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
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:47 am
To Cherokee and Obama fan, I’d suggest you actually READ my earlier posts on what needs to be changed in the GOP brand, but informing yourselves instead of posting moronic comments seems to be a stretch for you.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:48 am
And my 7:47 comment goes double for Progressive Humanist.
Cherokee
November 9th, 2012
7:48 am
Actually there are several of us, Tib, who want a strong conservative party. I voted for Reagan. But I would never vote for the whackadoodle Republicans of today.
As to Kyle’s comments – good initial effort, much more than you’re seeing from lots of cons.
1. You don’t have to move ‘left’ but you do have to shed yourself of obviously whacko ideas, like the fantasy that cutting taxes results in increased revenues.
2. No, you have to ditch the Tea Party – it’s fun to be nostalgic about their original concerns – reducing government – but that’s not who they are today.
3. Agree with your first sentence, but it has to be real. Trying really really hard to convince black folk that the goal of restrictive voter ID laws isn’t to suppress their vote? Yeah that’ll work… have to try harder buddy. And I loved Limbaugh’s whine on Wednesday – ‘but, but we had them appear at our convention!’
4. When you stop trying to tell me how my end of life decisions should be made, and who I can marry, and what my daughter has to do with her body, then I might vote for you again. Till then, no way….
4.
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
7:48 am
Tib, did you cry into your pillow Tuesday night?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:49 am
I’d ask Progressive Humanist to cite a few posts about people “rooting against America”, but since he never backs up his posts that would be a waste of time.
Cherokee
November 9th, 2012
7:50 am
“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 ”
It also is always effective to insult your prospective customer. Let’s see how that works for you.
Tsu Doh Nimh
November 9th, 2012
7:51 am
Aqua wrote:
If your product isn’t selling you:
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
d) fire your managers
The “Special Ed” Brigade, (tea party) vowed to take back their party. Should be amusing.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:52 am
Progressive Humanist, I’m made of sterner stuff than you could ever imagine. I never cry over insignificant events in my daily life.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 9th, 2012
7:52 am
If your product isn’t selling you:
—————
You forgot the Democrat approach: pay people to buy your product, a la the grocery stores that sell milk cheap to get the suckers in the door.
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
7:54 am
Tib, how many more Republican defeats and Democratic wins do you think you’ll have to endure over the rest of your short life? You’re already an angry old irrelevant white guy, and with each defeat your schtick is just getting more tired and stale and your whiny voice is getting more shrill. Go back to your trailer (or “mobile home”), put on your tinfoil hat, and count all that money you “legally” got from those elderly people’s retirement funds.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:57 am
Cherokee, two things:
First, based on your history of posts, I don’t believe you when you say you want a strong conservative party. And yes, I believe you’re lying when you post that. Deal with it.
Two, denying the FACT that the generation just entering voting age has the attention span of a hamster is to deny reality. If you think you are capable of designing a message which explains the long-term effects of actions taken today for 20 years down the road, then you are a minority of one.
clem
November 9th, 2012
7:57 am
tiberius, please change moniker as you are as unbiased as my left ….
repubs buy votes too……and pay for people to knock on doors….
you lost, get over it
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
7:59 am
Progressive Humanist, YOU do not get to decide my relevance or not.
You do not have any control over me.
You’re not capable of having any. Remember that.
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
8:00 am
Yeah, Tib, I’m sure you’re made of “stern” stuff. A real tough crusty old fart who goes out regularly to yell at the 8-year-olds to get off his lawn. You’ve got the mind of a petulant child in the body of a social security recipient. That’s some stern stuff.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:01 am
clem, I suggest you stop trying to get me to change my moniker, and actually READ my posts on particular subjects.
I realize it is easier for you to remain ignorant about me, but life is hard.
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
8:04 am
Yes, I do get to decide your relevance. The extent of your “power” is typing away at a keyboard all day and ranting about your foolish ideology. You have no power and no relevance. My side won Tuesday and will decide the direction of this country. My guy controls you. You will sit on the sidelines where you’ve been for years, and you’ll just whine and complain like you’ve been doing. And the rest of us will laugh at the clown whose only value is to entertain us with his nonsensical rants.
clem
November 9th, 2012
8:05 am
after reading some of your more recent posts, i think the shoe is on the other foot. if you have all the answers, get in the arena
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:06 am
Progressive Humanist, your next post of intelligence will be your first post of intelligence.
