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
How About the Grown Up Party?
November 8th, 2012
3:15 pm
What would really be nice (and I think well-received) would be a party that tells the citizens the truth.
For example:
We are spending too much and EVERYONE is going to have to give something up.
Iran is going to get a nuclear weapon and we are going to have to learn to deal with it.
Climate change is real and we need to do what we can to mitigate and adapt.
We can’t afford unlimited medical care for everyone. There will be rationing in one form or another. There already is.
We can’t afford a global empire. It is time for Europe and Japan to take care of themselves.
We cannot right every wrong in the world but we can sure try to get it right in our own country.
Not everyone in society is going to succeed. The best we can do is to ensure everyone gets a fair shake.
beachdog
November 8th, 2012
3:15 pm
@Kyle:”Both major national parties include people who think about various issues differently. To your point about abortion and the MSM: Why did Obama’s opposition to a ban on partial-birth abortion not make it into the headlines the way Akin’s and Mourdock’s comments did?”
That’s the problem for conservatives. You see false comparison between Akin/Mourdoch and Obama on abortion. Keep it up and the GOP is doomed.
Reality
November 8th, 2012
3:16 pm
Kyle -
YOU are wrong. It is wrong to define republicans as “conservative” and democrats as “liberal”. This is a myth and you are purpetuating it. There are liberal republicans and there are conservative democrats.
YOU are wrong. Republicans need to move their platform more to the left in all areas: from foreign policy to social issues. The current platform is too far out to the right and it really is turning off too many voters.
YOU are wrong. The republicans need to become more inclusion and less exclusion. The republicans need to be more compromising and communicating and less bull-headed and stuborn. The republicans need to be less hate filled.
All of this is why the republicans lost nationally. However, it is also why all of this is why republicans win the States of Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and Tenn. I hate to say this about the State where I was born and raised (Georgia), but these states are still living in the old days where the KKK was acceptable and everyone “knew their place” – to include the women folk.
So, if the republicans do want to win nationally, their platform DOES need to change.
stands for decibels
November 8th, 2012
3:17 pm
Kyle, yours was a thoughtful piece that deserves a thoughtful reply. My take?
Item one–we’ll have to disagree, obviously I’d like to see the country, and hence both its national parties, become more progressive.
Item two, specifically:
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
True, it hasn’t, but frankly I think GOP supporters put entirely too much stock in an off-year election where discouraged Obama voters just flat-out didn’t show up. Being that it was a census year, though, it came at an excellent time for the GOP, and the redistricting that resulted from the state takovers will distort the influence of the GOP for the next eight years relative to the actual support that they have.
Item three: 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?
Agree completely. Sonny Perdue had promised to transport those in need to obtain ID, but it turned out to be more expensive/difficult than he’d planned (I’m sure everyone here remembers the problems with the buses that they did commission for that purpose). A suggestion: If you made secure online voter registration / ID available to everyone in states across the nation, that’d go a long way toward convincing people that you’re not trying to stop legitimate voters from voting.
the pro-life position is as strong as it’s been since Roe v. Wade.
Which, frankly, is to say it’s not that strong. I’ve looked at polling through the years and the majority that want R v W to remain intact hasn’t changed. What HAS changed though is the personal self-identification of those who say they are personally pro-life, but (I would argue) that is a very long way off from the kind of prohibition on abortion that the personhood amendment would dictate. Bottom line is, GOPers cannot continue to demonize those people who feel it is poor public policy to keep first-trimester abortion legal; not if they want to expand their base. The GOP used to have no problem with this, but they certainly do now.
Otherwise, I think you’ve seen things clearly, both on marriage equality becoming the new normal, and GA GOPers needing to heed the national message.
Hillbilly D
November 8th, 2012
3:17 pm
I’m not offended, are you?
Nah, I think it’s hilarious that they can’t see their own hypocrisy.
cc
November 8th, 2012
3:17 pm
“My Dad needed a new one and it took him 4 trips. I’m not kidding. All because of other peoples Xenophobia.”
No, that isn’t the cause . . .
Georgia, just as all other states, is attempting to comply with federal law regarding “Real ID” requirements with reference to Homeland Security.
WTF?
November 8th, 2012
3:18 pm
Wait a minute. Is it possible that you, Kyle, AND all your conservative buddies are that clueless? You are saying that THE ONLY THING YOU NEED TO DO DIFFERENTLY IS REACH OUT MORE TO NON-WHITES??? Are you F’n kidding me? Do you really think your “message” is not out there? The right wing so over-saturates America with it’s simplistic crap you can’t escape it. No amount of “outreach” will help people – who don’t agree with you – to come around. Outreach is not the problem. The “non-whites” (is your name secretly Biff??) are well aware of your message. You don’t need to try harder to get it out there to them. They have heard it loud and clear.
THAT’S WHY THEY VOTED FOR THE OTHER GUY.
