and identify so much with the philosophy! I agree 100%!
Totally Pollyanna view of things, Mr. Baehr. It doesn’t matter which chimp the Dems nominate. The media will crown them the new Washington and totally steal the narrative. The GOP convention will be another “nice” minority dog and pony show, Why did the GOP trot out Mia Love as the black face of the party only to see her trounced in Utah and marginalize Allen West who had the cojones to expose Obama as the cheap little liar he is?
Why did the Dems win every close election the last few cycles, bar none? Unless somebody is willing to pull the covers on widespread voter fraud it will continue unabashed.
The GOP cave on immigration is madness. Fat chance that the borders get secured. 20,30,40 million campesinos, gang bangers, welfare recipients come out of the shadows and vote 99% Dem for life. The southwest becomes Juarez north. McCain’s “heroic” badgering of Hagel was an attempt to try to get his credibility back after carrying water for the Dems on the border.
The GOP is toast.
If anyone who thinks the Republican party is dead, then vote for biden or hillary in 2016, by all means. I have also voted for the lesser of two evils for quite some time and will continue to do so as long as it’s necessary. I haven’t been a registered Republican since Reagan but I will continue to vote Republican if they are the only choice to a liberal. I’ve heard so many people say there is no difference between obama and Romney. Really? I am curious as to what criteria these people are using and is it based on two or three items. I have also heard many of these same people wringing their hands and bemoaning what’s happening now that obama is back on his throne.
People here will gripe about the fiscal stuff but this isn’t that relevant unless the democrats keep control. Growing the economy will fix that. The dems don’t offer a path to growth, and the “conservatives” certainly do not.
The type of thing that can and will and ought to be promoted by the republicans is a way to secure jobs. One such plan would be to direct DOE and NASA to construct a 2000MW nuclear plant in NM, then build a massive rail gun system up the side of a mountain, something that could sling 5-10 tons of payload into orbit. This would be able to get stuff into LEO, e.g. the components necessary to build solar power sats, the vehicles needed for asteroid mining companies, and so on. (At 100g acceleration it wouldn’t be much use for people unless you wanted to turn them into paste.) The point is to position the US to be able to create a future. Solar power from space promises jobs and a realistic solution to coal burning (it guts the greens immediately) whereas what the democrats have to offer is subsidising windmills and other crap that doesn’t and can’t work. Create the mechanism to get to the new frontier and money will be generated; this fixes the fiscal problems.
Yes, “conservatives”, the R team lost the election due in part to akin and mourdock and immigration and remarks about the 47%. But mostly it lost because there is no vision, no plan, just a lot of whining about obama, who, even if the plan is crap, is perceived to at least have one. The akin and mourdock and 47% merely guaranteed the loss, painting the GOP as the party of aging “get off my lawn” losers.
The plan I just wrote about is not the only one available. In fact it’s only part of a plan. But at least it’s a plan, and it’s more than any so called conservatives are offering.
The Democrats cannot do meaningful voter fraud anywhere but college towns and Blue/Doughnut cities, but they can do enough of it there to overwhelm the Republican vote in the suburbs and rural areas of the Purple states; that is where the ’12 election was lost. The Obamunists did a high-tech version of an old game; Matt Reese’s “Socio-demographic Targetting.” Reese came to prominence as JFK’s pollster and the key to his methodology was identifying and getting out YOUR vote, and quiet, boring, low-turnout elections are a real bonus for Reese’s methods. Now we have a massive Facebook presense, iPads, databases, smartphones, and college kids instead of a union goon with a rotary dial phone, a registered voter list, and a clipboard.
Fundamentally, the Country is so fractured and the media so fragmented that the Republicans need a new electoral paradigm. Even if the Rs had the bazillion dollar war chest advantage they once owned, where would you place the media buys to overwhelm the Democrat ground game as was once done? There is a TV in every room of most homes, most connected to cable or dish with hundreds of channels, and every TV is not just on a different channel, it is on a channel designed for a totally different demographic. The Republican Party has very little of the precinct chairman/ward heeler kind of organization that it takes to do a Reese style ground game. The closest we have among our constituencies to a large organized group such as organized labor is the evangelicals and their churches and frankly they cost us as many votes as they get us, sometimes more, e.g., 2012. Without regard to the ideological positions of the Republican Party, and I don’t buy the conspiratorial crap about “establishment Republicans” allying with the Democrats, the Republican Party needs to develop the cadre of people who are willing to walk the precincts and the organization and technology to make that walking effective. The old Republican system of writing a check for the max so the Party can make a big media buy and going on about your business loses elections because now the Democrats can make even bigger media buys AND they have an effective ground game. Oh, and it helps to not nominate candidates that look and act like a character from Dilbert.
