Even as the Republican Party faces it's darkest moments, it continues to engage in divisive misinformation as its only tool to combat the predominately popular President Obama. It appears that the Republicans are embracing opposition for oppositions sake.
That is not to say all Republicans have taken this position. However, if you are a Republican and you find yourself supporting President Obama, you also need to watch carefully how the RNC interprets your choices.
As with Arlen Specter, the Republicans were already planning to oust Senator Specter before he shifted to the Democrat side simply for supporting Obama. It should be clear that Republicans forced Specters hand. With the RNC backing a hard Right Conservative to compete in the Pennsylvania Republican Primary, it was a foregone conclusion: Specter could not win. If Specter was to keep his job, he, as with most Americans, made a change. Not a change to the far left. A change to the center.
We still do not see clear leadership within the GOP and that only dilutes any vision or direction. As Republicans continues to shift hard to the right at the same time as the country continues to shift to the center left, what will remain of the GOP for the 2010?.
This is not all doom and gloom. The democrats were is a similar position just 5 years ago. I believe the Republican Party will recover. It may take place in 2010, or it may take longer. But when it does recover, it will come back stronger for its efforts.
To survive, the GOP needs to be more inclusive. The southern, old, white Christian men can not carry the day. They need to tap into the growing Hispanic population. They will need to include other religions. They will learn to temper their opposition with less divisive rhetoric. If they want to bring on new members, they have to first make sure they do not insult them.
That is not to say all Republicans have taken this position. However, if you are a Republican and you find yourself supporting President Obama, you also need to watch carefully how the RNC interprets your choices.
As with Arlen Specter, the Republicans were already planning to oust Senator Specter before he shifted to the Democrat side simply for supporting Obama. It should be clear that Republicans forced Specters hand. With the RNC backing a hard Right Conservative to compete in the Pennsylvania Republican Primary, it was a foregone conclusion: Specter could not win. If Specter was to keep his job, he, as with most Americans, made a change. Not a change to the far left. A change to the center.
We still do not see clear leadership within the GOP and that only dilutes any vision or direction. As Republicans continues to shift hard to the right at the same time as the country continues to shift to the center left, what will remain of the GOP for the 2010?.
This is not all doom and gloom. The democrats were is a similar position just 5 years ago. I believe the Republican Party will recover. It may take place in 2010, or it may take longer. But when it does recover, it will come back stronger for its efforts.
To survive, the GOP needs to be more inclusive. The southern, old, white Christian men can not carry the day. They need to tap into the growing Hispanic population. They will need to include other religions. They will learn to temper their opposition with less divisive rhetoric. If they want to bring on new members, they have to first make sure they do not insult them.
They will still be able to hang on to core beliefs. They will just sell it from a different point of view. The new Republican Party can no longer demonize any and all opposition. Republicans need to find a way to deliver their message in a manner that does not first assault everyone who does not already share a specific value or position. They need to position a value or idea so that people can be persuaded to join, not forced adhere. The “it’s my way or the highway” mentality will not survive the 2010 elections.
Once the message has been tempered, and the audience expanded, the GOP will be better positioned to address the issues that are truly core to their image: fiscal responsibility, self-reliance, smaller government, states rights, lower taxes, less regulation. While I may not share these ideals, these are the discussions worth having.
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