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
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
883 comments Add your comment
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
1:14 pm
Always got a kick out of old white people saying we need to repeal Obamacare.
But tell them you are going to take away Medicare and they will freak out.
So you see taking from the Government is fine for them.
Just not for others.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
1:16 pm
Obozo won because he got the loser vote.
Yes because as well all know poor people are just losers and want to live that way.
This is why you lose.
Keep it up guys.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:18 pm
I see Lil’ Barry is a lost cause.
At least Hannity, coulter, and Rush have one glued-in listener they can count on for the long haul.
cc
November 8th, 2012
1:18 pm
“And who’s on food stamps? According to the Census Bureau, 59 percent are white.”
I don’t doubt your statement, but wonder if that statistic is broken down to reflect the percentage of unwed mothers with dependent children, and further if it differentiates unwed mothers with mixed race children?
Aquagirl
November 8th, 2012
1:20 pm
Give up Kyle. Even after you point out the clown riot in the GOP tent they’re all “Huh? Whut clowns? Where?”
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:20 pm
What it shows is that if more people did the things necessary to earn a decent income, Romney would have won.
You folks really think a society can exist where the majority of people are in the upper middle and upper class? This is why you lose – no respect for the people doing the grunt work that keeps the country running.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
November 8th, 2012
1:20 pm
Like obozo needs a mandate to do whatever he wants.
We’re talking about some clown that has absolutely no respect for the US Constitution.
Get real, y’all.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:21 pm
Aquagirl,
LOL
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 8th, 2012
1:21 pm
Many low income people ARE happy living off whatever the taxpayer provides them. If they weren’t, they’d do something about it. The democrat party’s objective is to grow the dependent loser vote into a permanent majority.
md
November 8th, 2012
1:24 pm
“But tell them you are going to take away Medicare and they will freak out”
Just in case you aren’t aware, but one is paid for through payroll deductions……no pay, no play.
The other is partly a giant entitlement program………..
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
1:25 pm
In other words, all over the land, incompetent business people who can’t make a go of it will be blaming their own failure on Obama’s re-election. And all the while, they’ll also complain about people who won’t take personal responsibility.
- Jay Bookman
Very very true Jay
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:26 pm
Barry,
I’d rather have those hard-workin’ losers on my side than some whiny hamburger flipper.
Don
November 8th, 2012
1:26 pm
The party doesn’t need to MOVE to the left. It needs to EXPAND to the middle. In recent years, the party has driven out people like Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe as it pulled the edges of the tent far to the right. It has taken a very, very narrow view of what a “true Republican” is, totally ignoring the party’s history.
The reason Romney lost was that people vote on character as much as anything else. You can’t display good character if you have to don a “true conservative guise” to get nominated before displaying your “true moderate roots” to try to get elected. Romney’s poll numbers only shot up once he abandoned nearly all that he espoused getting nominated.
If the Republican Party does not figure out how to pitch a bigger and/or more tolerant ideological tent, they will be completely irrelevant in four years.
@@
November 8th, 2012
1:27 pm
This is why you lose – no respect for the people doing the grunt work that keeps the country running.
That’s odd. Conservatives aren’t the ones who believe higher education is the only way to go. We encourage vocational training where warranted. Not everyone is college material.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
1:28 pm
Many low income people ARE happy living off whatever the taxpayer provides them.
This shows just how out of touch you really are.
By all means keep it up.
Keep insulting minorities and poor people.
That will work out for you I just know it.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:28 pm
You can’t display good character if you have to don a “true conservative guise” to get nominated before displaying your “true moderate roots” to try to get elected.
Everybody does it. In 2008 Obama played to the leftists and ultra libs before going moderate.
md
November 8th, 2012
1:29 pm
” This is why you lose – no respect for the people doing the grunt work that keeps the country running.”
My only problem with that boils down to choices (go figure)……….since we do choose everything we do, I can’t feel too sorry for anyone that chooses to remain in a lower level position and then also chooses to complain about it………….they always have the power to do something about it.
@@
November 8th, 2012
1:29 pm
Don:
In recent years, the party has driven out people like Arlen Specter and Olympia Snowe as it pulled the edges of the tent far to the right.
Can you tell us what happened to the dems’ blue dogs?
md
November 8th, 2012
1:31 pm
“In other words, all over the land, incompetent business people who can’t make a go of it will be blaming their own failure on Obama’s re-election. And all the while, they’ll also complain about people who won’t take personal responsibility.”
Unless they have a connection……like GM or Chrysler………….too funny.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:32 pm
Try telling Bubba some of his family’s needs are the same as the needs of a black single-mom family and a Hispanic family. Then tell him his other needs will have to take a back seat for the good of the party.
Poop, meet fan.
Aquagirl
November 8th, 2012
1:36 pm
Keep insulting minorities and poor people.
That will work out for you I just know it.
They just can’t help themselves. “Hey, y’all are too stupid to understand why we’re so wonderful! Idiots!”