If you really believe that evangelical Christians, the ONLY reliable voting bloc in the GOP , cost more votes than they gained, then it seems the patchwork coalition of social conservatives & libertarians is over and so is the GOP.
I use words very carefully, so don’t put words in my mouth. First, I’m not at all certain that evangelicals are a reliable voting bloc as they tend to be purists and will stay home or even vote for the communist to “teach a lesson” to the Republicans. What I did say was that only the evangelicals through their churches have anything like an organizational structure in place that is at all comparable to the organizational structure the Democrats have in place with organized labor. The Republican Party prides itself on being a party of individuals rather than groups, but the lack of group organization is an electoral liability.
And, yes, taking the positions of the religious right on issues costs us the votes of single, divorced, or never married women and many of the men who associate with them and costs us heavily with married suburban women and many of their husbands. The Republican Party needs to obtain a rapprochement with the SoCons; we can’t do much for them, but we won’t do anything to them. Outside the very reddest states, if you turn an election into a referendum on abortion and birth control, the Democrats win. And many of those suburban married couples that will tell a pollster that they are pro-life will have their sixteen year old daughter at the family doctor’s office for an abortion in a heartbeat, so they aren’t going to support a candidate or party that wants a prohibition on abortion. Even if Roe v. Wade were reversed, the vast majority of the states would have at least first trimester, rape, incest, and some form of “health of the mother” legal abortion.
And many of those suburban married couples that will tell a pollster that they are pro-life will have their sixteen year old daughter at the family doctor’s office for an abortion in a heartbeat…
Actually you’re underestimating. It ain’t “many” at all, it’s “most.”
In South Dakota — about as red as it gets and chock full of churchgoing white folks — the vocal and sincere anti-abortion lobby puts measures on the ballot every presidential election cycle, and every time, regardless of how they try to assume the’re compromising, the measure gets stomped. Not merely defeated. Stomped.
Here at PJM there’s a lot of rhetoric. Big deal. Talk is cheap. The *only* thing that counts is performance in the voting booth, and the anti-abortion lobby is failing in the only meaningful metric.
“What I did say was that only the evangelicals through their churches have anything like an organizational structure in place that is at all comparable to the organizational structure the Democrats have in place with organized labor.”
And evangelicals through their churches are represented by slightly more than half as democrats in the USA. The GOP’s evangelical tea party social reformist movement, grossly misrepresents themselves in both number strength and their churces social conservative issues. For example! Their churches join across the board with most other churches, a political and social philosophy of social “social Justice and equality” the long held mantra of the progressives rather, than the typical GOP platforms of economics and captialism.
Speculate much? I’d like some empirical evidence of all the Christians “voting for the communist to teach the party a lesson” In the church I attend with several hundred adults I don’t know any that voted for Obama or stayed home for that matter.
Your other point about the pro life suburbanites taking their 16 year old daughters for abortions is a pile of crap also. Most abortions are done on single young women, largely for convenience sake with a huge percentage amongst minorities in keeping with the fascist policy of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger.
I don’t vote only because of social issues. Christians by and large are patriotic, pro-freedom and scared to death for their children’s future. I’m really sick and tired of being the whipping boy everytime the GOP runs an empty suit campaign people by unprincipled tools like Dick Morris and Karl Rove.
You have being self-referential and spouting talking points down as well as any lefty useful idiot.
The pages of this site and many, many other conservative/Republican sites have been filled for the last two years with social conservatives and self-styled “true conservatives threatening to stay home, vote third party, found a third party, or vote for Obama if the GOP didn’t do something or another or didn’t nominate the lastest SoCon “firebreather.” There has been far more criticism of Republicans and the Republican Party here than any meaningful discussion of plans to defeat the Democrats, and most of that criticism comes for SoCons and self-styled “true conservatives,” most of whom are SoCons.
