How the GOP needs to change, and how it doesn’t
Tuesday was a brutal night for Republicans.
Incumbent presidents are tough to beat, but Barack Obama was about as vulnerable as they come. The economy is stagnant; his signature legislative achievement is unpopular; his party weathered sharp losses in the midterm elections – by now, you know the litany by heart. Yet Mitt Romney appears to have flipped only two states Obama won in 2008 (pending the final result in Florida).
When political parties lose brutally, a lot of new conventional wisdom crops up. Some of it’s right, some of it’s wrong. Here’s an early take on which is which:
1. Republicans have to move toward the left.
Wrong, wrong, wrong. There are two major political parties in this country in large part because they represent two sets of durable, mainstream beliefs. Sometimes one or the other does a better job of representing its beliefs, but neither ideology will be permanently defeated. Which leads me to …
2. The GOP has to ditch the tea party.
Wrong. Just two years ago, the GOP stopped Democrats’ congressional super-majorities in their tracks thanks to tea partyers. America hasn’t changed dramatically in that time, even if a successful tea-party candidate needs more polish than we’ve seen out of some of them (hello, Christine O’Donnell) to attract a broader audience.
The original animating concern of the tea party — halting the rapid growth of the federal government, from bailouts to debt to Obamacare — could have been a political winner Tuesday. (We don’t have to wait for the historians to marvel that the GOP in 2012 nominated the only guy who couldn’t capitalize on Obamacare’s lack of popularity.)
Romney might have made up for that failing if he’d joined the growing ranks of conservatives who support breaking up the biggest banks to ensure none is too big to fail. His comment during the second debate about his party’s devotion to Big Business at the expense of small businesses was his chance. He didn’t take it. A Republican with 2016 ambitions might, soon.
3. The GOP has to reach out to non-white voters.
This one’s absolutely true. There is plenty to criticize in Romney’s lack of minority outreach, but this is not his problem alone. Nor will it go away if the GOP merely highlights the promising, young, non-white stars they already have, such as Nikki Haley, Bobby Jindal, Susana Martinez and Marco Rubio.
Republicans have to explain why conservative ideas are good for minorities. They can’t simply trot out their ideas and expect minorities to recognize their brilliance when those voters have been told by Democrats, many of them for generations, that those ideas are intended to benefit other (read: white) people. When Republicans fail to engage minority voters, they effectively reinforce the Democrats’ argument.
It will take more than talking, though. It will take action. Here’s an idea about one policy that makes minorities most skeptical about the right: voter ID laws. Why not fight the notion these laws are about suppressing voting, rather than reducing fraud, by taking proactive steps to help put IDs in the hands of the people who think they’re being targeted?
4. Republicans must drop social conservatism.
Wrong. Social conservatism isn’t wholly out of the mainstream. Gallup’s long-term tracking of public attitudes about abortion, for instance, show the pro-life position is as strong as it’s been since Roe v. Wade. What’s out of the mainstream is a social conservative who can’t talk about opposing abortion without sounding as if he’s endorsing the act of rape. That cost the GOP two Senate seats and surely hurt Romney’s standing with some women.
Gay marriage may be different. Older voters who oppose it altogether are being replaced every day by 18-year-olds who couldn’t care less — and who don’t seem to change their stance as they get older. There was a time when Republicans could have pushed civil unions to make all couples equal before the law without changing the traditional definition of marriage. That time may have passed.
5. Georgia Republicans are a few years away from facing some of the same issues as the national GOP.
True, true, true. I’ll explain how they can avoid the same fate in a column coming soon to a blog very, very near you.
– By Kyle Wingfield
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883 comments Add your comment
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 8th, 2012
9:47 pm
Of course, to do so he would have to go against his corporate handlers
—————-
(and common sense, too).
4 more years
November 8th, 2012
9:50 pm
Progressive Humanist
Okay then thanks for clarifying.
I don’t care about Republicans or Democrats, I just want the economy to get better.
You can’t defend Obama’s record on economic policy.
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
9:52 pm
JamVet
Are you so out of control that you think Republicans hope America tanks?
