Is the Right’s Lack of Introspection Holding It Back?
It is unfortunate that Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus named his after-action report of the 2012 election an “autopsy.” Since autopsies are performed on the dead, it seems out of place to refer to a political party that raised a billion dollars to elect a president, and hundreds of millions more to elect senators and congressman, as having passed on. Money may not be everything, but it is a telling marker relating to the commitment and enthusiasm of the party faithful.
This is especially true when one looks at the 11 races for governor, where the GOP actually picked up a statehouse in North Carolina. Republicans now control 30 governorships to 19 for the Democrats (Rhode Island’s Lincoln Chafee, a former Republican, won as an independent). In addition, 24 Republican governors preside over legislatures controlled by the GOP to just 12 for the Democrats.
Does this sound like a political party needing an autopsy?
The GOP is alive and well at the state level and has a deep bench of Republican governors, some of whom will almost certainly enter the race for president in 2016. But what marks many of these state executives is a pragmatic approach to governance that has been utterly rejected by many on the right as “Democrat-lite” and hence unworthy of consideration for the highest office in the land.
Regardless, Priebus commissioned the report based on the idea that something was fundamentally wrong with the party at the national level; in this, he hit the mark. As Thomas Edsall points out, the report was brutal in its frankness:
The G.O.P. report is an extraordinary public acknowledgment of internal discord and vulnerability, which has intensified the battle between the deeply committed conservative wing and the more pragmatic, pro-business wing for control of the Republican Party. With just a few exceptions, it does not mince words.
At the federal level, it says, the party is “marginalizing itself,” and, in the absence of major change, “it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win a presidential election in the near future.” Young voters are “rolling their eyes at what the party represents.” Voters’ belief that “the G.O.P. does not care about them is doing great harm.” Formerly loyal voters gathered in focus groups describe Republicans as “ ‘scary,’ ‘narrow-minded’ and ‘out of touch’ and that we were a party of ‘stuffy old men.’ ”
Alas, the report was dismissed as soon as it was published by the very people who had the most to gain by reading it. What should have sparked a serious discussion and an introspective look at the party’s failings became just one more attempt by the “establishment” to marginalize the right.
The problem with Republicans is not their stance on immigration reform, gay marriage, or abortion. Few believe that supporting the president’s immigration reform agenda will draw Hispanics to the party, or that doing a 180 and supporting gay marriage will mollify young people and result in them embracing the GOP. The problem with the party manifests itself in exactly the way this thoughtful report was received: with closed-mindedness and a paranoia about the motives for issuing it bordering on the pathological. What should have set off a round of serious debate about why voters don’t believe that Republicans care about them, or are out of touch, or are scary and narrow-minded actually resulted in a slugfest of vindictiveness and name-calling that only served to prove that the former GOP voters were right.
When things worked less well for conservatives who lacked Reagan’s luck and his genius, they decided their failure was explainable only by sabotage — after all, how else could they lose? On the way, the Right developed a sense of entitlement (the Republican Party owed them a nominee of their liking); an embrace of victimhood; a habit of translating their tactical failure to win over more voters into a moral failure on the part of those voters for not sensing their value; and a belief that they can manage to win more elections by purging all factions (and people) not wholly in sync with their views.
They need to be fired and replaced with people who aren't careerists.
They need to be fired and replaced with people who aren't careerists.
No, Moran, as usual, you have that pretty much exactly backwards. The Republicans leaders on the state level are the ones who are much more likely to be actual Republicans/conservatives who govern on more conservative principles (low taxes, frugal spending, pro-business, pro-job creation, pro-personal freedom, etc.) than are the creatures who call themselves Republicans at the national level, but who act just... (show more)
No, Moran, as usual, you have that pretty much exactly backwards. The Republicans leaders on the state level are the ones who are much more likely to be actual Republicans/conservatives who govern on more conservative principles (low taxes, frugal spending, pro-business, pro-job creation, pro-personal freedom, etc.) than are the creatures who call themselves Republicans at the national level, but who act just like Democrats-lite whenever a time to stand up for conservative principles and against liberal nonsense comes up. The national GOP gang are members of the Incumbent Party and not what the real GOP is supposed to be about (and claims to be about), and they've done their best to ruin the brand of the party by being Democrats-lite, especially on the issue of runaway government spending. In this article, you're essentially saying people like John McCain and Lindsey Graham and their ilk are less "pragmatic" (translation in Moran's dictionary = go along with whatever Dems want) and more "conservative" than people like Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal are. This makes you sound either completely clueless or like you're just another Dem shill in the media. (show less)
Few Reasons for personally dissing these establishments controlling the Party and the GOP:
1. Compromise our freedoms by compromising with votes to pass, because for the sake of compromising to get along with liberal radical left. Which btw produce nothing but socialistic policy law? True republicans would not do this. Compromise is not for or about America. Compromise is about chaining Americans to social compact chains. Compromise is about rules that strip Americans of freedom, our God Given Rights. My, Our Pursuits have been limited by compromise.... (show more)
Few Reasons for personally dissing these establishments controlling the Party and the GOP:
1. Compromise our freedoms by compromising with votes to pass, because for the sake of compromising to get along with liberal radical left. Which btw produce nothing but socialistic policy law? True republicans would not do this. Compromise is not for or about America. Compromise is about chaining Americans to social compact chains. Compromise is about rules that strip Americans of freedom, our God Given Rights. My, Our Pursuits have been limited by compromise. Compromise regulates America in the Wrong direction. This is the path of the GOP and Republicans (rinos).