Most of the people who are supportive of legalized abortion to some degree or another don’t have a clue who Sanger was or what eugenics are. They are people who don’t want their life or the life of a daughter disrupted by an unwanted pregnancy and don’t want to be told that they can’t lawfully and fairly conveniently terminate an unwanted pregnancy. I’m willing to bet that a substantial number of those several hundred people you attend church with wouldn’t force their sixteen year old daughter to take an unwanted pregnancy to term. While you are right that the majority of abortions are unmarried women terminating a pregnancy for convenience, economics, or both, the sixteen year old daughter scenario informs the beliefs of many married women and their husbands. Many of these people may deplore abortion on a moral/religious level, but they’re willing to have the moral/religious discussion with God rather than disrupt their daughter’s life and they’re not willing to be told that his is not a decision left to them. I’m not religious but I do believe that abortion is the taking of an human life. That said, if while still my dependent either of my daughters had become pregnant, they’d have been on the next plane to Seattle and I’d have had the discussion with God. I think I’m fairly typical of those other than the most devoutly religious.
The GOP ought to do a lot of smart things, but they won’t.
The Republican Party’s problem is that a large share of the public, let’s say 47%, will not vote for any Republican due to decades of self-inflicted brand damage. Consider instead a Reform Party ticket of President Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and Vice President Bobby Jindal, combining a strong foreign policy candidate with a public relations and domestic policy figure, running on the Reform Party’s platform of vague platitudes that don’t insult half of the country at a time and on opposition to corruption and errors made by the previous administration. Third-party campaigns generally have trouble getting a critical mass, but this one would have had the Republican Party’s PR machines behind it for three years by the time election season rolls around. Essentially the party would change its name and stop shooting itself in the foot.
Dream on about the Republican PR machine getting behind your splinter group. Not a chance as long as there remain smiley faced Chamber of Commerce hollow men like McCain and Romney to stand for nothing. In 2016 Lucy will pull the football away again, Linus will fall on his rear end and another Demo-Socialist criminal will be President.
“Smiley faced Chamber of Commerce hollow men” … what a nicely turned phrase! It captures a number of faults, not the least of which is the go-along-to-get-along mentality. A subset of that is the fear of being painted as “mean” for opposing any of the bread-and-circuses schemes of the Democrats. The apparent mindset that the Chamber of Commerce face can sell anything, and can by itself sell conservative (or milquetoast conservative) policies and stances. That the electorate, even the conservative leaning electorate, is other Chamber of Commerce white men and their wives, and that election campaigns are just one big Rotary luncheon (in terms of socializing, not the quiet good work Rotarians do).
People like these are not only unprepared for rough-and-tumble, they seem completely oblivious to the fact that they will be attacked and attacked and attacked simply for not being Democrats and accepting liberal platform planks as conventional wisdom. That’s not how “everyone they know” operate. But, they and “everyone they know” are a minority, a minority nearly everyone else sees as out of touch with the lives of the rest of us.
The GOP should be the party of conservatives, not the party of successful businessMEN. Conservatives of both sexes, all races and ethnicities, and all incomes. It should be represented by, and it should run, people who understand the daily lives and struggles of people who don’t go to and aren’t invited to Chamber of Commerce luncheons.
Corporatism takes care of pasty white men, who can be tempted to think that because they’re doing well everyone else is either doing well or has the freedom to be on their way to doing well. The GOP needs people who will SHUT UP and pay attention to people outside the pasty white male in crowd, and do some strategizing as to how someone outside their crowd would sell conservative values and positions. People who aren’t afraid of offending people who will never vote for them anyway.
It’s not just people who will tell it like it is to regular working middle class people like me, it’s people who don’t need months of training to do that because they get their pale butts out of the boardrooms and country clubs and network with non-business elite conservatives, especially the social liberal/fiscal conservative types who make up a sizeable portion of the electorate. It’s people who will sell, say, the pre-riches Mitt Romney. It’s people who, when given a Joe the Plumber, know how to make someone like him the face of conservatism.
Unfortunately, what the Republican Party looks like to most of us is our fathers’ Republican Party. What it should look like is people who will cut government obstacles to opportunity for hard-working grunts like the rest of us.
Quit trying to get Democrats and the media … but I repeat myself … to like you. Speak to the people, on our terms, and B-slap the proggies who slap you. We’re looking for good, constitutional government, not nice guys who wear suits well.