Better hurry back to the VA hospital. You are beginning to sound just like getalife.
Progressive Humanist
November 8th, 2012
9:52 pm
lil barry- You can get out too. You wouldn’t be missed by real Americans either. Losers, traitors, and those sin juevos be gone (and you’re all three, barry).
Gringos
November 8th, 2012
9:53 pm
HillBilly D @ 9:41
Agreed. Overall my point was that it doesn’t matter if it is R or D. It has been going under both.
Two bloggers on here want so bad to blame it on one side. Not sure if that is just ignorance or plain stupidity.
Progressive Humanist
November 8th, 2012
9:54 pm
I can absolutely defend his record on the economy. Unemployment has improved a great deal under his watch and continues to improve. The housing market has stabilized and is now rebounding. The Dow has doubled under his tenure. Those who refute those facts have their heads in the sand.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 8th, 2012
9:56 pm
PH, if everyone like me was to leave, you’d have a shot at being the new 1%!
JamVet
November 8th, 2012
9:58 pm
I’ve got a job…
Aren’t you special!
Dusty, go help Grover Norquist drown Uncle Sam in a bathtub.
JamVet
November 8th, 2012
10:00 pm
…if everyone like me was to leave…
Don’t let the door hit you in the rear end…
mike
November 8th, 2012
10:01 pm
“PH, if everyone like me was to leave, you’d have a shot at being the new 1%!”
WERE. If everyone like me WERE to leave. Sorry, Lil’ Bar.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 8th, 2012
10:01 pm
President Reagan’s recovery was much stronger and faster in taking hold than Obozo’s.
President Reagan: Superior to Obozo.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 8th, 2012
10:03 pm
mike’s out of ideas.
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
10:04 pm
Grover Norquist? Bathtubs? Get a life, JamVet, before it’s too late. Hallucinations are not healthy.
Progressive Humanist
November 8th, 2012
10:06 pm
Thanks barry, but I’m feeling pretty good at 7% and I have no problem paying more in taxes for the good of my country. Now get your arse to France, maricon.
@@
November 8th, 2012
10:06 pm
Aren’t you special!
Nowadays…yes.
Just stopped by to drop of Newsweek’s new cover.
It’s Obama dressed as Napoleon.
And here I thought Victor Hill was Napoleon.
Too funny!
Linda
November 8th, 2012
10:12 pm
Progressive@9:54, The Obama adm. has not created one single net job. Zilch! Nada! The U3 unemployment rate is higher now than it was when he took office. The U6 unemployment rate is the highest it’s been in decades. The DOW is plunging. The only reason it’s been up is due to Bernake’s policy of printing money out of thin air, leading to a collapse of the dollar.
Yes, the residents of the NE still have their heads as well as their homes, cars & boats in the sand, with Obama’s FEMA closed due to “bad weather,” after days of telling homeless residents without food, clothing, shelter, power, water, sewer, gas, cell phone reception, internet service, etc. to go on line to apply for help.
Hillbilly D
November 8th, 2012
10:15 pm
Gringo @ 9:53
I agree with you that they’re both equally to blame.
@@
November 8th, 2012
10:16 pm
And by the by….we now have half a man leading this country. His white half is history.
schnirt
JamVet
November 8th, 2012
10:17 pm
Dusty, your anger is very cute!
Real Americans (hat tip Lil BB) are celebrating…
.
md
November 8th, 2012
10:21 pm
Interesting little tid-bit:
“The money you pay towards Social Security does not go into a personal account for when you retire. Instead, Social Security is a “pay as you go” program meaning the money that is collected now is used towards current payouts. So…current benefactors rely on the current work force to fund their payments. As baby boomers continue to retire at a record clip, approximately 10,000 on any given day, this model becomes harder to maintain. Back in 1950, there were 7.11 workers per retiree. That number today is 4.5 and in 30 years, economists estimate that number will be 2.6 workers for every retiree.”
Those 2 guys won’t get to keep much of their money in 30 years will they?
Maybe bankruptcy is the goal………a do over for the masses, except we all get to be poor.
