Grumpy Old Party
This ain’t your daddy’s Republican party, that’s for sure.
More like your granddaddy’s.
The self-destructiveness of the Republican party reached some kind of dubious zenith this past fortnight when GOP candidates for President snubbed debates sponsored by two groups of voters the party hasn’t had a lot of luck with lately.
First, the Spanish language channel Univision was forced to cancel a Republican presidential candidate debate last week that would have been translated into Spanish and beamed to a couple of million potential voters. Apparently, none of the aspirants for the highest office in the land could read the invitation because it was in Spanish – or they had “scheduling conflicts” depending on what you really believe. One wonders what those “conflicts” might have been that kept all but one, lone GOP candidate – Arizonian John McCain – from accepting an invitation to address the concerns of the fastest growing demographic group in the country.
But hey! Don’t ever let anyone say that the GOP isn’t “reaching out” to Hispanics. Of course, most members of the party want Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to do the reaching. And then only to reach out and clap those here illegally in irons and send them back from where they came.
Now, enforcing the law is a good thing and comes highly recommended even by most legal immigrants to America. But the eagerness with which many Republicans have gone after the illegal immigrant problem, failing to take into account the sensibilities of the Hispanic community, has been a political disaster. And some of the more rabid suggestions about round ups and other draconian measures to “solve” the illegal immigration problem scares the pantalones off of legal immigrants who fear (not without justification) that they could be caught up in any such nationwide sweep.
So all the candidates but McCain suddenly discovered pressing engagements elsewhere and opted out of participating, fearing the wrath of the base who wouldn’t look too kindly on a candidate appearing in a forum where English was a second language.
What makes this move such an extraordinary example of tone deafness is that socially and culturally, Hispanics generally would be a nice fit with the Republican party. The GOP primary message of family values would no doubt strike a resonating chord with many in the family-oriented Hispanic community. And the Republican emphasis on the idea of America as the land of opportunity should also ring some bells among Hispanic voters.
But the GOP is acting as if they were running an election in 1980 and not 2008 where they could safely ignore what the census referred to at the time as “non-whites” and concentrate on piling up huge majorities among white males. This is no longer a viable electoral strategy.
Hispanics today make up almost 14% of the population, up from around 8% in 1980. By 2025, demographic trends predict Hispanics could make up almost a quarter of all Americans. By contrast, whites as a percentage of population have fallen from around 80% in 1980 to 72% today. Couple that with the declining ability of the GOP to attract younger, educated white males and you have a party on the verge of permanent minority status or oblivion, depending on how quickly Republicans can adapt.
Slighting Hispanics might be considered enough idiocy a political party could aspire to for an entire election cycle. But a little more than a week after turning down one minority group, the GOP made it a twofer by dissing African-Americans, having the four leading candidates for the party’s nomination suddenly discover that once again, that ubiquitous excuse of a “scheduling conflict” will keep them from attending a debate that PBS talk show host Tavis Smiley spent a year setting up.
The invites for the debate went out last March which means that either these candidates have the most tightly scheduled campaigns in history or they are lying through their teeth. Newt Gingrich goes for the latter explanation when he calls their excuse “baloney.” The last black GOP Member of Congress, former Congressman J.C. Watts who retired in 2002 said “You kind of scratch your head thinking why are they making decisions like that?” Watts went on to point out that one possible explanation for this stupidity is that none of the candidates have an African American in a senior staff position that could illustrate for them what a blunder they were making by passing on the debate.
Smiley, one of the sharpest talk show hosts around, seemed puzzled when he said on the Tonight Show, “What does it say when you don’t think that black issues and brown issues and issues for red and yellow:what does it say when you don’t think that all of us are valuable in this process?”
What it says is whatever your political opponents want to say about it. Sure enough, African-American New York Times columnist Bob Herbert unloaded on the Republican party in a blistering piece that pulled few punches:
They won’t be there. They can’t be bothered debating issues that might be of interest to black Americans. After all, they’re Republicans.