I would be happy to do so if I thought any of these proposed tickets had a chance of winning. If you think the liberal smear machine had a field day with Republicans, you’d better brace yourself for a smear tsunami when a Libertarian or Independent gets the nod. I will continue to vote for whom I think might have the best chance of rescuing this country from the leftist liberal carpetbaggers…. it’s called being real and playing the hand you’re dealt with. I would love to see someone outside the realm of current politics come along that had a realistic chance of winning. Unfortunately, the 47% you speak of will continue to grow and if obi-i-won gets his way, he will get about 11 million new voters right away and if he keeps an open border like he wants…..
I have watched Leno’s bit on walking the streets and asking people questions that when I was a kid in grammar school, I would have gotten 100% right. Too many of today’s young adults are clueless and subject to the “slickest” sound bite, never mind if it’s true or not.
The principle reason the overwhelming majority of todays citzens ‘tune-out’ anything government is because of what politics on both sides have become today. While the overwhelming majority of citizens in either the democrat or republicans parties are centrists or moderates, the nations political dialog has been monoplized the the parties two outer most radical extremes — the progressives on the democrat side and the evangelical social reformists tea party of the GOP side. The progressive embrace the human nature of mankind with a mantra of social justice and equality while the evangelical social reformists embrace division and warefare amongst all citizens in a most vile radical manner as depicted by a comment further up stating the nation needs a civil war in which millions would be killed (commonly inferred on PJM) for the benefit of his self serving extreme, radical perception.
Thankfully, the overwhelming majority of Americans associated with any political party, doesn’t embrace that kind of mentality!
“The progressive embrace the human nature of mankind with a mantra of social justice and equality.”
Think much? No! Lie a lot. Yes!
Go away. Come back when you really have commentary worth discussing and not lame-brain prog talking points.
A strategy that has worked for the progressive movement for nearly eighty years of their journey here in America is worthy of learning if you ever intend to have a chance at beating their strategy with one better, in opposition.
Your perceived intellectual superiority to participate on PJM doesn’t quite hold water. All the superior intellect around here got defeated in 2012 as it will continue in 2014 and 2016. You have NO rational solutions a majority of the GOP nor a majority of Americans will buy — all you have are arrogant self perceived intellectual rants of hate and division. What an intellectual winning strategy that is!
Let’s keep doing the same old thing, but this time let’ click our heels and spin around. Maybe we’ll get lucky.
I’m in the total despair category.
What If Elections Don’t Matter? by Andrew P. Napolitano
http://lewrockwell.com/napolitano/napolitano36.1.html
This article says it all!
It depends on what the audience wants. If they want honesty, and not just what works in a difficult situation, then go after it.
If it’s about what each person wants, but someone pays for it – this is one Canadian who says that it is best for Canada to have less to do with the US.
Develop and sell the message — and back it up with action — that you want working boys and girls to go home from work with more money in their pockets. This involves taxes, government regulation on employers, government dead weight diminishing global competition, entitlement moochers, how debt and money printing steals from your paycheck and savings, etc.
When the Democrats talk about the Republican war on women, the Republicans talk about the Democrat war on WORKING women.
Whan the Democrats talk about the Republican war on blacks, the Republicans talk about the Democrat war on WORKING blacks.
Rinse and repeat.
Wasn’t 2012 going to be a banner year for Republicans? Weren’t we going to win the Senate and the Presidency and continue to rule the House? After all, 2010 was a fantastic year for Republicans. Obama’s scandal-ridden administration and economic mismanagement were sure to hurt the Democrat ticket. Conservative politics ruled.
Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum… The progressive GOP establishment went to war against the socially and fiscally conservative wings of the GOP. 2011 had the Republican leadership voting to raise the debt limit and to extend the Patriot Act. The 2012 primary process was one where almost every candidate but Romney was popular until they either flamed out or were flamed by the Romney establishment. Conservatives who believe in lower taxes and constitutionally limited government were called purists and much worse. Romney was inevitable. He was progressive and the moderates were critical. The conservatives would vote Republican regardless. How did that work out?
Now we see a Republican congress voting for higher taxes, more restrictive government (e.g., the NDAA), no cuts in funding for any progressive cause (e.g., Planned Parenthood or NPR), huge cuts in both the active military and in military retirement benefits. They are passive or merely mildly rebuke unconstitutional actions by our President and his administration. Boehner kicked out some conservatives in favor of progressive committee chairmen. The GOP is promising to reduce grassroots (i.g., conservative) influence in future primaries. Hey, perhaps they will restrict our 2nd Amendment rights to boot. Perhaps if we surrender on the illegal alien amnesty issue, huge numbers of them will vote for Republicans in 2014.
