Are Republicans Brain Dead?
Political parties aren’t human beings. You can’t hook them to a machine and check their vital signs.
But when a party goes braindead, it’s usually easy to tell. These days, clues are everywhere that Republicans are fresh out of ideas.
Blaming the messenger or saying the problem is simply a failure to communicate are classic indicators that a party lacks a pulse. Those excuses were prominent lines the other day when the senior Republican in the land, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, addressed party leaders.
McConnell warned Republicans that they were in danger of “slipping into a position of being more of a regional party than a national one." He also said the time had come for the party to “re-examine itself.”
But he offered no new ideas.
It’s “clear our message isn’t getting out to nearly as many people as it should,” he said. “We need to work harder.”
If only it were that simple.
Selecting former Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele, an African-American, as national chairman should be helpful for a party with a serious diversity deficit. But finding a path out of the wilderness in the foreseeable future could take a long time.
Democrats needed a dozen years to recover from the battering Ronald Reagan gave them in 1980. Bill Clinton eventually led them back to the White House on a new, centrist message of fiscal responsibility.
Republican officials from around the country, who gathered here over the past few days to elect a new leader and ponder their party’s grim prospects, had the future very much on their minds.
They got a brutally honest, three-hour briefing from seven leading Republican pollsters. In depressing detail, they spelled out just how bad things look politically.
Alex Gage, among the gurus who spoke, said the party is worse off than it was after President Richard Nixon’s resignation, almost 35 years ago. Back then, Republicans merely had to rebound from the unpopularity of a disgraced president.
They face far more difficult problems now, including a lack of credibility with much of the public and the disappearance of millions of former Republican voters.
Using business terms, Gage pointed out that the party has lost "25 percent of our customer base." He was referring to the sharp drop in the number of Americans who consider themselves Republicans.
During the Bush era, the letter “W,” taken from the 43rd president’s middle name, was a rallying symbol for Republicans. Today, it could just as readily stand for Whig, an earlier anti-Democrat party that went out of business after breaking apart over the issue of slavery.
Conservative commentator John Fund, addressing Republican National Committee members the other day, hinted that they could follow the Whig Party into oblivion. That might happen if they don’t start attracting the millions of younger Americans who backed Barack Obama by a lopsided margin and are developing a Democratic voting habit that will be hard to break.
An even more dangerous demographic time bomb for Republicans is the widespread rejection of the party’s brand by Hispanics, who will be fully one-fifth of all voters in just 11 years.
“It’s very clear that for Republicans to win in the future, they have to got to appeal more to minorities, especially Asians and Hispanics,” said Whit Ayres, another of the pollsters who briefed party leaders. He was interviewed before Steele’s selection as chairman gave Republicans a new opportunity to reach out.
A significant segment of the Hispanic population regards Republicans as their enemy, party strategists warn. The unresolved issue of immigration reform could further enflame anti-Republican attitudes, especially if conservatives continue to be seen as a major source of anti-immigrant sentiment.
Maybe the best news, at the moment, is that few Americans are paying much attention at all to Republicans, “other than Republicans themselves,” said Jan Van Lohuizen, regarded as one of the party’s smartest thinkers.
That lack of general interest is giving Republicans a chance to repair relations with their base, a first step in the recovery process.
The recent 173-0 vote against the Obama stimulus plan by House Republicans was designed to signal conservatives that the party is returning to its tight-fisted fiscal roots.
At a breakfast yesterday with RNC members, Steele drew loud applause when he praised Republican lawmakers for laying that “huge goose egg” on the president’s desk.
He advised party officials to “rev up your machines back home” and let voters know “that Republicans are working hard to make sure the American people’s wallets, their businesses, their families are protected.”
Party strategists say Republicans still need to devise new ideas that represent solutions to everyday problems of the economy, health care, energy, education and the environment.
"You can’t just say ‘No,’" said Van Lohuizen, the Republican pollster.
For now, though, saying “No,” seems to be the plan. Facing a Democratic president with high approval ratings and a solid Democratic majority in Congress, the Republican comeback strategy is to hunker down and hold out for better days. It could be a long wait.
Comments
A more interesting post may have been how scary one-party dominance, to the scale you've presented, might be for the country.
Posted by: Tom | January 31, 2009 4:51 PM
They can be just as brain-dead as the tax-and-spend liberals.
Great, let's do another stimulus!! Free lunch for all!!