This is the party of the Southern strategy – the party that ran, like panting dogs, after the votes of segregationist whites who were repelled by the very idea of giving equal treatment to blacks. Ronald Reagan, George H.W. (Willie Horton) Bush, George W. (Compassionate Conservative) Bush – they all ran with that lousy pack.
And that was mild compared to what they’re saying about the GOP on blogs. And we’re still waiting for the race baiters like Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson to weigh in on the issue. No doubt, they’ll have some pithy comments to make on the subject.
Face it my GOP friends; these snubs do not reveal a party that refuses to “pander” to ethnicity or race. It shows a party out of touch with modern America; a 21st century industrial democracy with 300 million people of every race, creed, color, and ethnic background on earth. It isn’t about pandering. It’s about listening. And parties that don’t listen to huge segments of the voting public lose elections. And they will keep losing elections until they either change or die.
Make no mistake. The modern Republican party is becoming monochromatic and regional in nature. It is bleeding supporters like a stuck pig; women, young folk, and working class whites are becoming Democrats right under your noses because you are failing to hear what they are telling you about issues that concern them.
Ducking debates because the audience is hostile or there are few votes to garner is stupid in this day and age. And the party is quite likely to pay for this shortsightedness on election day in 2008.
Rick Moran blogs at Right Wing Nut House.
God knows I wouldn’t want to defend politicians, even those of the Republican persuasion, but if it’s true that the invitations to the candidates were in fact in Spanish, I would suggest that it’s not just the candidates who are at fault. Inasmuch as the office they’re seeking is the presidency of the United States, not Mexico, Colombia or El Salvador, it would not have been unreasonable to have sent the invitations in English. That is, unless the whole point of Univision’s invitation was to embarrass the GOP candidates.
Sincerely, Burt Prelutsky
Hispanics may be 14% of the population but they are a smaller per centage of the electorate. Alienating 72% to pander to 14% doesn’t strike me as a good tactic. Anyway, from my perpective here in flyover land, working class whites and blacks are upset about immigration and have noticed this massive influx of immigrants (many of whom are not Hispanic) are driving down their wages. However rich folks can hire nannies, gardeners, home improvement handymen and so on cheaply. Big businesses can hire workers cheaper and flout workplace rules with the connivance of government officials.
Further, I don’t think it has escaped the notice of Hispanic American citizens that a crackdown on illegal immigrants would serve their economic interests.
I saw this coming in the spring of 2006 when immigration suddenly became an issue. I thought we kicked Pat Buchanan out of the party after his “Culture War” train wreck in 1992.
Look at the immigration bill that failed in the Senate over the summer.
It was not just people on the right who didn’t want it, but also people on the left. America has to take care of Americans first.
As a staunch conservative I think the problem with immigration is it takes to long, 8yrs waiting is ridiculous and part of the reason why the system is broken.
Burt:
My reference to the invites being in Spanish was gratuitous sarcasm.
I have no idea how they were delivered but I feel sure that the candidates read and understood not only the invites but the implications of attending.
Does being for strong border enforcement and all the laws being enforced preclude all but one presidential candidate from speaking directly to Hispanics?
Immigration ain’t the point. It’s insulting a sizable segment of the electorate – many of whom would be inclined to vote for your party.
The Mayday 2006 immigration brouhaha was to introduce a Soros funded wedge issue against Republicans. Hispanics are a natural fit for Republicans. Legal immigrants don’t come to the US to live in the place they moved away from. La Raza and ANSWER and their type were funded indirectly by Soros organizations, and my bet is that they paid many of the protestors to show up, precisely to get the reaction they could label as racist.
That should be a bad joke, La Raza being able to call someone else racist. Yet it is a real danger to Republicans and to the US.
This is NOT why I am disappointed in the GOP.
They have not gone far enough in standing up for AMERICANS, standing up against the enemies of our country both foreign and domestic.