2. Closed door rino meetings. Insist meeting behind closed doors to get something done, and before a vote on the floor, the public never sees, never knows, never knew it was a Secret meeting, What goes on behind those doors with a small gang of #”?, Not the entire congress involved just a gang of 4, or gang of 8.... By the time we know there is a bill on the floor, if you’re watching the floor on CSPAN. Now the big ‘But,’ But for me and other citizens, it IS To Late to Call Congress. Really? Out from under the radar, now its time for a press conference (but only if under the raider was caught). I’m watching and it really gets ‘my personal’ citizen nerve because now there they are with the theatrics. They didn’t even read the bill but the gang of 4, or 8 or 12 did. More importantly, the people never got to read, all of congress had not the time to read. Or days pass and after the fact, a leak, we find out this monster passed and it includes bs compromises. No wonder they kept it secret. Once again ‘We the People’ are infringed upon, more liberty down the drain complements of RINOS and Compromise tactics. Their process and methods are unconstitutional. This is not how congress was designed in the constitution to act. But they will continue repeating secret meetings, closed door deals and keep us all in the dark for as long as they can and more so until each bill passed is too late to rebut.
3. There is no leadership, just Rinos with agendas of their own, forget the people who they work for. The are not conservative or republican. They are rinos.
4. Funding the stupid <a href="http://h.care/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">h.care</a> was a huge mistake. Why doesn’t the house just block the lefts agenda for the next four years? Why, because they are Rinos? They are rinos; Real Republicans would not be doing what they are doing period.
5. Thanks to republican Senators includes Lindsey Graham, we have Two sitting SCOTUS Judges who will legislate from the Bench. Unconstitutional, that is a perfect example of what Republican (rino) Politician compromise hands the America People to live with.
6. Personally disappointing GOP/RNC sponsors Faux Republicans to run on a republican ticket. Therefore, I personally have No faith in the GOP/RNC EVER turning out true conservative republicans. Of course, I'm fed up with the rino establishment with it because they are not representing true republicanism.
7. - 100. I’ll stop here and spare the rest.
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Obviously, you have NO allegiance to the constitution or its processes!
By design the founders of the constitutions electoral process for the 'peoples' representatives, district by district and state by state, the process of congress is come together, debate the issues and come to some consensus compromise. Otherwise, the constitution would have devised a system of dueling (guns) representatives in congress and the last man standing -- wins the issue.
Our constitutional process of many, coming together in compromise, is what makes America unique from tyrannical religious and otherwise zealot poltical dictators, etc.
Is it posssible you're in the wrong country?
Obviously, you have NO allegiance to the constitution or its processes!
By design the founders of the constitutions electoral process for the 'peoples' representatives, district by district and state by state, the process of congress is come together, debate the issues and come to some consensus compromise. Otherwise, the constitution would have devised a system of dueling (guns) representatives in congress and the last man standing -- wins the issue.
Our constitutional process of many, coming together in compromise, is what makes America unique from tyrannical religious and otherwise zealot poltical dictators, etc.
Is it posssible you're in the wrong country?
I'm in America, Zeke1. Is it possible that you're needed to move to euro?
If the consensus of compromise consist of pass bills that harm Americans then compromise should be out of the question. The Congress along with this sitting chief of do nothing has created, run up not 17trillion But actually 100 trillion dollar debt... Funded us in to a disasterour... (show more)
I'm in America, Zeke1. Is it possible that you're needed to move to euro?