In fact, I haven’t seen a single post from you on this subject actually pertaining to this subject. In short, you’re one of the 90-percenters I wrote about this morning. I’m just trying to figure out which of the categories your posts fit into; “off-topic, irrelevant, juvenile, or just plain stupid.”
Might be all of them.
Aquagirl
November 9th, 2012
8:07 am
You need two things to get your new message across; an electorate smart enough and focused enough[...]and a media willing to neutrally disseminate the message you have.
Once again, Tiberius picks C. Wow, I didn’t see that one.
Tiberius…..even when you have a pro-GOP/conservative media rep the message sucks. Take Kyle. He basically endorsed Newt Gingrich in the primaries. Newt’s popularity among African-Americans is somewhere below whale $#!^. It’s not because African-Americans are too dumb/misinformed to understand Newt’s brilliance. My guess (because I’m not African-American) is that a guy who mutters about “the Kenyan” in the White House and announces he can ’splain their escape path from food stamps is not appealing.
Newt is not a fringe figure in the GOP, he made a serious run for the presidential nomination. As far as I can tell he’s generally embraced as an “idea guy” and not marginalized by the conservative media.
People who would be most impacted by this creepy stuff are not voting GOP. As long as the GOP overlooks that they’ll lose significant votes from everyone except angry/clueless white guys.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:07 am
“My guy controls you.”
Only in your fantasy world, Progressive Humanist. Unlike you, I’m an American. No one controls me.
Neither you, nor they, have that power over me.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:09 am
“Once again, Tiberius picks C. Wow, I didn’t see that one. ”
Once again, Aquagirl displays a stunning inability to read and comprehend the English language.
I didn’t see that one. . .
Aquagirl
November 9th, 2012
8:11 am
^%!# unAmerican traitorous slanties! Curse you!
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
8:12 am
Now the petulant child is rehashing lame insults that didn’t work the first time. That shows you lost. Don’t you ever get tired of losing? You lose here on a daily basis and you lost big time on Tuesday. It appears you’re a masochist who is addicted to the pain of losing- losing arguments, elections, your temper, your self respect, your credibility, and the list goes on.
Progressive Humanist
November 9th, 2012
8:16 am
You have no control over anything beyond the walls of your mobile home, which is why you spend every waking hour on here ranting at those of us who actually work for a living. We determine the direction of this country; you determine the direction of your irrational anger.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:19 am
Oh, and Aquagirl, your fixation on Kyle’s support for Newt Gingrich is a bit creepy.
And while he may have had a following in Georgia, his acceptance in GOP circles is clearly on the wane. He’ll continue to be a talking head (you DO realize that many of them are not sought out by the media, but push themselves to be on the air, don’t you), but this election proved that fresh faces are going to be needed to move the GOP in a different direction.
And there are plenty of them. Some good, some not so good, but that is the case in any political party. The difference is that the GOP largely gets rid of their retreads while the Dems keep electing the same ones over and over.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:21 am
It is telling that someone so vocally a liberal as Progressive Humanist will post so much about “controlling” others.
Any of you other libs on this morning want to stick up for that kind of thought?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:23 am
“You have no control over anything beyond the walls of your mobile home, ”
And I live in a very nice 3,200 sq ft. 4-bedroom home with a basement, Progressive Humanist.
Just another thing you are wrong about.
In a whole list of things you’re wrong about.
Aquagirl
November 9th, 2012
8:27 am
Let’s see…posts at 8:19, 8;21, 8:23…..it’s gonna be another one of those days for Tiberius.
MarkV
November 9th, 2012
8:30 am
The fundamental fact is that as long as this country is a democracy, her people eventually will get what they want, regardless of the ideology and efforts of those, who want to hold them back. There will be setbacks, like the emergence of the angry/ignorant Tea Party, but they are temporary. The inevitable path of history is towards social equality and justice.
The conservatives can argue all they can about the need to dominate the world and therefore increase defense spending, while we cannot afford universal health care, but in the end, they will lose. They are already losing the battle of marriage equality for straights and gays, for reproductive choice, stem cell research. They can mock as much as can renewable energy, but they will lose that battle too. They can proclaim their ignorance regarding the climate change and the role of mankind, but the nature and science will prevail.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:31 am
More deflection from Aquagirl.