Instead, they are dithering and blithering like they’ve taken hormone treatments pre-sex change.
“socially and culturally, Hispanics generally would be a nice fit with the Republican party.”
Not again,please!
Look,Rick,hispanics will no more vote GOP over social values than socially conservatives blacks do and the reason is simple.
Next time there’s a gay rights or pro-abortion rally in D.C.,tune into C-Span and watch the sea of white middle/upper middle-class faces.Those are “white issues” of little interest to minorities.
The Dems will offer them public subsidies,food stamps,free health care and education for their kids(in spanish)etc,etc and they will vote Dem,just as black americans do.
Open border cons and libertarians have imported millions of Dem votes,it was a very,very stupid thing to do,but you did it and attacked(nastily)those who warned you that it was very,very stupid and now we all reap the crops of this stupidity.
But hey,don’t mind me,I’m just cranky,the laundry put too much starch in my hood,you know?,but you just keep bashing the base as hard as you can.
After all,it was such a success in ’06,right?
The so-called whiteness of the Republican Party is due almost solely to the successful slander campaign carried out by the leftist establishment. The Democrats cannot afford even a slight drop in their minority totals on Election Day. Thus, they do everything possible to radicalize blacks and other minorities. At the end of the day, Republicans are the victims of lies.
How desperate are the Democrats to hold onto 90% of all black voters? It is estimated that even a drop to 83% is enough to doom them in 2008! These people must be radicalized and perceive themselves as “victims of oppression.” As a practical manner, the Democrats have no other choice.
I think you may find what you’re looking for in the Democrat party.
I’m a female in the NE and agree in concept but not in practice. This GOP with this current base is incapable of reaching out and the targets are not yet receptive — it is not yet time. Furthermore, the backlash from the conservative base would be horrific. Shamnesty is just a small example, and I was vociferously opposed to it. The arrogance of Vicente Fox and Mexico toward our immigration laws makes many of us even angrier.
But the biggest reason, valid or not, for the GOP candidates to dis great swaths of the voting public who trend Dem is that they perceive the top tier Dem candidates to be loathesome, stupid, narcissistic, dangerous, corrupt, far-left, enemy-worshipping, America-hating, race-baiting panderers. Which I happen to agree with. Doesn’t mean a Dem won’t win; does mean our side doesn’t think those tactics will win. We’ll find out.
The immigration issue is a prime example of how Republicans are placed in a no win situation. First of all, the Democrats don’t care how much they damage the country. Deep in their guts, they adhere to the leftist doctrine that the harm is not really that important. The main thing is to grab power and build a utopian society. There is simply no way that the United States can survive an open door immigration policy! This is especially true, as the late Milton Friedman pointed out, when welfare is available to illegal immigrants. The Republicans rightfully take this nonsense to task. This inevitably allows the MSM and its leftist institutions to slime the Republicans as bigots. The GOP has been placed in an awkward position of always being royally screwed when doing the right thing.
One must understand the vileness of the Democratic Party. When push comes to shove, they are radical socialists and self-hating Americans. Anything is deemed justified to achieve power. Republicans are not sinless, but their moral failings are not premised upon the doctrine of class warfare.
David:
All of what you say is interesting but it still doesn’t explain why GOP presidential candidate insulted blacks and Hispanics by blowing off their debates.
In 2004 the convention for minority journalists booed Bush and cheered for Kerry. Why show up to be humiliated?
What we are seeing is the factionalization of the electorate by ‘segment’, and then working hard to marginalize those within those segment-factions to not gain an interest in elections so that only the ideologically pure will see any reason to get up and do anything. That factionalization and marginalization is not recent and has a history going back at least 30 years. By shifting from broad-based issues that affect all Americans to a concept of ‘crafting a majority’ out of disparate pieces, the entire National political culture no longer embraces the common culture of the US. That is true on both ‘sides’ as this is a bi-partisan phenomena.