Progressive Humanist
November 8th, 2012
10:21 pm
Linda- You’re still drinking the Faux News kool-aide. Didn’t Tuesday teach you anything? Don’t answer that. I know the answer.
Let me ask you a question, if Romney had won (snicker), how many months would it take after his inauguration for his policies to take effect? Please answer that one for me.
As far as the Dow, you think it dropping 300 points in two days is plunging? I hope you’re not in charge of anyone’s money. The Dow was at 6500 in 2009, the year Obama took office. It’s at 13,000 now. That’s double, since you are clearly challenged in the area of math.
Del
November 8th, 2012
10:22 pm
It’s truly amazing how liberals supposedly educated can be so damn stupid when it comes to our economic crises. Here we are on the very brink of economic collapse and these didoes are more concerned about the leftist social agenda.
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
10:22 pm
Progressive Humanist
Please please pay more taxes right NOW. You don’t have to wait. Go ahead. LIke you said, it is for the good of the country. Just write a big fat check and send it to the loving hands of the IRS.
Just think! it might reduce the debt from 16 trillion to 15.9 trillion. Right? And in the meantime, the president will be right behind you adding another trillion or two
But don’t you fret. By the year 3000 our descendants will have paid most of it.
Cheers and g’nite.
JamVet
November 8th, 2012
10:24 pm
Here we are on the very brink of economic collapse
Speaking of being stupid and off by four plus years…
This sucker could go down. ~George Walker Bush, September 26, 2008
Del
November 8th, 2012
10:29 pm
Speaking of being stupid and off by four plus years…
This sucker could go down. ~George Walker Bush, September 26, 2008
Nice attempt at a point except none was made….it’s 4th. QTR. 012 and not 3rd. QTR. 08. Time does march on, doesn’t it?
Progressive Humanist
November 8th, 2012
10:31 pm
Dusty, I pay a good chunk of taxes every month and I’m happy to do so. And pretty soon the 6% of the country who makes more than me will be paying more. And that’s good for the country. Didn’t you want to expatriate as well? If so, good riddance.
md
November 8th, 2012
10:31 pm
“The Dow was at 6500 in 2009, the year Obama took office. It’s at 13,000 now.”
And the question one has to ask is why was it at 6500……did all those corps just up and go bad overnight? Did their financials just fall off the table?
Of course the answer is no…….which means they dropped in value on paper only, much like gains and losses are never realized until one cashes out.
So, it was down due to nothing but the fear factor…….so part of the rebound must be due to correcting the over-correction.
As for the rest, corps cut 23 million people and their benefits…….those are expenses. Income less expenses = profit. Hmmmmm…..slash a ton of of expenses off the books and it stands to reason that the books would look better, hence the rise in value.
Not to mention corps sitting on cash out the wazooo because they aren’t sure what the future holds and they know they don’t get to print money to stay in business like the feds……….
Del
November 8th, 2012
10:32 pm
The left won the recent battle but they damn sure haven’t won the war. Taps, y’all.
Del
November 8th, 2012
10:45 pm
One last thing…where did I hear that before. Over the last four years of the Obama administration Wall Street has been doing just fine, while Main Street has not been doing at all fine. If Wall Street starts doing much less than fine based on our precarious economic condition, Main Street will seriously crumble and that folks will change life in America as we’ve known it for us all. Is Obama going to emerge as the leader in this crises that will surely occur on his watch? We shall find out soon.
Linda
November 8th, 2012
10:56 pm
Progressive@10:21, Our family watched all the alphabet news media for decades, felt betrayed when we learned that they were liberally biased & feel fortunate that we can watch FOX, which seems to be the only cable news station that has not totally tanked for Obama. Forgive us for seeking a little truth.
Liberals accuse conservatives of being naive, when it seems that liberals are the ones who accept the lies, distortions & deception from their leadership. It’s conservatives who are cynical, fact-check & cite sites. It’s Democrats who repeat & spew Democrat talking points & lies on this conservative blog, as if conservatives will accept them, hook, line & sinker.
I’m challenged in math? I have an economics degree from one of the largest universities in the Southeastern US.