What you need to do is change your policies. Not even your message. You need to change your actual policies. Or be resigned to the permanent minority.
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
3:18 pm
Well, I see liberals are still here patting themselves on the back. I don’t know for what. They certainly have not given us anybody who has done anything much for the country. Not the conditions I see.
If you like debt. be a Dem. If you like dependency, be a Dem. If you like foreclosures, be a Dem. If you want to blame others for police and intelligence surveillance, be a Dem. If you despise rich people, be a Dem. If you blame others for your job loss, be a Dem. If you hate banks and credit cards ’cause you can’ t pay what you owe, be a Dem. If you hate religion ’cause you don’t have any, be a Dem. If the union got you a big raise but the company shut down, be a Dem. If you never bothered to get citizenship after you crossed the border, be a Dem If you want to change the constitution at your convenience, be a Dem. If you want to talk about your sex life, contraceptives, drug life and marijuana dependency IN PUBLIC, be a Dem.. If you want “free” cheap healthcare by semi-professionals, be a Democrat. If you want to sneer at patriotism, be a Democrat.
Should I want Republicans to move towards the above characteristics? Nope! Not any more than I want to be in a socialist country that takes half of my income for their “projects” and wants to run my life. No way I want America to be American for everybody, just as our Constitution directs. I don’t think that is asking too much.
stands for decibels
November 8th, 2012
3:19 pm
Sorry, meant to type “GOPers cannot continue to demonize those people who feel it is poor public policy to criminalize first-trimester abortion”, @ 3.17.
Bye Bye Cheesy Grits
November 8th, 2012
3:24 pm
The very thing that won Bush the White House twice.
Moving to the right and appealing to Evangelicals.
Is killing the Republican party now.
Hillbilly D
November 8th, 2012
3:27 pm
Georgia, just as all other states, is attempting to comply with federal law regarding “Real ID” requirements with reference to Homeland Security.
Speaking of which, I actually saw this transpire with my own eyes. A fellow evidently had an upcoming renewal date for his license and didn’t have a birth certificate. So he was trying to get a copy of his birth certificate and guess what they wanted to see to verify his ID? His driver’s license. I’m all for verifying that people are legit but a little common sense, goes a long way.
In my own case, I’m a few years away from a renewal but I already showed them my birth certificate, 40 friggin’ years ago when I got my learner’s license. They have (or should have) a continuous paper trail on me, going back that far, complete with pictures, all along the way.
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
3:28 pm
Election memes
http://politicalhumor.about.com/library/bl-2012-election-victory.htm
car mechanic sign: “Will Remove Romney Bumper Stickers for Free”
picture of Romney with a caption: “Game Over. Insert $250 million to play again.”
Tee
November 8th, 2012
3:29 pm
@HDB — amen!
Getta Klew
November 8th, 2012
3:30 pm
Dusty,
Maybe you are not comprehending this but at least half the posts excoriating the Republican party are Republicans, former Republicans, or people who would like to become Republicans.
Reality
November 8th, 2012
3:31 pm
@Dusty – You are obviously a hopeless person that has totally bought into the goods sold by Rush, Hannity, etc. Good luck.
cc
November 8th, 2012
3:33 pm
Hillbilly D:
I know . . . bureaucracy at its very best!
Reality
November 8th, 2012
3:37 pm
Not too long ago…
The republicans said to themselves that they needed to include the black vote. So, they paraded Clarence Thomas out to the Supreme Court and thought that would be it.
The republicans said to themselves that they needed to include the women vote. So, they paraded out Sara Palin as VP candidate and thought that would be it.
The republicans said to themselves that they needed to include the hispanic vote. So, they paraded out… well, really no one yet.
The problem is that the republicans just don’t get it. They do not need to “parade out” anyone. They need to move their platform to attact the voters. They don’t need to do anything more than that!
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
3:41 pm
Picture of Obama with a caption: “Hey Colorado, pass that stash to the left!”
oldfart
November 8th, 2012
3:42 pm
Changes that would bring hope to a fiscal conservative who has become totally disenchanted with the Republicans and has been voting for the lesser evil for years now:
1. Affirm separation of church and state. The forefathers were right on this from the start of the nation and it should be adhered to regardless of what the preachers say. Yeah, it has been a tried and true method through the years, opiate of the masses and what not, but if you want diversity then it starts with religious tolerance.
2. Along those lines there has to be some softening on the abortion issues. The extremism of God endorsing a rape by conception makes for headlines that alienate a large segment of voters. Keep the Right to Life plank if you wish but there has to be some compromise here. Trying to establish “personhood” to a single-cell zygote is just ludicrous.
3. This is kind of where I was going with 1 & 2 but it is worth its own entry. Quit trying to infringe on personal freedoms. The basis of this government as passed down from the Federalists is that a person should have the freedom to do what they want up until expressing that freedom infringes upon someone else. It is only at that point that you need a law.