If the consensus of compromise consist of pass bills that harm Americans then compromise should be out of the question. The Congress along with this sitting chief of do nothing has created, run up not 17trillion But actually 100 trillion dollar debt... Funded us in to a disasterour future, devising bills that the people cannot pay and this is not: imposing on, infringe on, gross neglect, or violations of public trust?
It certainly is! (show less)
Unlike the GOP of the 1970s, today's GOP has turned inward.
It is less interested in reaching out to new blocs of voters--the base scornfully dismisses that as "pandering"--than in preaching to the choir and continuing to turn out its (gradually shrinking) white married Christian base.
In the late 1960s and in the 1970s, Nixon and Reagan made special efforts to win over the Italian-American and Irish-American blue-collar urban ethnics. They became the beginning of the so-called "Reagan Democrats." Reagan even made a special effort to appeal to orthodox Jews who were worried about Carter's views on Israel. The GOP actively appealed to these groups, focusing on issues... (show more)
Unlike the GOP of the 1970s, today's GOP has turned inward.
It is less interested in reaching out to new blocs of voters--the base scornfully dismisses that as "pandering"--than in preaching to the choir and continuing to turn out its (gradually shrinking) white married Christian base.
In the late 1960s and in the 1970s, Nixon and Reagan made special efforts to win over the Italian-American and Irish-American blue-collar urban ethnics. They became the beginning of the so-called "Reagan Democrats." Reagan even made a special effort to appeal to orthodox Jews who were worried about Carter's views on Israel. The GOP actively appealed to these groups, focusing on issues important to them. Yet at the time, no base Republicans criticized Nixon or Reagan for "pandering" to these groups. After all, that's what politics is about: You have to SELL yourself to the voters. If you find the concept of selling yourself demeaning, don't go into politics.
Today's GOP base just doesn't want to do that anymore. They want every Presidential election to be all about *them*: The GOP should always try to win by turning out the base--who cares what the other half of the electorate thinks? And if the GOP loses, well, that's just because the base didn't turn out in large enough numbers!
Sound familiar?
It should.
It's precisely the stuff that gets posted daily to blogs like PJ Media.
It started as a deliberate electoral strategy by consultants like Karl Rove to get Bush elected just that way: Keep the Red States, and win Ohio by turning out the evangelicals.
Rove got paid to get Bush elected, and he did it that way. But Rove did it with narrow victories--Bush even lost the popular vote in 2000--and by ignoring the future when the Dem's base of minorities, women and public employees might start to outnumber the GOP base.
So here we are in this box. The GOP base reflexively decries any attempt to reach out beyond the base as "pandering". Yet the GOP base is now shrinking as a percentage of the electorate.
David Brooks had the base pegged when he wrote:
"The base would rather keep control of a party that loses, than lose control of a party that wins." (show less)
But Moderates are the infiltrators, the rinos, not a party.
But Moderates are the infiltrators, the rinos, not a party.
The days of candidate personality and honest messaging being the determining factor for campaigning and election are over. Now its lies, propaganda, misrepresentation of facts, ignoring facts and ignorance that rules supreme.
As for the GOP infighting for party control of ideology, it only is hurting the GOP larger base of moderates and... (show more)
The days of candidate personality and honest messaging being the determining factor for campaigning and election are over. Now its lies, propaganda, misrepresentation of facts, ignoring facts and ignorance that rules supreme.
As for the GOP infighting for party control of ideology, it only is hurting the GOP larger base of moderates and independents. The minority messaging and ideology of the Tea Party 'conservative' movement is not only a party minority position inside the GOP field of supporters but, also a minority positon nationally on virtually every issue. Your last paragraph pretty much sums up the GOP battle today, which has been a historical battle for the party since its inception. Each time in history when this occurs, the progressives -- progress! (show less)
<a href="http://RedState.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RedState.com</a> banned me outright for daring to disagree (in a polite civil way) with the groupthink.
I never got personal, I never used strong language. But I didn't agree with them. So they just took my account away so I couldn't post anymore.
<a href="http://RedState.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">RedState.com</a> banned me outright for daring to disagree (in a polite civil way) with the groupthink.
I never got personal, I never used strong language. But I didn't agree with them. So they just took my account away so I couldn't post anymore.