We have had sub-majority turn outs for Congressional elections for a long time, and now we are heading into a Presidential election in which we may just cross that line and have a sub-majority turnout, making any elected official a plurality President and unable to craft a common vision for the Nation. By going in the opposite direction of integration across the board, the dis-integration down to race, ethnicity, culture, geography, wealth status, and a number of other factional designators now means that the political parties no longer support a common culture. In dis-integrating the electorate, no larger societal integration can happen as ‘identity politics’ trumps National concerns.
Both parties have been at this for some time, and was previously limited to roughly geographic separations and interests. By creating niche and boutique concerns that are then hyped as needing National attention,the common culture is no longer served and even the old regionalism disintegrates. Somehow in being ‘fair’ to all the parts, the whole is suffering, but you dare not say that as a politician less those factions turn on you rabidly in personal, partisan and ideological attacks. Apparently color of your skin or ethnic background now trumps character and societal well-being for all Americans.
Divided this house will fall… and that is exactly the direction this is headed. If you could just get those who feel disenfranchised to see any reason to support the Nation and practice the franchise that their forebearers spent much blood on, things might change. But that would require acknowledging that there is value to having a common culture beyond the factions. And setting aside personal politics to support the Nation, which currently is not the case.
Where I come from Illegal aliens don’t take traditionally Republican voter jobs they take Union jobs in the packing plants.
Illegal immigration is not just a thorn in the Republican side it is a thorn in the side of hard working union members.
The crime statistics are heavily tilted in favor of these illegals as evidenced by a daily reading of arrest records and that is not lost on one of either party that can read.
The Dems may find there is a price to pay for their shameless pandering to this constituency more so then the Reps when the doors close on the voting booths.
“All of what you say is interesting but it still doesn’t explain why GOP presidential candidate insulted blacks and Hispanics by blowing off their debates.”
Excuse me, but do you realize what you are saying? Since when do organizations of political radicals represent all blacks and Hispanics? Do the Nazis and the KKK represent all white people?
Hey Rick!
Anyone who doesn’t have a working knowledge of english shouldn’t BE voting and any groups who are openly and actively against what the speaker has to say before he even has a chance to say it is obviously not a place to speak at.
What pile of dirt were you hiding your head when tens of thousands protested in our streets chanting “reconquista” in a sea of Mexican flags while explaining the concept of Aztlan?? AND are these the same folks you now suggest are “scared” of being wrongly rounded up? Bush received more hispanic votes simply because he actively worked towards destroying our sovereignty and economy in numerous ways for illegal alien and big business benefit.
Of the economic statistics and voter registrations readily available to anyone who cares to study them shows Mexican immigrants are overwhelmingly Liberal hand-out voters as well as the groups who command the vote of many black voters. Kennedy, Pelosi, Reid and Durbin know this, how is that you do not?
Individual Americans who can willingly set aside a bombardment of learned bias to actually watch and actively seek answers from a truly informed position of the issues will readily move away from Liberal drool all by themselves.
Which means Rick, this has nothing to do with “slighting” anyone.
The attempt to “garner” votes from closed minded and brainwashed people who have been fed the race card and prejudice from childhood is beyond stupidity and the candidates have learned by experience that what you’re selling is ludicrous.
To repeat. Rick said the invitation being in Spanish was a specious comment. Man, George Soros is playing you guys like a violin.
“Why show up to be humiliated?”
Showing up demonstrates courage. It would also demonstrate courage for he (conservative) Republicans to do more then just pander to the crowds, as they typically do when they bother to show up at these events.
I can understand the complaints of some Republicans, including some minority Republicans, that these groups may be illegitimate representations or that they do not fairly represent those minorities who prefer a more color blind approach. However, if one does not make any effort to explain the benefits of one’s own policies against one’s political opponents then one chances of victory is zero.