So now 2014 is going to be a fantastic year for Republicans. The GOP will surrender every conservative principle on its way to electoral success. Whoo hoo!
The 2012 primary process was one where almost every candidate but Romney was popular until they either flamed out or were flamed by the Romney establishment.
Seems to me Romney won the primaries well enough and that social cons like Santorum were roadkill — *because* they were social cons… the social cons had every opportunity to make their case and failed to get their guy elected.
So in the presidential campaign the social cons still managed to torpedo the campaign courtesy of Akin and Mourdock, underscoring the social con message, which is and was accurately translated as a war on women. This would not have been quite as effective had Romney not already incorrectly claimed that 47% of the voters pay no taxes at all. (Not only do they pay state, local, sales and property taxes, many — maybe most — of these are seniors.)
Romney won both Akin’s and Mourdock’s states by about a 54% to 44% margin over Obama even as both Senate candidates lost. That doesn’t seem to add up to socons torpedoing Romney. I strongly doubt that any constituency that believed that Republicans were conducting a war on women would ever vote Republican regardless of whether Akin or Mourdock ever made their idiotic pronouncements.
I am still waiting for a competent historian to detail why Romney lost. My guess is that history will show that it is a percentage of thoroughly disillusioned fiscal conservatives who didn’t show up to vote in 2012. As many fiscal conservatives have commented here, Romney/Ryan was just the slow train to the same fiscal cliff that Obama/Biden are charging towards.
Romney won both Akin’s and Mourdock’s states by about a 54% to 44% margin over Obama even as both Senate candidates lost. That doesn’t seem to add up to socons torpedoing Romney.
Answer: these aren’t the numbers that matter.
What you’re not seeing is that the effect of Akin and Mourdock in blue or swing states. In an election of 52/48 or thereabouts, it only takes 3% to have an effect. Overall you’re making a vauge and weak counterargument, that repulsiveness of social con issues (war on women) were NOT enough to affect 3% or more.
The other thing to look at here is that gay marriage rights won in all 4 states it was being contested in. This too (war on gays) added to that 3% or more.
It was the swing vote.
To win an election of roughly 50/50 the goal is to convince part of the *other* 50% that you’re the right candidate. Fail to do this and you fail. That means you don’t turn up the conservative dial to 11; it means the opposite.
Arguments that are premised on the notion of turning the dial to 11 are incorrect: they assume that there are a shedload of conservatives out there staying home and if they only have a reason to get out and vote (dial set to 11) they will, but what they fail to account for is mobilisation of an even larger contingent of anti-conservatives who would be highly motivated to vote the opposite way.
And yes this is precisely what you saw with mourdock and akin, just a smaller version of the same idea. They motivated a lot of people who may not have voted otherwise to vote against the GOP. As Art Chance notes above they attracted more votes “against” than “for.”
My guess is that history will show that it is a percentage of thoroughly disillusioned fiscal conservatives who didn’t show up to vote in 2012.
I think you are partly correct. Demographic changes and age meant that a high number who voted McCain — or would have — in 2008 expired and were replaced. They didn’t stay home; they no longer exist. Someone posted some numbers here on this site a couple of weeks after the election that illustrated this.
So Akin and Mourdoch represent all social conservatives? Nice projection there.
Nothing ‘projecting’ about it! Those are only two of a long list of equals the evangelical social conservative tea party has endorsed as ‘their’ candidates.
So Akin and Mourdoch represent all social conservatives? Nice projection there.
As the main nationally visible faces of the social con set during the campaign, there’s no projection needed. These clowns all by their lonesomes scared and/or motivated just enough national voters to vote against the GOP to make a difference.
“Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum… The progressive GOP establishment went to war against the socially and fiscally conservative wings of the GOP.”
Let me see If I can correct your statment just in an effort to be a bit more honest.
Should have read: ‘Well, a funny thing happened on the way to the forum… The progressive GOP establishment went to war against the evangelical socially conservative tea party of the GOP.’
Wait till you see the results of 2014 and 2016.
