Opinion
A wake-up call to Republicans
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Also by Gerald Cox:
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- Same old strategies won't save republicanism (March 2, 2009)
- Black leaders won't let America's racist heritage go (February 23, 2009)
- ASM constitution will not succeed without students (February 19, 2009)
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Word has spread of a meeting of Republican and conservative leaders following Tuesday’s election. Gov. Sarah Palin and Sen. John McCain are spending election night as far away from one another as possible. Rumors of possible chiefs-of-staff in an Obama White House are abound. If victory had a scent, Obama aides would be awash in it. Pundits and analysts agree: The Republican Party is in for a whoopin’ on Tuesday.
Tuesday will mark the end of any semblance of Republican power at a federal level. The congressional victories for Democrats of 2006 will be a trickle to the flood that awaits Republicans on Tuesday.
But Republicans need not be dismayed by Tuesday’s impending defeat. A win would mean the GOP would go on for at least four more years thinking they had it right. Believing that the trickle-down economics of Reagan are best for
Where many see an end for conservatism and Republican policies, a few may note this is the appropriate time for a new beginning.
The traditional two-party system in
My colleague, Zach Shuster, wrote a masterful column on conservatism’s recent failings. One of the most cogent critiques of his argument and others like it is that President George W. Bush is hardly an apt representation of true conservatism. Yet who chose President Bush? Certainly not liberals. It was conservative Republicans, with help from independents. Conservatives are choosing their own leaders. And to hear them tell it, these leaders continue to represent them poorly.
Recent polling has indicated two of the largest drags on McCain’s candidacy are not policies, but people. Bush’s legacy and Palin’s inadequacy hamper his campaign. They represent, as New York Times columnist David Brooks pointed out, the Republican Party’s recent adoption of the oft-mentioned but never seen Joe Sixpack mentality, embodied as the true American who doesn’t do a lot of reading, can’t stand the media, eschews things like bachelor’s degrees and isn’t one for much schoolin’. Problem is the Joe Sixpacks are outnumbered by the Americans who do want a President who is an intellectual giant.
And these Americans, tired of Republican politics, don’t care about a candidate’s middle name and don’t mind if his heritage is a testimony to
The leaders of the next Republican Party need to make clear that theirs is a new Republican Party. That it is a party that embraces the diversity inherent in our nation rather than one that seeks to divide it along those lines. Theirs must be a party that does not divide
Theirs must be a party that appreciates the respective faiths of Americans, even one that seeks to incorporate the values espoused by them. But the Republican Party must reexamine its approach to social issues like same-sex unions and abortion. Instead of being the party that obstructs gay marriage, would it not be prudent to be considered the party that championed civil unions?
Lastly, the Republican Party must take back the nation’s universities. Their policies and continued quasi-war with intelligentsia has left their brand tarnished, abhorred and mocked in the halls of the institutions that form the nation’s next generations of leaders. It must disassociate itself with the Palin politics of ignorance and naivety. Naivety and ignorance may be refreshing in a pupil, but not in a teacher — and certainly not in a vice president. It must rebrand itself as a party of intellect, tolerance and forward thinking.
Its leaders are from a time long past. Its policies are as old as its presidential nominee. Pessimists may call Tuesday the end of conservatism, but optimists may see it as an opportunity for a beginning.
Gerald Cox (gcox@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in economics.
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Nice column, Gerald. Unfortunately, both parties share the blame equally. That’s why more voters than we’d care to count will be voting for a third-party candidate this election year. Not that such a candidate will win, but just to serve notice to the two major parties that their days of bilateral control of Washington are soon coming to an end.
Very nice, Gerald. You have an insightful grasp of the situation. Hopefully the next Newt Gingrich or Ronald Reagan is reading your thoughts; however, I caution the next brand of conservatism on religion.
When religion and politics are so closely associated, the failure of one turns into the failure of both. If you want your church associated with George W. Bush, as many churches did, expect your teachings to be discredited along with his.
The New Testament is very “socialist,” but churches preach a strange brand of “me first” conservatism.
To those who want to argue, again, how many camels can fit through the eye of a needle?
If Bush could run for a 3rd term, with two terms of presidential experience, do you feel his experience is a qualification to vote for him again? Some conservatives, despite the last 8 years, would get right back on the Bush wagon if they could. It’s sad to reward failure.
Get out of Madison or sift through the lies and deceit of the Liberal Drive-by Media and you will find the GOP is alive and well, and will not be taking this thumping you speak of
wrong, again, gerald. you’re sorely mistaken if you think that conservatism is dead and gone. just you wait, sweetheart.
5:02, if there was a longing for a third party, wouldn’t the New England states or the Deep South be a good place for them to emerge?
If your state always goes to one party and you’re not part of that party, what’s stopping you from organizing support for a third party?
For instance, New York State: If there was a demand for a third party, you should expect the Libertarian wing of the GOP to produce at least 10% support for Bob Barr. Republicans aren’t going to win NY, but they could send a message to the RNC.
They won’t, so I’ve just proved that the 2-party system is here to stay.
and when they do you will undoubetedly change your idea of what a ‘thumping’ was.
If Obama victory had a scent it would be a record setting scent! We are witnessing a host of records being set by the Obama campaign and its many avid supporters.
The highest campaign funding FRAUD in American history via contributions from prepaid untraceable ‘gift’ credit cards and Obama’s own refusal to release donor contributor lists. What does he have to hide?
The highest voter registration FRAUD in American history, as illustrated by the active investigations into major voter registration violations by ACORN in at least 13 states currently. Mr. Obama has been both a trainer and lawyer for ACORN. He has recieved major support from ACORN and provided $800,000 in financial support to ACORN from campaign funds. The contributions were initially falsely listed as payments for staging and lighting at Obama campaign rallies. A clerical error, no doubt.
The highest voter ballot FRAUD in American history. A host of counties in various states are reporting voter registration numbers exceeding their current population of adults by 20% -30%. Some counties have reported more than 50 registered voters over the age of 105. That is impossible. Well, perhaps not for Chicago, where the dead rise in large numbers to vote in every Democrat election……
To Barrack Hussein Mohamed Obama and his enthusiastic supporters, the ends justify the means. What else would we expect from a no experience dissembler of empty political platitudes (Hope! Change!),raised in the political traditions of the Chicago Daley corruption machine. Remember: Vote early and often, even if your body has already achieved room temperature…. it’s a Chicago tradition!
Nice article Gerald — it’s good to see a positive outlook on the GOP.