Kyle does a soft-sell of that attitude but it’s honestly impossible for them to realize people are running like hell for good reason.
spaceman109
November 8th, 2012
1:37 pm
@@….it is true that not everyone is college material. they still go to college anyway.
why?
because being a plumber, electrician, etc. is not considered cool. far too may parents insist that their kids *must* be in a college-prep curriculum. it is also highly unlikely that the pay would put them into a hugely expensive house with 3.78 suv’s in the driveway and 5.429 big-screen tv’s in the house.
Don
November 8th, 2012
1:37 pm
@@
Same thing. But the change is more apparent and more recent on the right hand side. Look here:
http://xkcd.com/1127/
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:37 pm
I guess Paul Ryan can go back to being just a normal guy….a normal guy who is faster than a frickin’ cheetah, beeeyatches!
JamVet
November 8th, 2012
1:38 pm
…they think government does too much rather than too little…
Awesome!
Let’s poll people with the most vauous and vapid sound bites and menaingless phrases possible and see what “answers” we get!
Isn’t there some old adage about talking but not saying anything?
For evidence, look no further than that first 1;11…
spaceman109
November 8th, 2012
1:38 pm
@@ wonders what happened to the democrat’s blue dogs.
many of them got gerrymandered out of their seats.
heath shuler, anyone?
Reality Check
November 8th, 2012
1:38 pm
1. We must stop with the stupid comments about “takers”, “legitimate rape”, etc. With the mainstream media totally in the liberal’s camp, it just fuels the fire.
2. We must stop letting Democrats define us – they are VERY effective at it. They’ve been defining who Romney was since he was in the middle of the primaries and it worked. The media pretty much shut down the Tea Party because it redefined them as a bunch of racists.
3. We must get new blood – I don’t want any of the “old guard” in there. Their stale. Their all white men. Their too entrenched in the “game” that is politics. Bring on the young guns who better understand today’s culture and can communicate effectively.
4. We must better communicate what we stand for….not harp on what we are against.
5. We must be more inclusive, figure out a workable solution for illegal aliens, and stop letting the democrats and the media pull us into topics that get us off the message.
I’m disappointed and was actually shocked at the election results. But now I am ready to move on. The old quote, “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result is crazy” applies.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
1:39 pm
I can’t feel too sorry for anyone that chooses to remain in a lower level position and then also chooses to complain about it………….they always have the power to do something about it.
Spoken by someone who isn’t a minority or been poor.
Sometimes its not that easy to claw your way up.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:39 pm
because being a plumber, electrician, etc. is not considered cool
Umm, they teach that stuff in college too. And, by the way, those cats make pretty decent bank.
spaceman109
November 8th, 2012
1:39 pm
oops….i meant democrats’ blue dogs. punctuation error.
Don
November 8th, 2012
1:39 pm
Finn at 1:28. ….it was way more apparent with Romney than Obama, IMHO
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
1:40 pm
The media pretty much shut down the Tea Party because it redefined them as a bunch of racists.
That wasn’t a stretch.
Lil' Barry Bailout - Vote American
November 8th, 2012
1:41 pm
No one’s “insulting minorities”. We’re insulting the slothful.
Why you equate the two, you’ll have to explain, aquagirl.
JamVet
November 8th, 2012
1:43 pm
Unless they have a connection……like GM or Chrysler………….too funny
What is even “funnier” is the interesting choices that this person uses as examples.
Given that there are numerous other examples who have “connections” that are dozens and hundreds of times more relevant.. (But shhhhhhh! As good Republicans, we shan’t talk about those criminally negligent titans of malfeasance on Wall Street and elsewhere. They are the job producers, doncha know?!)
spaceman109
November 8th, 2012
1:43 pm
finn….so far as i am aware, plumbing and electrical curricula are taught mainly at schools like gwinnett tech or dekalb tech, not at, for instance, uga. yes, they make decent money….but nothing like what they would make if they were an accountant or a doctor.
if there are any four-year colleges such as uga which have vocational training programs, i shall stand corrected!
THANK GOD FOR FINN
November 8th, 2012
1:46 pm
Finn’s thought process is the exact reason Obama Won!
independent thinker
November 8th, 2012
1:46 pm
All this is fine and very entertaining but how about the cons tell Mitch McConnell and Grover Norquist , as well as Rush Limbaugh and their ilk to take a flying leap. I agree that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are the biggest problems the Dems have and are obstacles to compromise and solving the big problems..
They BOTH suck
November 8th, 2012
1:47 pm
This is like Mardi Gras where they have parades daily
The excuses parade is just going on and on and on and on…………..
But everyone have a great day and do carry on
WallyDaDog
November 8th, 2012
1:48 pm
Here is an interesting thought regarding the Republican’s ability to compete at the national level. In the last six presidential elections, the Republicans only carried the popular vote once.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:48 pm
The Donald:
“Congrats to @KarlRove on blowing $400 million this cycle. Every race @CrossroadsGPS ran ads in, the Republicans lost. What a waste of money.”