“Still, if you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed; if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly; you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a precarious chance of survival. There may even be a worse case. You may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than live as slaves. ” Winston Churchill
We have 2 big problems inside the GOP. 1) The Ruling Class and, 2) The Mayberry Class. The RC takes advantage of the MC’s unwillingness to endure even 5 seconds of unpleasantness or conflict. The RC stacks the deck before Primary season, annoints one camdidate as “electable” and the MC rushes for the finish line to hurry up and nominate the “electable” canadidate so we can get this over with.
Everybody recognizes the problem of the RC, but they are just a symptom of the lazy and cowardly MC’s desire to engage in politics only every other November for as long as it takes to vote and then return to ignoring it. The Mayberry Class refuses to see how they sustain and create the Ruling Class. The MC refuses to understand how their ardent desire to always be pleasent, always choose the more pleasent option, and always see things as almost pleasent enough. The Mayberry Class thinks because they are the nicest people they can’t be responsible for bad outcomes. They are wrong.
We must fight the RC and the Commielibs. We can’t be nice. There is no nice option left. If we accept anything but a fighter as a candidate we are perpetuating the decline of the country. You cannot be nice enough that you aren’t tarred by the MSM. You can’t have such a good resume’ that you will win by acclaim. Our side has to win and to win we must fight. Any Karl Rove advice to concentrate on 2 districts in a swing state is exactly the wrong tactic. Stop turning over our future to experts. Stop hoping to be liked by Leftists. Stop retreating into gated-communities and preaching to the choir. Argue with every liberal everywhere. We don’t need more undercover conservatives in unions never blowing their cover. Speak up.
Seriously? The Democrats, with RINO help, are about to give themselves a permanent lock on power with this amnesty deal. The Democrats have also been building up their base by wrecking the economy and creating millions of new welfare dependent. Both of these things, the ruinous regulations coming from the EPA and, of course, the devastating affect Obamacare will have on the economy, will serve to create even more Democrat dependents.
Meanwhile, the Republicans are doing everything they can to turn off the base and right-leaning moderates with their left-leaning policy and increasing racial pandering to the Hispanics, which the base knows will only aid the Democrats in the long run.
Simply put: the GOP has graduated from the Stupid Party to the Suicidal Party. It’s the Democrat’s game to lose and that doesn’t look at all likely.
The immigration issue isn’t a death knell to conservatives as long as we get a bill that makes them go to the end of the line as Rubio has proposed along with border security first. The next thing that needs to be done is to start putting younger more representive members in leadership to replace the tired old white men that are the establishment. The younger members do a much better job explaining how conservativism helps the average person. The biggest problem right now is the leaders spend too much time attacking the other side and not educating voters on the issues. Another thing to bring more people into voting for conservatives is to focus on explaining economic issues IE capitalism isn’t just free enterprise but also requires competition in markets. Another major issue is the revamping of our tax code. it is too complicated and is used to punish people/industries instead of focusing on a fair and efficient way to collect taxes.
If the party continues the way it has then it will be years before they regain the Presidency. However, allowing the younger members to take over the party leadership bringing new ideas and approaches then the party can flourish.
Romney is a good lesson in what NOT to do. Purge the RINOs and quite being pu$$ie$.
Why are you commenters so stupid? Do you even read? Pay attention to numbers. Every word in this post is spot on. Boehner loves this more deeply than any of you morons could imagine. He puts that first, not his accolade in the public. That is why you lug heads are so out to lunch in this. Read the post again an this time concentrate. The arguments are irrefutable. Then out yourself in Boehner”s position and ask yourself do I love this country more than I love a short term political gain. It is a crime that those he feigned being republicans have not united behind him. If you had an ounce of dignity you would be ashamed.
First of all, can we stop labeling Romney a RINO!?!? Good God it’s believable how much he’s been bashed since his loss from our side!!! I know he wasn’t perfect, but he ran a much better campaign than McCain did in ’08. Also to the 3-4 million Republican voters who voted in ’08 and didn’t this last time, you helped this Chicago thug get reelected!!! I can understand people’s reservation during ’12 cycle. Hell this time last year when I first came on to twitter was to campaign against Romney so I can people’s criticism of Romney being an Establishment guy. You can say that perspective was strengthened by the fact a lot of his endorsements and advocates were of the DC Establishment. And it’s true he was endorsed the the Establishment, but regardless Romney at his genuine worst was a hell lot more preferable than Big O at his genuine best (if you can even say he has a genuine best). Also, Romney had his great moments during the ’12 campaign. His biggest I’d say was probably not responding to Big O’s attacks on Bain Capital and the accusation that he killed someone’s wife. Also the “47%” comment did plenty damage coupled with the Left relentlessly attacking it. Now I can’t say how Romney would’ve acted if he were elected to the WH and I’m not going to assume how he would’ve. But I can say for sure we wouldn’t be in the perpetual decline we’re in now. So if you didn’t vote at all this last election cycle, ask yourself this: Where would we be now if I did vote for him?