Tsu Doh Nimh
November 8th, 2012
11:04 pm
Delbert:
It’s truly amazing how liberals supposedly educated can be so damn stupid when it comes to our economic crises. Here we are on the very brink of economic collapse and these didoes are more concerned about the leftist social agenda.
You Fox news consumers are so easily frightened.
A while back, it was the debt ceiling “crisis”,
then, “the towelheads are coming!”
now, it’s the “fiscal cliff”.
(If you believe that, take cliff diving lessons while there’s still time)
“The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed — and thus clamorous to be led to safety — by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary.”~H.L.Mencken
Progressive Humanist
November 8th, 2012
11:08 pm
Linda,
Apparently what they taught you at that university didn’t stick. I’m very disappointed in the job they did.
If you think the other media outlets are biased but Fox News gives it to you straight, then your delusions are overflowing. If your sources are so strong and objective, then why did the things they were telling you about the election turn out to be so inaccurate Tuesday night? Could it be that they were feeding you bs the whole time and you were eating it up like candy? The sources I was monitoring turned out to be right. Exactly right in terms of the popular vote, the electoral vote, the Senate races, the House races, and the state initiatives. But as Stephen Colbert once said, reality has a liberal bias.
If you have a degree in economics, then you should be able to explain why there is a statistically significant negative correlation between top marginal tax rates and unemployment rates from 1948 until now. That means that when tax rates have been high unemployment rates have been low, and when tax rates have been low (like now) unemployment rates have been high (like now). Explain that, “economist”.
And I asked you a direct question. Please answer it:
If Romney had won (snicker), how many months would it take after his inauguration for his policies to take effect? Please answer that one for me.
Old Timer
November 8th, 2012
11:23 pm
How about this theory–do away with the Democratic and Repulican Parties and declare everyone Indpendent–have Green Independents and Purple independents and vote your color of choice. Candidates can have only two TV ads per month and no hate, BS, ads that years ago would get your mouth washed out with soap. No Robo calling. We have a land lline and caller ID–we answered NO Robo call during the campaign–same old area codes day after day. Political campaigns in America have reached the gutter level. Everyone should remember when they go to the polls , no matter who promised what there are no free lunches in a society–only in prison.
Evolve or die
November 8th, 2012
11:29 pm
Evolve or die. That’s basically the lesson that needs to be learned. The electorate that the GOP has been speaking to is getting smaller and they cannot count on them to win a national election. It is simple as that.
First off, if you are already in the mindset that minorities are only going to vote based on color, you are going to lose. Instead of bashing (Blacks want a handout, Latinos should self deport), engaged them. The GOP has ZERO desire to understand the plight of what people of color go thru, because, and this is the words of a Repub strategist on Wed morning: ‘We are too old, too white, and too male’
There are black conservatives, Latino conservatives, Asian conservatives, but hell, they are not going to vote for you if you consistently show that the party doesn’t give two cents about them.
And geez, about the ‘blacks are voting for skin color and not character’, what a joke. He related to them. Just as much as Romney related to whites on government assistance. Wanna know why? Because he is white. Did you forget that there are more whites on assistance than blacks?
Bullet County
November 9th, 2012
12:04 am
Newton Leroy “I was wrong”. Karl Rove “I was wrong”. Dick Morris “I was wrong’. That’s the new conservative calling card – “I was wrong”. Understand that the american people got it RIGHT this time – POTUS Obama for 4 more years to balance the 8 disasterous POTUS Bush years. Notice that the same Bush crowd surrounded Romney/Ryan, and the voters said “not on our watch, we’re too well-informed and we love this country more than we love Swiss Bank accounts”. It will be difficult, but once conservatives stop lying to themselves and others, they may actually deserve to be taken seriously again.
Tsu Doh Nimh
November 9th, 2012
1:05 am
Newton Leroy “I was wrong”. Karl Rove “I was wrong”. Dick Morris “I was wrong’
Axshully, Newt was right the 1st time….some months ago:
“We’re not going to beat Obama with some guy who has Swiss bank accounts” ~Newtie
BehindEnemyLines
November 9th, 2012
1:53 am
If, as you suggest, the marriage issue is dropped then you can kiss the solid red South goodbye. That move, combined with the nomination of a candidate soft on immigration like Rubio, will all but ensure one of two things: a full fledged breakaway candidate that is actually conservative or a sharp decline in total votes for the top spot on ballot in 2016. That 3rd candidate will not win in 2016 but could very well relegate the GOP nominee to 3rd place, and at that point well-deserved irrelevance in 2020 in order to prevent Hillary’s second term.