“However, if one does not make any effort to explain the benefits of one’s own policies against one’s political opponents then one chances of victory is zero.”
Republicans should not be hesitant in publicly describing these groups as far left-wing extremists. Showing up for their meetings only provides them with unmerited credibility. It is best to go over their heads and speak directly to the sensible minorities.
The G.O.P. must cease being fearful of the lunatic left. It has been doing so since cutting slack for the leftist extremist, Martin Luther King. Am I actually taking to task the civil rights icon that supposedly should never be criticized? Yes, I most certainly am doing so. MLK was a self-hating American who literally described his own country as a white oppressor of minorities throughout the world. He also was a radical socialist. Don’t believe me? Well, you merely need to read MLK’s autobiography. It’s all in there.
“Do the Nazis and the KKK represent all white people?”
According to “conservatives” like Rick Moran,yeah,pretty much.
“I thought we kicked Pat Buchanan out of the party after his “Culture War” train wreck in 1992.”
You did,and got 8 yrs of Clinton and 6 yrs of open borders during a bungled war(goodbye national security issue),a willful refusal to enforece the law(goodbye law and order issue),massive budget deficits and the biggest new entitlement program in a generation(and no idea how to pay for it and goodbye small gov’t issue),earmarks,porkbarrelling and massive increases in entitlement spending(goodbye fiscal responsibilty issue).
Which leaves tax cuts,abortion and gay sex,but I don’t want a another hectoring lecture from Moran about how bigoted GOP voters are,so let’s just skip by those.
But,hey,you got Pat,right?
That’ll show’em!
Free clue,there are not enough illegal aliens and corporate CEO’s to make a national majority,something you should have picked up on in ’06.But then,Ken Mehlman didn’t either,which may explain his new career as a think tanker(lord help us all).
“Showing up demonstrates courage”
so does showing up for the firing squad,it also demonstrates a rare degree of stupidity…..wait a minute here…stupidity….stupid party……ah,I see your point!
m, Pat Buchanan’s culture war got us 8 years of Clinton. Closed borders does not play well. Never did. Never will. Give it up.
“Pat Buchanan’s culture war got us 8 years of Clinton. Closed borders does not play well. Never did. Never will. Give it up.”
Amen. I am not a backer of Pat Buchanan. He is right roughly about 80% of the time. The other 20% makes a huge difference! We should never be for closed borders. America needs most of these immigrants. No, we should want to merely control the borders. Our goal should be legalization—not bigoted exclusion.
I don’t think there is any chance that moderates and conservatives can find what they’re looking for in the Democratic party, not as it exists today. I’m a former Democrat who went GOP but at this point I have no use for either “party” because they’ve both been taken over by extremists I’ll vote for the candidate who represents my views most closely and who is not named Hillary. Right now that means Giuliani.
I think it’s time for Generation X to take over the GOP. Seriously.
If anyone is smart enough in that party, he/she would begin to gather the best minds in that generation, summarize the “wisdom of the elders”, so to speak, and tell the elders to “enjoy your retirements, because we are not going to have any!”
The Reagan Revolution did a whole lot for them. Nowadays, those involved are either dead, retired, or their voices waning years after they have made and/or become history.
There’s a new generation in the wings, one that is multi-ethnic, multi-religious, and very savvy in the ways of the media and the popular culture. I think it’s time for this generation to step in and not just be counted, but declare their own revolution in the party. I suspect they will become the GOP’s salvation.
Let Guiliani choose Michael Steele as a running mate and you will see more African Americans vote Republican.
Even without Steele, folks are beginning, ever so slowly, to notice the few black conservative candidates. Remember, the black community is essential conservative socially.
Just as with the Jews, African Americans will notice the Dems have done little for them lately, jeez, can you say inner city mayors and schools, and slowly turn.
Bank on it.