This false urban myth about “Republican voters staying home” just refuses to die, despite the facts.
Romney got *more* votes than McCain did.
McCain in 2008: 59,948,323 votes
Romney in 2012: 60,929,152 votes
And yet, Obama got 700,000 fewer votes in 2012 than he did in 2008.
Also I’d rather vote for a “RINO” who could win and make some positive difference rather than a candidate who said come waste your vote on me. DUMBEST thing I’ve ever heard.
Oh yes, I understand there are those who detest Romney’s citing bipartisanship. To those who do when you have an 87% Democrat legislature you’ve got NO other choice but to get along. And to his credit it did work out in his favor having balanced the budget every year of his governorship. So my conclusion, give the guy a break and leave him be. Let time heal his reputation.
“To those who do when you have an 87% Democrat legislature you’ve got NO other choice but to get along.”
Which if true means those who can accommodate themselves philosophically to governing such a blue state are excluding themselves from consideration for the Oval Office. In Romneycare, Mitt prototyped some of the worst of Obamacare. There’s no excuse for not knowing what government should not try to do. Whatever stupidity was going to come out of that legislature should have passed over his veto, if he wanted credibility for the Presidency.
“Win” and “positive difference”. It seems the likes of Romney are excluded on both counts, then, doesn’t it? Hint he didn’t lose because he was too conservative.
“but regardless Romney at his genuine worst was a hell lot more preferable than Big O at his genuine best”
Is he, really? Where is the 180 degree turn he promised? Seems like he was going to manage government better and trim the edges.
“Where would we be now if I did vote for him?”
Still not acknowledging the bankruptness of the blue social model, still not building an alternative.
I voted for him.
He and his like are not what we need.
According to the latest Gallup survey, there are about 30 Blue States and only about 12 Red States. (The other 8 are swing states.) And except for Texas, the Red States tend to be less populous and hence have fewer electoral votes.
The GOP can no longer win elections on the “Red States plus Ohio” playbook. There just aren’t enough Red States anymore. States like New Mexico, Colorado, and Nevada that used to be GOP strongholds, are now trending Blue.
You are no longer a majority in this country. You may not even be a plurality any longer.
Considering 2012 saw the GOP increase the number of states it controlled outright to 25, and there are only a handful of blue states where it is not competitive–and in some of the formerly bluest of states like Wisconsin, the GOP retained control while hacking big chunks out of the blue state model–I’d say the Gallup poll you are taking comfort from didn’t ask relevant questions.
You all’s ability to breeze past facts which contradict you is amazing.
sinz54 – You have it precisely right! In fact, the GOPs RNC just recently, decided to abandone the coloring scheme of states because it provides a false narrative. The GOP remains a minority party between the two major parties of registered voters and for certain a minority party philosophy among the total 300 million adust population of 18 and up in America. Rassmussen polling indicated, in the midst of the popular 2010 Tea Party movement, 20% of conservatives, 38% of moderates and 61% of liberals had a favorable opinion towards socialism in America. It was an identity poll and not by any particular political party registry. I suspect as the economic hardship for the middle, working poor and poverty classes lingers on over the decade, those numbers will increase. As the wealthy disparity between the wealthy top ten percent and those below continues to widen, that polling will increase — and the democrats progressives are prepared to capitalize on just that!
The GOP alomng with its ultra conversavtive camp has NO real magic bullets — just magic bullet rhetoric to oppose the reality of the many very complex problems facing the nations. All they present as their magic bullet is Reaganomics which was proven unsustainable, and created the starting journey of the greatest national debt to GDP sinbce the 1930s and the greates wealth disparity
….and the greatest wealth disparity in the nation since the 1920s. Add to that the beginning of the greatest government growth and and major core economic industries moving offshore, all that continues today.