It’s gonna be another one of those days for her.
Question Man
November 9th, 2012
8:33 am
Why is it rational say that Republicans should halt “the rapid growth of the federal government” and simultaneously “support breaking up the biggest banks?” Isn’t that akin to wanting the federal government to do only the things I want them to do? Hasn’t that logic created the polarization in America?
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 9th, 2012
8:33 am
For all that control and power your Idiot Messiah has, PH, you’d think he would be able to do something about 8% unemployment, or fund a successful solar company, or defend his ambassador against a ragtag band of third-world goons.
JDW
November 9th, 2012
8:37 am
I see Tiberius is in his usual “cheery mood” this morning…I wonder if he has a hangover after some of that nonsense he posted yesterday.
He sounds a lot like this guy Eric Dondero:
“All family and friends, even close family and friends, who I know to be Democrats are hereby dead to me. I vow never to speak to them again for the rest of my life, or have any communications with them. They are in short, the enemies of liberty. They deserve nothing less than hatred and utter contempt.
I strongly urge all other libertarians to do the same. Are you married to someone who voted for Obama, have a girlfriend who voted ‘O’. Divorce them. Break up with them without haste. Vow not to attend family functions, Thanksgiving dinner or Christmas for example, if there will be any family members in attendance who are Democrats.
Do you work for someone who voted for Obama? Quit your job. Co-workers who voted for Obama. Simply don’t talk to them in the workplace, unless your boss instructs you too for work-related only purposes. Have clients who voted Democrat? Call them up this morning and tell them to take their business elsewhere.
Have a neighbor who votes for Obama? You could take a crap on their lawn. Then again, probably not a good idea since it would be technically illegal to do this. But you could have your dog take care of business. Not your fault if he just happens to choose that particular spot.”
http://nymag.com/daily/intel/2012/11/eric-dondero-boycott-democrat-libertarian.html
I just get this visual image of a 4″ tall man jumping up and down sputtering epitaphs…what a maroon!
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:37 am
“The conservatives can argue all they can about the need to dominate the world”
“They can mock as much as can renewable energy,”
“They can mock as much as can renewable energy,”
Hyperbole, much?
md
November 9th, 2012
8:40 am
“My side won Tuesday and will decide the direction of this country. My guy controls you.”
There’s the attitude that got nothing done the first 4 years.
Yes, Obama is in the top spot…..no, he is not in total control. He can only do as much as the House allows him to do……if he has the same attitude as displayed above, it’s going to be a long 4 years……….
bu2
November 9th, 2012
8:44 am
Everyone needs to remember that the Democrats had a lock on Congress at one point. From the 30s to Gingrich’s contract with America, the Dems held the House 60 out of 64 years. From 1933-1981 the Dems held the Senate all but 4 years. 20 years ago they were talking about a permanent Republican advantage in the electoral college as LBJ Goldwater was the only time the Dems had won California. With Dems firmly in control of California and running it into the ground, California may flip again. The only thing certain about trends is that they will change.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:48 am
JDW displays more ignorance about me.
But that is expected, given his stunning ignorance about virtually everything.
I have lots of Democrat friends. I’ve hired them in the past. If I still had my own business, I’d hire them if they could do the work better than Republicans.
See, this is what you liberals do. Create fictional characters to attack because you can’t attack the reality. It’s what you did with Romney, and because it worked with him, you think it will work with me.
It won’t.
cc
November 9th, 2012
8:51 am
Bookie-man must be on vacation, which would explain the mass of bovine excrement being dumped on this blog this morning by the robotic libs.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 9th, 2012
8:51 am
MarkV
The inevitable path of history is towards social equality and justice.
Your opinion, I would say the inevitable path of history is circular, your attempt at Utopianism, ends in anarchy, when the money runs out, and we are almost there. Then we get the benevolent dictator to that comes to return order. The GOP can only stall and delay this rush to fiscal collapse at this point and try to instill some warnings and sanity to those who still have an open mind.
Jane W.