JDW
November 8th, 2012
1:49 pm
@@@…”what happend to Blue Dogs”
Replaced by, shall we say “fact challenged Republicans” for the most part.
“The Blue Dog Coalition suffered serious losses in the 2010 midterm elections, losing over half of its seats to Republican challengers. Its members, who comprised roughly one quarter of the Democratic Party’s caucus in the 111th Congress, accounted for half of the party’s midterm election losses.[14] Including retirements, Blue Dog numbers in the House were reduced from 54 members in 2008 to 26 members in 2010 and two of the Coalition’s four leaders (Stephanie Herseth Sandlin and Baron Hill) failed to secure re-election.”
md
November 8th, 2012
1:49 pm
“Spoken by someone who isn’t a minority or been poor.”
Ah grasshopper, you know what they say about assumptions…..but in this case the “me” does not apply.
I actually speak of it from the perspective of being quite poor……..and I mean pay check to pay check with no fun in between. And since I was there, I have no problem speaking on the issue.
Working 3 jobs, finding money for baby food, and going to school part time for a very long time…….I KNOW what the choices are. One can wallow in their misery and do nothing about it except complain, or one can do whatever the heck it takes to make it different…….I CHOSE the later.
So no, I don’t feel too sorry for the ones that choose the former………..excuses are easy choices.
Del
November 8th, 2012
1:50 pm
I agree with reaching out to non-Whites. Republicans must do a far better job in that area. Moving to the left, embracing global warming, same sex marriage, legalizing recreational drugs, contraception etc. etc. isn’t what’s important. What’s important is addressing the deficit issue that will become visible and unavoidable to all in Obama’s second term. Getting our nations economic health stablized is paramount and Republicans need to sell that fact loudly and often to the public. Obama will want to merely raise taxes and kick the can down the road until he’s safely through his second term. The realty of this crises, however, will disallow Obama an opportunity for avoidance and Republicans need to show that they can provide responsible leadership.
md
November 8th, 2012
1:51 pm
“because being a plumber, electrician, etc. is not considered cool”
The plumbers I know make biggy bucks…….plumbers helpers….not so much.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:52 pm
tech school are colleges, too. If you can call Life College a “University”…..
The world doesn’t need EVERYONE to be lawyers, accountants, and doctors. And by the way, plumbers can earn a lot more than accountants.
Matz
November 8th, 2012
1:54 pm
“because being a plumber, electrician, etc. is not considered cool.”
What’s worse is the loss of respectability that honest trade skills used to hold in our society. It takes all kinds of jobs to keep the economy going, but when we applaud those who put a company’s bottom line over everything else, and ascribe virtue to the kind of creative accounting that made a CEO’s average pay 4000 that of an employee (instead of 40 or 50 times), we no longer actually value “hard work” but use the term sarcastically to demean those whose jobs were eliminated through technology or shipped overseas.
In the “old days” (that so many Republicans pine for until you remind them about the unions and tax rates of the time), trade unions set standards and career paths for the non-collegiate populace, so that doing a hard day’s work meant people were at least valued enough to achieve a decent standard of living, a couple of weeks vacation time to spend with their families, and access to affordable health care so that they might live long enough to see some of that pension money (if the un-prosecuted Wall Street crooks hadn’t gambled it away by then.)
It wouldn’t be fair to blame only one “side” for this erosion of respect. Too many people think becoming a reality star or professional athlete is the key to success, and that hard work is for suckers. Everyone should, at some point in their lives, learn what it means to work hard at something, so that we can all respect hard work. Of course, when our President said as much in his “back to school” speech a couple of years ago, the rightie-tards in my kid’s school decided such socialist propaganda was worthy of censorship. Go figure.
Yes, GOP: Please keep ridiculing “hard work” and glorifying vulture-capitalist greed perpetuated by the silver-spoon crowd. Please.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:54 pm
.I CHOSE the later.
ummm, you just spent a WHOLE paragraph on the former. I think you still have issues you want to complain about…
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
1:57 pm
Can ya’ll kick Rove off the island yet?
md
November 8th, 2012
1:57 pm
“Given that there are numerous other examples who have “connections” that are dozens and hundreds of times more relevant.. (But shhhhhhh! As good Republicans, we shan’t talk about those criminally negligent titans of malfeasance on Wall Street and elsewhere. They are the job producers, doncha know?!)”
If it makes you fell better, I was against the bank bailouts too…….especially the bs about giving them money with no conditions……..even the banks charge higher interest to their not so stellar customers and we let them use our money with basically no strings attached. That was piss poor leadership on whoever put that deal together………..
md
November 8th, 2012
1:59 pm
“ummm, you just spent a WHOLE paragraph on the former. I think you still have issues you want to complain about…”
Figures you would complain about getting all the pertinent information……….would you prefer I just throw out the talking point, would that be more in line with what you are used to??