Okay last comment on this page. Despite all challenges I can see the sun coming from the horizon. There’s 25-30 state governments of which will cut spending, introduce tax reform and balance their budgets (something DC refuses to do). More specifically 30 state governors, 28 state legislatures and 25 totally Republican-controlled governments. Also take into account the boom in fracking and oil production in states like PA, ND, SD, TX, OK (my home state). And BIG sales in guns and ammunition. Anyone who says “America’s lost!” shut and get back to work! Also we’ve got a few good people in DC still like Michelle Bachmann Steve King and Louie Gohmert and some others too.
The:1)greed, 2)power, 3) corruption and 4) crony-capitalism oozing from every pore of both RNC/GOP entities is a site to behold. They gave We The People successive leadership failures, i.e., Nixon (resigned); Ford(totally feckless)H.W. Bush(“read my lips” fame;G.W.Bush (economic collapse, aided by Senate-elect Obama). RNC/GOP gave We The People unbelievable Presidential candidate tickets like Nixon/Gerald Ford, John MCCain/Sarah Palin, Romney/Paul Ryan. Is this the future awaiting America??? Nature abhors a vacuum/so does politics…today, enter Progressive New Left Activists.
Remember the November 2012 election? Well, 95% Black vote and 70% Hispanic vote went to Obama.
OK! one asks what’s that got to do with the Tea Party and its attempt to organize? Plenty, is the answer! Most Blacks and Hispanics are receiving some form of Obama’s government assistance.
Ever hear of the Puente Coalition (spanish for “point coalition”)?
Or the several small related Hispanic (or Black) “front” organizations, for example: Respect Arizona, or Citizens for a better Arizona? Texas has theirs! New Mexico, too and Florida as well. North Carolina has their little Black and Hispanic “front” entities as does New York and the Eastern corridor states.
Then there are Attorneys, mostly involved because their practices have suffered greatly with the economic collapse…so they’re now focusing upon “other venues and streams of income.”
United with this “Get Out the Vote (and Voter)” efforts are America’s Election process (especially upcoming 2014 and 2016),Obama’s Amnesty Drive and these “front organizations’” ability to amass huge amounts of cash in the blink of an eye. Spanish Radio and its correlated media outlets is a jauggernaut Any Tea Party organizer would just marvel at…it’s just stupendous, and all in Spanish, too!!!!!
In Arizona, a short four weeks ago, a decision to recall sheriff Joe Arpaio was decided!!! BAM!!!! $1.3 million dollars has aready poured into their coffers…only in Maricopa County!!!! Imagine this, across the USA!!!! Tea Partiers Unite, confront this jauggernaut with a national organization from the get go…otherwise, the corrupt/crony-capitalist RNC/GOP will reign supreme.!!!! Pray. Amen.
@ Tom Perkins
“And of course the socialism of FDR and LBJ is unconstitutional…”
Never let a good opportunity go to waste — so whats stopping you from packaging all your unconstitutional grievances in a few humongous briefs and file them in a federal court and report back on what the court thought of your unconstitutional citations and arguments. Sounnds to me like you’d have a cake-walk win!
“Sounnds to me like you’d have a cake-walk win!”
Sounds to me like you blew past the fact the SCOTUS was successfully intimidated by FDR’s court packing idea, such that they have okay’d blatantly unconstitutional legislation. Thomas is the only justice with a proper regard for stare decisis.
I’m confident you can convince the court of today with all your legal expertise, the black and white unconstitutionality of government social programs. Just start by reminding them of the fact the SCOTUS back then was successfully intimidated by FDR’s court packing idea thus, their unconstitutional ruling and absent that same threat today, the prior ruling must be reversed. Have some faith in your expertise Tom! Go git’er done!
It is a good idea for Republicans to show the diversity of their party. But they MUST be ready to deal with the vicious assaults against their memembers. Accusations of being Uncle Toms, not legitimate members of their race or ethnic group, and “sell outs”. Republicans must point out how minorities are enslaved by the Democrats by being told what to think and how to act. As for immigration reform, they should make the arguments that giving illegal immigrants a different legal requirements to citizenship than legal immigrants is a clear violation of the 14 Ammendment (equal protection under the law). The question is not how to make them citizens, but how to make their presence legal so the government can collect taxes and protect them.