At heart, the only support for any politically ideological 'faith' that most people are able to verbalize is a tautology. It is because it is because it is. The facts don't really matter, reality be damned. Critical thinking (which begins with self-examination) is not needed, unless you're examining yourself to make sure that you're following all of the tenets and doctrines and teachings of the 'faith.' This is no less true of the left than it is of the right. The same can be said of most libertarians. In short, they are unable to express any philosophy that could be used as a foundation for their beliefs. The argument supporting most of their positions are self-referential (tautologies) and empty sophistries, at best.
Allow me to use an example. Its just one example of many. Conservatives, particularly... (show more)
At heart, the only support for any politically ideological 'faith' that most people are able to verbalize is a tautology. It is because it is because it is. The facts don't really matter, reality be damned. Critical thinking (which begins with self-examination) is not needed, unless you're examining yourself to make sure that you're following all of the tenets and doctrines and teachings of the 'faith.' This is no less true of the left than it is of the right. The same can be said of most libertarians. In short, they are unable to express any philosophy that could be used as a foundation for their beliefs. The argument supporting most of their positions are self-referential (tautologies) and empty sophistries, at best.
Allow me to use an example. Its just one example of many. Conservatives, particularly fiscal cons, proclaim their disgust at deficit spending in D.C and in their state, and they are profoundly justified in their complaints, on both ethical and moral grounds. The government has a gun stuck up our collective noses and demands, 'Gimme your money, or else!' You're damn straight you oughta complain! My question is this: how many conservatives are free of debt, themselves? How many of them have credit cards? School loans? Car and mortgage payments? Furniture and appliances that aren't paid for? Wardrobes? How many have more than a couple of thousand bucks in a savings account or a safety deposit box, or even in a coffee can buried in the back yard? Yes, complain about government spending. It's a travesty and it is a crime. otoh, mebbe you might want to try to live your 'faith,' yourselves.
Pick an issue. You'll see this type of thinking and behavior everywhere you look. We see this type of behavior on the left. We see it on the right. We see it in the middle. We see it in so-called libertarians.
We all complain about the politicians who keep screwing us over, and rightfully so...but we keep electing and re-electing them, or electing others just like them.
Conservative, liberal or independent, we, the American people, have been screwing up by the numbers. The problems start with us. The problem starts with the person who looks back at you from your mirror. (show less)
Depends on the nature of "faith" you're referring to; you might be assuming that WB is referring to religious faith? I don't believe it's the case though; I think he's referring to the proverbial "zeitgeist."
As for the parents with the mortgage & the kids with student loans, that typically is not the whole picture; they are often also fettered with large credit card debts as well. Low expectations people hold for themselves readily transfers to those which apply to the politicians they elect time after time after time. Again, any hope of being governed by strong leaders has to start with us living with a strongly self-disciplined mindset within ourselves.
Depends on the nature of "faith" you're referring to; you might be assuming that WB is referring to religious faith? I don't believe it's the case though; I think he's referring to the proverbial "zeitgeist."
As for the parents with the mortgage & the kids with student loans, that typically is not the whole picture; they are often also fettered with large credit card debts as well. Low expectations people hold for themselves readily transfers to those which apply to the politicians they elect time after time after time. Again, any hope of being governed by strong leaders has to start with us living with a strongly self-disciplined mindset within ourselves.
Except for DOD, government employees, their benefits and foreign aid, all the money the government takes in revenues are returned to the people direcltly or indirectly. So, would not, your legitimate arguement not be with the people and their failures of responsiblity, less the aged and infrimed?
Except for DOD, government employees, their benefits and foreign aid, all the money the government takes in revenues are returned to the people direcltly or indirectly. So, would not, your legitimate arguement not be with the people and their failures of responsiblity, less the aged and infrimed?
Frankly I have *no* idea WTF you're on about.
Frankly I have *no* idea WTF you're on about.
Read Moran's post again and do your best to develop a clue.
Read Moran's post again and do your best to develop a clue.
That said, when posing the 'question' in a general sense of the ACA a near majority will rebuke it. However, when you break it down into the ten major 'components' the polling then shows and 'majority' in favor of the ACA.
That said, when posing the 'question' in a general sense of the ACA a near majority will rebuke it. However, when you break it down into the ten major 'components' the polling then shows and 'majority' in favor of the ACA.
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." Sun Tzu via Wikiquote.
This quote is in defense of PJ Media and the above post.
It is said that if you know your enemies and know yourself, you will not be imperiled in a hundred battles; if you do not know your enemies but do know yourself, you will win one and lose one; if you do not know your enemies nor yourself, you will be imperiled in every single battle." Sun Tzu via Wikiquote.
This quote is in defense of PJ Media and the above post.