It seems like it has been forever, but in the 1994 elections, Republicans were in a position to take control of Congress for the first time in almost 50 years. With an electorate that was shying away from President Clinton’s fast acting legislative platform, the Grand Old Party found two things that they are lacking now: a message and a leader.
“Contract with America” was that message and Newt Gingrich was that leader, and the right handed the left a decisive defeat. For 10 of the next 12 years, Republicans held the majority in both chambers. By the end of the 2006 and 2008 elections, the GOP found themselves back on the book shelf of irrelevance. If the 2006 election was an indication of the electorate’s disapproval of President Bush and the war in Iraq, the 2008 election was an indication of the beginning of the end of the unity of the right as candidates quickly distanced themselves from the President.
Going into the 2010 election the Republican Party is still very much fractured (a description often saved for the left). On one side, you have conservatives accusing moderates of turning their backs on the core values of the party. On the other side, moderates are slamming conservatives for drawing partisan lines. Then you have the Tea Party fringe groups that are attacking both sides – moderates for being moderates and conservatives for not being conservative enough.
These various groups have developed different platforms and look to different members of the party for leadership. What the GOP needs is - one voice and one leader. And I don’t mean Sarah, Rush, or Beck, at least not if they want to be taken seriously again outside of tea parties and town halls. The party needs a leader that brings people together, not a pundit that divides and conquers. Before the right can right the ship, they have to see and understand were they have gone wrong. They controlled both The White House and Congress, and where thrown out quicker than Sarah Palin can say lip stick.
Some on the far right say the problem is that they weren’t conservative enough. I see this as backing oneself into a corner, the more conservative the party becomes the more of a fringe player they become, because quite simply the American electorate is, and always has been moderate. There also is a perceived lack of tolerance for diversity of opinion on the right. It has become apparent that there is a litmus test within the party on certain issues that magnifies the moderates view that they are a party of exclusion. This has become underlined in the recent budget standstill in California and within the health care debate in Congress. In both cases the party leaders were not shy about telling their conservative brothers and sisters, if you vote with the Democrats you will lose our support, more specifically through party funding for reelection, and current and future chairmanships within their respective chambers. Also the right needs to STOP turning disagreements over issues into attacks on people’s morals (i.e. gun rights and gay rights).
Going forward, the GOP needs to moderate its extremes and clarify its message. They need to become the party of national unity, national security, fiscal responsibility and individual freedom again. The Republicans need to come forward with a clear agenda and platform to get America moving forward and to shake the label of the “Party of No” given to them by the left. The next clear move for the party is to progress from simply disagreeing with the President to bringing forth ideas that are positive and that are going to help people. They must change the cover of the book, from the party of prevention to the party of progression, if they ever want anyone to read their book again.
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