According the UK paper, The Guardian, Republicans are meeting in a secluded location in Virginia this week to discuss the losses in last Tuesday's election and the future of the Party ([link edited for length]). They will elect a new chairman and try to figure out what went wrong.
What went wrong was credibility. Outside the Republican Party, lowering taxes and defending the rights of fetuses are not the top priorities for most Americans. Even on those issues, Republicans didn't do much. The Alternative Minimum Tax is still on the books. There was no meaningful legislation that nullified the Roe v. Wade ruling. All they did on those two big issues was nibble around the edges.
In fact, they went out of their way to do everything opposite of their stated beliefs. The following is lifted from my county's Republican website ([link edited for length]) :
What We Believe
"I believe that the proper function of government is to do for the people those things that have to be done but cannot be done, or cannot be done as well by individuals, and that the most effective government is government closest to the people.
I believe that good government is based on the individual and that each person's ability, dignity, freedom and responsibility must be honoured and recognised [sic].
I believe that free enterprise and encouragement of individual initiative and incentive have given this nation an economic system second to none.
I believe that sound money policy should be our goal.
I believe in equal rights and equal opportunity for all, regardless of race, creed, age, sex or national origin.
I believe that persons with disabilities should be afforded equal rights, equal justice and equal opportunities as well.
I believe we must retain those principles worth retaining, yet always be receptive to new ideas with an outlook broad enough to accommodate thoughtful change and varying points of view.
I believe that Americans value and should preserve their feeling of national strength and pride, and at the same time share with people everywhere a desire for peace and freedom and the extension of human rights throughout the world.Finally,
I believe that the Republican Party is the best vehicle for translating these ideals into positive and successful principles of government."
Each one of those paragraphs has been ignored. Government has become more intrusive with the Patriot Act, No Child Left Behind, FISA, and the Medicare drug programs. Government knows better than you on how to react in times of crisis with FEMA and Homeland Security. Free Enterprise now takes second place to whatever the Treasury Department feels is the need to "bail out" banks and car manufacturers. Our $10 trillion debt and nearly $1 trillion in deficit spending this year, in addition to over $50 trillion in guaranteed future obligations, mock any hint of sound money policy. Equal rights and justice apparently have no place in a U.S. run prison camp in Cuba.
With all that, why does that last paragraph have any meaning?
Optimism is a form of delusion. It's an irrational belief that things will get better. I suppose that's what caused so many young people to get involved with the campaign of Ron Paul last year. His platform wasn't much different than what was printed above. It certainly was in contrast to the actions of the sitting "Republican" President.
At the website RebuildTheParty.com, activists are looking for ideas on how to rebuild the Republican Party. It mentions that the internet was the overlooked vehicle that propelled such unknowns as Obama, Huckabee and Ron Paul into the national spotlight. Duh. What they don't mention is the internet also helped stomp on the McCain-Kennedy attempt at immigration reform. It works both ways. The internet as a tool is as effective and immediate as the explosive collar in the movie The Running Man. It swiftly punishes as well as rewards.
If you believe in the above stated principles (although not the actions) of the Republican Party, now is your chance to make the Party yours. If you go to http colon slash slash ideas dot rebuildtheparty dot com ([link edited for length]), you will have an opportunity to tell the GOP what it needs to do. So far (11/8/08) over 500 votes have gone to the suggestion "Reach Out to Ron Paul and the Campaign for Freedom". The next ideas include (with apologies to formatting):
After that, it gets redundant. I find it interesting that social conservatism is so far down on the list. I liked the colorful items even farther down like "be Duke Nukem", "be a Monster Truck", and "say Thanks, but No Thanks to AARP." I didn't see anything about staying in Iraq, Korea or Germany for 100 years. Imagine that.
If the Republican Party wants to rebirth itself as the Party of Small Government, it's going to have to deal with all those bullet points. To the fiscal conservatives of Generation X, it's just common sense.
©2008 Bob Nightingale, all rights reserved. You must have written permission from the author in order to republish this work.
Published: Saturday, November 8, 2008
Last modified: Saturday, November 8, 2008
The views expressed in this article are those of Bob Nightingale only and do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates. Bob Nightingale is solely responsible for the contents of this article and is not an employee or otherwise affiliated with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
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Reader Comments:
Posted By: Brittanicus
Date: 2008-11-08 16:47:11
WHY WON'T AMERICANS WAKE UP..?
Where do you think taxpayers money is going...?
OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM IS CRAMMED-SOLID, WITH ILLEGAL FOREIGN NATIONALS? 57 PERCENT OF MY SONS SCHOOL ARE FROM SOUTH OF THE BORDER AND HARDLY ANY OF THEM CAN COMPREHEND THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE. MOST OF THEM RECEIVE FREE BREAKFAST AND LUNCH. I SEND $5.00 A WEEK FOR MY SONS MILK, HE DRINKS DURING THE DAY.
37 MILLION illegal aliens--that we support for parasite employers, according to the Tucson sector Border Patrol union local 2544, not the propaganda brought forth by the Liberal national press and special interest lobby of only 13 million. An additional half-million coming every year. California is $11 billion dollars in the red, so now they are looking for ways to cut programs. Don't re-elect Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa he's embraced LOS ANGELES as a SANCTUARY CITY, in a SANCTUARY STATE.
A massive financial impact on our economy by importing the worlds poor.
Go to www.numbersusa.com for immigration facts not lies.
TIME TO FIGHT BACK OR BE SUBMERGED IN ILLEGAL FOREIGN NATIONALS, LEECHING FROM OUR WELFARE SYSTEM! REMEMBER PROP 187? YOU HAVE BEEN PAYING EVER SINCE. EDUCATION, HEALTH-CARE, HOUSING! JUST THE TIP OF THE ECONOMIC ICEBERG. REMEMBER? LOW INCOME PEOPLE GET ALL THEIR TAXES BACK! REMEMBER ALL THE RISING CRIME RATES IN SANCTUARY CITIES AND STATES!
Learn about many positive legal cases won at www.judicialwatch.org We are beginning to stop the open border zealots and immigration special interest lobby.
Posted By: chichemo
Date: 2008-11-08 18:28:47
I have a suggestion for the Republican Party:
READ THE F'N CONSTITUTION !!!
Posted By: Master C
Date: 2008-11-08 18:44:02
Dear Bob,
When I read through your article it sounded like a Catechism ~ this is what we believe, this is why we believe it, this is what we'll do. My God, it sounds like brain washing!
Republicans lined up behind McCain ~ all the way from Limbaugh to Hannity to Mitt Romney to Rudy Guiliani. The problem wasn't with the Republicans, it was with the Independents and Democrats. He didn't sway any votes AT ALL. Neither party can win without swaying the independents. And the HUGE influx of new voters ~ blacks, latinos, under 25 ~ were not swayed by McCain's attacks and old reverie. We all knew he was just another 4 years of Bush without the Texas swagger.
The REAL reasons Republicans lost are:
1) People were wise to the Sarah Palin is competent ploy. She had been the Mayor of a town of less than 9,000 people, had only been Governor for less than 2 years, had never traveled out of the country, had never passed any national legislation, and couldn't even name the world leaders of most countries.
2) Trying to slander and smear people by association doesn't work. We know Obama didn't believe the ideas of Rev. Wright, or the other "terrorists" the rabid Republican right tried to imply were "pals" of his. You have to run on YOUR OWN VIEWS not try to RUN DOWN the other candidate.
3) You have to get someone who is HEALTHY to run for President. Are you telling me that McCain is really the BEST the Republicans have got? He's a doddering old man of 72 who spent 6 years in a POW camp, had several recurring bouts with cancer, could barely raise his arms because his shoulders had been broken while tortured. They've got to get someone who will LIVE through his term!
4) They can't keep fighting the NEWS MEDIA. No one believes everything they tell us anyway. Most people are getting news over the INTERNET now. Even newspapers are failing. The candidate's unedited message will be heard in debates, speeches, advertisements and through surrogates. Complaining about the NEWS MEDIA is like complaining about the REFEREES in a sporting event. Nobody likes crybabies!
5) You can't run UNPOPULAR candidates for office even if you LOVE their ideas. Ron Paul hasn't got enough following to start a parade! Why don't they get someone like Limbaugh or Hannity? They think they know what the world needs. They think they're popular ~ and they are, until they have to compromise, tone down their rhetoric, or try to be civil! They spit more venom than a Cobra!
Hope these suggestions help.
Master C
Posted By: daddysteve
Date: 2008-11-10 12:33:35
Obama won because most voters are unqualified to vote. At least the ones I come in contact with. The ignorance of how even the most basic of government operations work is shameful. That a republicrat was elected comes as no surprise, just disappointment.
Posted By: Bob N.
Date: 2008-11-10 15:18:19
ds,
The margin of victory was too large to explain it away as voter fraud. The simpler explanation was that McCain had "failure to communicate."
Posted By: gene
Date: 2008-11-18 18:11:07
I have a suggestion for the Republican Party, the good of the people of this country is more important than Republican Ideals and Agenda. When war and concentration of corporate wealth represent the embodiment of "family values" and "patriotism" eventually even the dullest of citizens will vote the other ticket.