November 9th, 2012
8:56 am
Glad you didn’t mention amnesty for illegals. The largely Mexican bloc voting Democrat are doing it for the taxpayer-funded freebies that party is only too willing to shower on them in return for their vote.
Agreeing to dismantle our borders therefore won’t win Republicans anything.
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
8:57 am
“The inevitable path of history is towards social equality and justice.”
The problem becomes when the ignorant determine that social equality means equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity, and decide through government how to mete out their idea of justice.
tiredofIT
November 9th, 2012
8:58 am
Get rid of Rove, Morris, Sean, Rush, etc. Shutdown Fox News and join the real world. Most of all stop being a victim and whining.
JDW
November 9th, 2012
9:00 am
@Tiberus…”I have lots of Democrat friends. I’ve hired them in the past. If I still had my own business, ”
Good to know though one would tend to question that from the tone of your posts…
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
9:04 am
“The largely Mexican bloc voting Democrat are doing it for the taxpayer-funded freebies that party is only too willing to shower on them in return for their vote. ”
Disagree with this statement in general, Jane W.
There will always be people willing to sell their votes for more free stuff. It’s why we have so many liberals in America.
However, many in the Latino community simply want to make a living without the threat of deportation hanging over their heads.
The amazing thing is that the people who keep voting for more government can’t see that the existing one in place is just not up to the task of getting almost any job done effectively. See the emergency response to Hurricane Sandy (virtually ignored since it is Obama’s administration failing at recovery), or our immigration policies in general.
Why does it take some damned long to legalize someone anyway? Ineffective and inefficient government programs.
And they want this same government to add health care into something they can’t do well.
Makes perfect sense in Disney World. But not in the real world.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 9th, 2012
9:06 am
Get rid of Rove, Morris, Sean, Rush, etc. Shutdown Fox News and join the real world. Most of all stop being a victim and whining.
Isn’t it kinda IRONIC, that for two days I have heard from the left telling me to quit listening to this person, that network, those websites, blah, blah, while all the people who suggest that, get ALL their news from one source, the Obama regime. To the Obamanist, any information not attributed directly to the WH, is misinformation. They talk about how they read the NY Times, and listen to CNN and all these progressive websites, yet they never stray from what the WH position is. If the WH lies and blames Benghazi on a stupid video, we here nothing from the Obamanist, that is not a WH talking point.
Do you people ever think for yourselves?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
9:08 am
“Good to know though one would tend to question that from the tone of your posts…”
Actually, it wouldn’t if you bothered to read my posts instead of assigning your personal interpretation to them.
Redcoat
November 9th, 2012
9:10 am
Too far gone…..conservatives have been labeled…….it’s over, you can prepare and wait for their policies to fail, but conservatives will still be blamed successfully for it none the less. Everything that was good is now bad and bad good. Sound familiar?
Tiberius - pulling the tail of the left AND right when needed
November 9th, 2012
9:10 am
tiredofIT, if it weren’t for Fox News, no one would know that 4 Americans died as a result of the incompetence of this administration.
FACT.
JDW
November 9th, 2012
9:11 am
@Tiberius…”The problem becomes when the ignorant determine that social equality means equality of outcome rather than equality of opportunity, and decide through government how to mete out their idea of justice.”
See this is just the sort of stuff I am sure endears you to those that think a bit differently…first you clearly state that reaching a conclusion not your own could only be the result of ignorance. Then you misrepresent the argument itself…
It is apparently lost on you that from the moment people started gathering in villages the entire point was to provide outcomes that could best be achieved collectively. Originally that was food, shelter and security. Today that has expanded to mean health care and an extremely modest social safety net.
Yet some like you, seem to prefer the model of sink or swim which by the way ALWAYS leads to unrest. Had this model proved more efficient in the past humans would live in family units hoarding their resources for their own use and repelling others by force.
Rafe Hollister, dreading the eventual decline caused by Obamanism
November 9th, 2012
9:13 am
The one positive the Obamanist kept trotting out before the election, was how well the stock market has done under Obama. That had some ring of truth to it, but now that we have self inflicted 4 more years of Obamanism on ourselves, the stock market has gone south. Today, they are talking about triggers kicking in, over the budget standoff, European fiscal insanity, and uncertainty of four more years of Obama. The one positive economic thing that happened during the previous four years appears to be in trouble.