Michael Steele and the Republican Party: Stuck in Denial
At the Georgia Republican Convention, Michael Steele says we need a bigger tent with fresh faces and new ideas to regain power. He is wrong. We need people that will stick to principles. by EJ Moosa
(libertarian)
Saturday, May 16, 2009
I am not sure about you, but as someone who left the Republican Party over 15 years ago, I cannot help but laugh at the leadership of the Republican Party.
If the reports from the Georgia Republican Convention are true, then they still do not get it, and that points yet again to the dismal failure of the "two-party system" When a party wins, they are the only solution. When they lose they look to every explanation that is not found in a mirror.
Michael Steele is claiming that "fresh faces and ideas" are what they believe is the prescription for what ails the Republican Party. They need a second opinion.
The Republican Party has not become irrelevant because of a lack of fresh faces and fresh ideas. It is irrelevant because the old faces do not represent the same message and principles that they once did. The old faces do not even represent the same principle from day to day.
For starters, they need to oust all of the Republicans in Name Only(RINOS). They have done more harm than good. They have been inside the Trojan Horse of the Republican Party. They have eaten away from the core of the party from the inside out. Rinos have weakened the party, and they should have been called out by true Republicans years ago.
The Republican Party became irrelevant because once they had the power, they tried to endear themselves to the voters that did not support them. They created greater entitlement programs. They spent more on programs than were certainly not Republican in nature. They, in essence, tried to out Democrat the Democrats, believing that if they could sway another 5-10% of the Democrats into their camp, by showing how caring and compassionate they really were by supporting their liberal Outreach program(Medicare expansion ring a bell?) that they lost the core of the Republican Party.
In 2008, they gave us the most liberal Republican Party candidate in my lifetime. If there was ever a candidate that offered what Steele claims is needed, it was John McCain. The results were clear despite the addition of Sarah Palin, who was indeed a fresh face.
And they believe that the answer in the future is someone more like John McCain's principles? Please tell me I am mistaken.
What voters want is men and women of principle. We wasnt them to know what the Constitution is, what it means, and how they must vote to support it.
What we want is for them to say what they mean and mean what they say. We do not want excuses and justifications for why they were against Medicare expansion but.....
We are tired of the buts! We are tired of the justifications in supporting programs that are part of an ever increasing Federal Government. It's that simple. That's what our Founding Fathers had in mind.
So Michael Steele, you can continue to deny what has really caused the failure of the Republican Party. And each time the Republicans shift a little more to the center, the Democrats shift a little more to the left.
When the Democrats lost the power, did they say they need to be a little more like Republicans? Did they become more like Republicans? Did Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid search their souls and move towards the center? Not a chance.
The only way the Democrats can lose in the future is if the Republicans move away from the center, back to the right, and give voters a CLEAR message on what they represent and will do once elected. The Democrats know that. It's why RINO Colin Powell is telling the Republican Party to move to the center. It's why James Carville is sending the same message. Seriously, how many times have you heard winners tell the losers what they REALLY need to do to beat them in the future.
Democrats support fuzzy ideas and concepts. Democrats support feel good candidates with the polished rhetoric. Democrats do not ask for the details.
Republicans are different by nature. They want the details. If you promise the moon, they want to know how it will be paid for. They are not going to turn out to support fuzzy political strategies and concepts. It is not JUST about winning, as it is for the Democrats. That is why principles matter.
The old Republicans, like Ronald Reagan, would have never fallen for this. The New Republicans are too busy trying to place the blame elsewhere because they gave the liberals what they wanted and lost anyway.
You would have thought that they would have figured out when the compromise on "No New Taxes" was used to keep George H.W. Bush to a single term. Some lessons seem to be learned more than once.
Ronald Reagan said what he meant and meant what he said.He was clear. You may not have agreed, but you knew the principles behind his policy.
The New Republican Party? It depends on the demographics of their target audience for the occasion.
Any time people see and experience the hypocrisy, they are going to migrate away. There is not a worse feeling than supporting a Party with time, money and votes, and then witness them go against your principles. Principles they said they supported. Principles they only support when they think they need you.
Those are not principles. They never will be. And when the voters feel betrayed (because we were), we go away.
The Republicans do not need a bigger tent. They need to advertise what is in the tent truthfully. Until then, it will just be a carnival event of illusions and tricks.
The path is clear. The Constitution contains all the principles they need to adhere to in order to return to power. Unfortunately, they seem unable to locate a copy for reference. And Michael Steele does not seem to know what it even is.
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The views expressed
in this article are those of EJ Moosa only and
do not represent the views of Nolan Chart, LLC or its affiliates.
EJ Moosa is solely responsible for the contents
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with Nolan Chart, LLC in his/her role as a columnist.
I couldn't Agree more. The Contract with America was the last time republicans were republicans. After they kicked Newt out and went on to elect the Cancerous Conservative Dubya, they shifted to the left and became irrelevant. McCain was just a tired, old relic of the past administration that both the left and right came to despise. There is one old face I wouldn't mind seeing again, and that is Newt Gingrich. He said he would run if he seen no alternative, and by 2012 it won't be a moment too soon!
I like your article but I must ask you this. What is your view on Utah Gov Jon Huntsman? He in my view seems pragmatic on issues like gay rights but is very pro 2nd Amendment in addition appears to be a fiscal conservative.
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