Real Athens
November 9th, 2012
4:25 am
“I’m challenged in math? I have an economics degree from one of the largest universities in the Southeastern US.”
Yeah. Home Economics.
That makes you a real Milton Friedman.
Joel Edge
November 9th, 2012
5:27 am
Well put, Kyle.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
5:50 am
I see the lying race pimp Real Athens was back online at 4:25.
What public libraries are open at that time?
clem
November 9th, 2012
6:07 am
think you need to change your moniker….
Attack Dog
November 9th, 2012
6:17 am
Dixiecrats lost because of the restrictive social issues (unions, womens’ rights and voter suppression) related laws enacted in swing states, and nominating senatorial candidates who held those views. These were the planks on the GOP platform, so you do the math.
clem
November 9th, 2012
6:51 am
the dems kicked repub arses on the mechanics of vote getting……businessman romney got whooped to borrow cheney’s phrase “big time”…….guess repubs not the only ones with business acumen
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
6:52 am
The notion that requiring a photo ID to vote constitutes voter suppression is laughable.
You can’t get in to visit the very President you voted for without a photo ID.
How does anybody function in this society without a photo ID, anyway? Do these people not bank?
States should spend some money to outfit mobile ID vans and go to where anyone needs an ID and just get it done.
That will end this stupid notion that voter ID laws suppress the vote, and shut up the idiots who think so.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
6:59 am
“the dems kicked repub arses on the mechanics of vote BUYING”
Fixed your typo, clem.
No thanks needed.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:21 am
What is really sad is that out of over 14 pages of comments, only about 10% of them come from people who have a vested interest in seeing the GOP eventually win elections. And of those 10%, it looks like almost half don’t think the GOP needs to change in the areas they currently fall short on.
Of the other 90% of post on this topic, they can be dismissed as off-topic, irrelevant, juvenile, or just plain stupid.
Aquagirl
November 9th, 2012
7:33 am
out of over 14 pages of comments, only about 10% of them come from people who have a vested interest in seeing the GOP eventually win elections.
What’s even sadder is watching all the resistant screaming.
Let’s use a business analogy, since that seems to resonate with GOP voters in general. (See how I at least attempt to speak in GOP language?)
If your product isn’t selling you:
a) ask current buyers why they’re buying your product.
b) ask potential buyers why they aren’t buying your product and adjust your sales plan accordingly.
c) stand on the sidewalk screaming like a loon at non-buyers who just don’t understand the wonderful goodness of your product, telling them they’re doomed to a life of ruin. Those %$! traitors.
Cherokee
November 9th, 2012
7:39 am
Tib I assumed that you would learn nothing from the election results.
Thanks for confirming that fact.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:45 am
“b) ask potential buyers why they aren’t buying your product and adjust your sales plan accordingly.”
Close, but not quite, Aquagirl. There is a certain amount of re-tooling needed for some parts of the GOP product, and there is a certain amount of jettisoning needed as well. But to be like the other product that is selling is to not provide an alternative to purchasers. If all you’re selling is hammers (an apt description of the product, btw), why not buy the hammer that does more for you without short-term consequences or pain?
You need two things to get your new message across; an electorate smart enough and focused enough to pay attention to a message longer than a bumper sticker (and with government-educated idiots being graduated in droves, that’s a tough sell), and a media willing to neutrally disseminate the message you have.
Neither of which exists today.
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
7:46 am
Tib is incapable of learning and therefore is doomed to eternal defeat. He’ll pick Aquagirl’s “C” over and over.
I’m amused at all the “sky is falling” that I’ve heard from chastised Republicans who are now rooting against America more than ever because the people of this nation chose not to buy into their foolishness.
The cons lost Tuesday. America won.