4. A strong military is a must but keeping it protecting foreign countries is not.
5. Fiscal conservatism means you address your debt. Talk of tax cuts in the face of the staggering debt just blows credibility out of the water from jump.
6. Make it easy to cross the border with proper paperwork and make work visas easier to obtain. This has been working in Europe for years now. Revise the 14th amendment to accommodate this to a person born here is a citizen only if born to already existing citizens.
Jay Money
November 8th, 2012
3:42 pm
Ronald Reagan raises taxes 10 times and raised the debt ceiling 11 times, RR started “trickle down” or “Voodoo Economics” that ruined this country. Regan started the downward progression of this country all while being praised by rescums. As far as Georgia is concerned, take away Atlanta and your left with Utah, a state full of inbred, gap tooth, bible thumpin, cousin humpin, racist rednecks.
md
November 8th, 2012
3:43 pm
“All minorities and poor people are asking for is the same opportunities you had.”
Huh? I went out and got 3 crappy part time jobs………Mickey D’s has a revolving door when it comes to looking for workers……..you think I enjoyed working those crappy jobs?? Heck No…..
All I’m hearing is more excuses……which again is a choice.
esperantisto
November 8th, 2012
3:46 pm
Kyle,
I usually don’t agree with you, but there are some kernels of truth in this one. Pleasantly surprised you think gay marriage is beyond arguing. I think you should have added that compromise is not a sin. Can’t wait to read the follow-up piece.
Reality
November 8th, 2012
3:48 pm
@oldfart – I agree with your points 100%. And, I want to point out that these are not “conservative” or “liberal” points, but just common sense!
Robert
November 8th, 2012
3:49 pm
I think the GOP has already created a strategy concerning the homegrown terrorist group(s) known as the “tea party” (klansmen, skinheads, militia’s, birther’s, etc.). The GOP conceded defeat when they allowed Romney to select Ryan (tea party) as his running mate. This decision allowed the GOP to get rid of all the right wing extremist who have held the GOP and the American People hostage over the past 4 years as well as guaranteed victory for President Obama in 2012.
The GOP can know focus on recruiting “moderate” GOP candidates with the goal of retaining as many seats in the House and Senate as possible in the 2014 midterm elections. Hopefully the GOP will not let any extreme group(s) dictate how the American People will be governed in the future.
HDB
November 8th, 2012
3:50 pm
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
3:18 pm
Wasn’t there an old saying: to live like a REPUBLICAN, you have to VOTE DEMOCRATIC!! ??
Jay Money
November 8th, 2012
3:50 pm
Georgia (Without Atlanta), the other Utah. Bible thumpin & cousin humpin our way to Irrelevancy
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
3:50 pm
Getta Klew 3:30
If you think complaining comments here are from Republicans of one kind or another, you are mistaken. Take out copious complainers Finn, Che Grits, and other known Democrats, a few imposters under various IDs, you may have a few Republicans but not many.
One thing you do not understand. Republicans do not want to be Democrats just to get votes. They have standards and morals which they do not compromise. Why have them if you want to change them every time something doesn’t work to your delight.
Maybe you have forgotten the meaning of “Stand up for what you believe.in .” I think you will find that to be the MANTRA of most Republicans, not mollify for the moment. . .
md
November 8th, 2012
3:52 pm
“Keep with the opinions and thinking of I Report, td, md, and Dusty.”
Oh Goody, I’ve been singled out…….care to elaborate on your problem with my position cutty, or is the drive by mention good enough in your book??
gLENN
November 8th, 2012
3:53 pm
@ Hillbilly Jim
The Real ID act that has caused such a headache for so much was a republican supported & sponsored act . Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano has tried to repeal it half the states have done the same . It has the feel of something Hitler would enforce .
Anyhow I can’t get a name change due to this law & still get a drivers license . Common sense seems to be thrown out the window .
jconservative
November 8th, 2012
3:54 pm
Democratic voters:
55% of women
68% of unmarried women
How does the Republican Party reverse these numbers?
Carving them up
November 8th, 2012
3:55 pm
Dusty
Your last complaint is a complaint
Just saying
cc
November 8th, 2012
3:55 pm
Dusty:
“Maybe you have forgotten the meaning of “Stand up for what you believe.in .” I think you will find that to be the MANTRA of most Republicans, not mollify for the moment. . .”
That is definitely the mantra of the true conservative. The ONLY viable vehicle available for a conservative is the Republican Party!
md
November 8th, 2012
3:58 pm
“Trying to establish “personhood” to a single-cell zygote is just ludicrous. ”
I would tend to agree if one were looking at it in strictly a religious context, but from one that looks at it from a scientific standpoint, I can’t agree.