Mr. Moran,
It seems you are disappointed no one seems to be addressing your point that the GOP candidates should have shown up to speak to the Hispanic audience nationwide, which is a fair point. I think the short answer is that they have begun to notice (as you have not) the depth of feeling about illegal immigration and the lack of enforcement. They can’t afford to be seen to be pandering to Hispanics who don’t appear to be assimilating (i.e. can only speak Spanish).
Nowhere did Rick Moran suggest that “the Nazis and the KKK represent all white people.” This kind of crude attack is entirely unnecessary. Disagree with Mr. Moran, but be civil about it.
“at this point I have no use for either “party” because they’ve both been taken over by extremists”
The “extremist right wing GOP” is currently offering you:
1)A liberal governor who can’t make up his mind on the issues.
2)A liberal mayor who has made up his mind on the issues,80% opposite of party voters
3)A liberal Senator who’s made up his mind on one issue,but is a leading light of Mr. Moran’s “We hate Republicans” wing of the Republican party.All have accpeted,in some degree,bigger,more intrusive government,from health care to hate crime laws and speech codes.Are these the “extremists” you refer to?
“Closed borders does not play well. Never did. Never will. Give it up.”
Strawman Alert!!!!!
I never said I favor completely closed borders.Never assume,you make an ass out of u and me.
I favor immigration aimed at high end immigrants,educated and technically skilled(and,no,cutting your grass for a little less does not count as a “technical skill”)in numbers we can absorb and assimilate(which ain’t happening now).
And no daisy chain family immigration,just because a person has a valuable skill doesn’t mean his/her idiot brother/in-law should go to the head of the line.
and his idiot brother
and then his idiot brother……
And finally,to your assertion “Closed borders does not play well.”,I say only….2006.
But why learn when you can pretend it never happened?
There is a certain amount of “Because we’re right, dammit” attitude from Republicans, and groups supporting Democrats can engineer episodes like this to make them look bad. Politicking from the left is all about how things can be made to look, not how they actually are. Accepting such invitations is an individual political risk. A decade of Republicans accepting such invitations and pleasantly articulating their views would be good for the party and for its best ideas, but each individual candidate sets himself up for news video of minorities booing him or her, and being asked trapping, dishonest questions that can be spun against them.
That said, Republicans need to field candidates who will take those risks. In similar fashion, we should expect Democratic candidates to speak to unsympathetic groups as well. Such things are part of leadership.
You been hanging out with your brother again, Rick? You know, the Democratic party propagandist at ABC.
You sound just like him. And you know what. You are both fooling yourselves.
I do have to laugh, though. The Democrats won’t be caught dead talking to anyone outside the moonbat tent. They refused to debate on Fox, I can assure you you will not find them at a debate hosted by the NRA, National Council of Churches or the VFW. Of course you will give them a pass on that because they are LLL Democrats and in the Democrats book only race and ideology counts. As in anyone who isn’t marching lockstep with the Democratic party is not to be listened to because they don’t count.
I have stated this observation before and I will again. The Democrats are behaving like they have already won in 2008. I wonder how much money they have spent so far on ensuring that outcome? It has to cost a pretty penny to rig so many local elections, falsify voter records, register illegal voters, etc.
Drop the religious right / Southern Heritage agenda, and the GOP would pick up a lot of people (I’m one of ‘em). That day is a ways off, though, since the anti-choice, homophobic wing of the party makes up a substantial part of the voting base.
- DLC concern troll
Political parties are not about race but ideas. Race politics should stop but they will not because it is about power. Do the Republicans want people in the party who do not believe in their platform. If the platform changes to accomodate than why have ideas. Blacks do not like the ideas of said party, so be it.
“the moderator of this event, Tavis Smiley, has failed to show Republicans and conservatives the minimum respect needed to justify a wasted night in Baltimore.”
http://ace.mu.nu/archives/242012.php
http://newsbusters.org/blogs/matthew-sheffield/2007/09/28/pbs-host-tavis-smiley-misleads-about-serial-killer-bush-remark