R v W is written based on viability of the fetus, a “scientific” designation. The definition is based on science. As technology increases, that viability also changes…….and is changing daily.
Couple that with the scientific work on dna, and most every geneticist will tell you that “life” (individual dna) has a distinct starting point, and that is at conception.
So what happens when the two concepts merge?? Based on science??
Matz
November 8th, 2012
3:59 pm
jconservative
November 8th, 2012
3:54 pm
Democratic voters:
55% of women
68% of unmarried women
How does the Republican Party reverse these numbers?
_______________
Marry more women?
Stop trading your wives in for newer models?
Gman
November 8th, 2012
3:59 pm
It’s the message, STUPID!
Jay Money
November 8th, 2012
4:01 pm
Georgia; A state too busy hating to be taken seriously.
Georgia; a state so red, we can only be inbred.
Georgia: Home of the (Rebublician) Slaves not the braves
Georgia: Always on my (racist) Mind
Georgia: We are Utah!!!!
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
4:01 pm
HDB
I never heard the one about voting for Democrats if you want to live like Republicans.
What I heard was :”Why bother to work. Be a Democrat.”
Not as catchy, but more to the point.
JDW
November 8th, 2012
4:02 pm
Hey Finn…those are hilarious! My favorite was a Borowitz tweet…
BREAKING NEWS: Man who told half the country to #$*% themselves somehow loses election.
Carving them up
November 8th, 2012
4:03 pm
md
All that sounds great, but I hope you do not bet any money on the SC overturning R v W.
They have and could still uphold certain state restrictions, but don’t bet the farm on R v W being overturned.
Plus it is a nice issue that a faction of the Republican Party likes to trot out at election time. Sure they have their personal feelings, but like all politicians they also like “emotional” issues to help get out the vote and this is one for sure.
Why would the majority of them want that issue off the table when it can be be trotted out each election?
And at the end of the day, if you are against abortion (not sure if you are or are not, don’t really care), do not have one.
HDB
November 8th, 2012
4:04 pm
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
4:01 pm
It was Harry S. Truman who said it…..
http://www.alan.com/2012/02/26/if-you-want-to-live-like-a-republican/
Carving them up
November 8th, 2012
4:06 pm
Dusty
It is not a good point, seeing that the vast majority of Democrats do work.
Put if that makes you feel better about yourself to proclaim that stereotype, run with it. It wont change anything, but hopefully your mind is somehow pacified when you say it.
“bless your heart”
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
4:06 pm
Rachel Maddow explains why the country needs a well informed Republican party:
http://www.salon.com/2012/11/08/must_see_monologue/
or just go back to the Hannity and the Rush….
Jay Money
November 8th, 2012
4:07 pm
Rescums have “standards and morals”, that’s the funnest thing I heard all year long.
More like “Double standards” and “A morals”
Finn McCool (The System isn't Broken; It's Fixed)
November 8th, 2012
4:07 pm
JDW, i liked the picture of the woman voting with the caption:
“If a candidate threatens women’s choices, the female body has ways to shut that whole thing down. ”
cc
November 8th, 2012
4:07 pm
Jay Money:
You are obviously very unhappy in Georgia. Have you ever considered moving? There are 49 other states (56 according to your president). Surely, you would be happier elsewhere. Many of us would like to see you relocate to another locale as well, preferably to one with no access to a computer.
DEAinATL
November 8th, 2012
4:08 pm
The GOP nominated its most electable candidate – the others were plain out nut cases whose nomination would have allowed the Dems to run up the numbers even more. Thanks to the tea party wingnuts the GOP lost more ground in the Senate when it could have gained control.
We are seeing the death throes of a dying party, as ever fewer become shriller, more reactionary and more irrelevant. Even radical gerrymandering in red states, million dollar donations by cynical right wing billionaires and the lunacy of Fox “news” and talk radio have only slightly slowed the tide.
It is impossible for the GOP to “reach out” to those it plots to disenfranchise and villify. Nixon’s Southern strategy has come home to roost.
Goodbye and good riddance.
Dusty
November 8th, 2012
4:08 pm
Carving them up or whatever your ID is at the moment,3:55
Re: complaints….
So what did you want me to mention? Wine and roses?
Carving them up
November 8th, 2012
4:09 pm
cc
You are obviously unhappy and still crying like a baby because Obama won the election.
“Have you ever considered moving?”
Delta is ready when you are. More international destinations than any domestic career.
Thought so. Big Talk, no walk
Carving them up
November 8th, 2012
4:11 pm
Dusty
Well you sure are turning those sour grapes into whine…..
Guess you just need to add roses
Complain as you rant about others complaining
Keep the laughs coming
Hillbilly D
November 8th, 2012
4:12 pm
Georgia (Without Atlanta), the other Utah. Bible thumpin & cousin humpin our way to Irrelevancy
Your romantic life is no concern of ours. Maybe your just braggin’?