/I'm Libertarian
Posted by: Ron | January 31, 2009 7:06 PM
FYI, might want to listen to my exclusive interview with Michael Steele and comment. Thanks. JL.
http://www.theamericanview.com/index.php?id=1205
And forget, please, "conservatism," please. It will not “save” us because it has been, operationally, de facto, Godless and therefore irrelevant. Secular conservatism will not defeat secular liberalism because to God both are two atheistic peas-in-a-pod and thus predestined to failure. As Stonewall Jackson's Chief of Staff R.L. Dabney said of such a humanistic belief more than 100 years ago:
"[Secular conservatism] is a party which never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today .one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt bath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard, indeed, to explain. It is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth."
Our country is collapsing because we have turned our back on God (Psalm 9:17) and refused to kiss His Son (Psalm 2).
John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com
Recovering Republican
JLof@aol.com
Posted by: John Lofton, Recovering Republican | January 31, 2009 9:19 PM
Why can't Republicans just say no?
What if "no" is the right thing to say?
Posted by: Eric | January 31, 2009 9:52 PM
Thanks for nay semblance of journalistic integrity. Do you usually inject your own political opinions into your writing's. Is this why newspapers are dieing out and you'll be receiving a buyout soon?
Posted by: Shane | January 31, 2009 10:24 PM
My page is votemuff.com
The economy is simple.
A product, a service, and an idea, is exchange for money.Credit has it's place too.
Excellence should be rewarded, but community supported.
What are you adding to the quality of life, and improving the world by making a profit, ethically is important.
Congradulations to Michael Steele for becoming the new Republican National Committee Chairman.
I was his opponent in the Republican primary for the 2006 Senate race.
The Republican party needs to change.
It needs to reflect it's ideas in actions.
It needs to be more then a money, money,money party.
It really needs new fresh talent.
It has cannabalized it's young.
It also has to communicate better.
Steele's campaign never returned my calls,. McCain's campaign never returned my calls.
President Obama's campaign returned every call, and extended me invitations to work with them.
Attitude counts for a lot in the economy.
We need motivation.
That comes from incentives.
Big government, big business, big labor, and even the black market underground economy,has to work together.
The first place to start is keep special interest out of government.
No more graft, and soft bribes.
During my 2006 Maryland senatorial campaign, and my 2008 Presidential campaign , I was the only candidate that did not accept any mony. Period.
If you want your ideas represented in the WHite House, you have to get elected.
To get elected,you need to have the most votes.
THis means that you need to be helping the most amount of people see your point of view, and act on it. THen you need to accurate counting of the votes. THe Republican party once was a great party , and will be again, if, it changes.
Vote Muffolett 2012!
Sincerely
Daniel Muffoletto
votemuff.com
Eco-Green Republican
winningatharvard@gmail.com
Posted by: Daniel Muffoletto | February 1, 2009 4:25 PM
I'm touched that these 3 care about the Republican Party. They care about the direction and purpose of the Party. My question, would these same 3 ask "is Barack Obama brain dead" when the majority of the American wonder about spending 1 TRILLION DOLLARS for what exactly? I think not. My take, if these HACKS at this dying paper think the Rebublican Party is "brain dead", they must be doing something right! Shane said it best,journalism is dead. I bought this "rag" today and was greeted with a "Barack Obama" video,,,nice, very nice!
Posted by: David | February 1, 2009 4:44 PM
The best hope for the Republican party right now is that the Democrats have no self control. The "stimulus" package is a great example of how Democrats act when there is no one to stop them. Their own congressional budget office says that only 12 cents per dollar will actually stimulate the economy. The rest is pork and payback to campaign contributors. Given the chance to govern responsibly, the Democrats have again chosen to loot the people's wallets and reward their friends. The Republican party needs only two years to recover. Remember 1994!!!
Posted by: R Jay | February 2, 2009 8:12 AM
Mr Muffoletto should learn how to use spell check. He should also stop touting himself as a legitimate candidate...you won 1% of the vote...if your ideas were receptive you would have at least broken 5%.
Secondly, I agree with Eric, what if saying no is the right thing? I'd rather be associated with a party that does what's right then one that goes along with terrible legislation just to get elected. Not to mention it won't work.
Obama likes to talk about how he won, but all those Republicans and 11 Democrats who said No also won. I find it so funny that the left is chastising Republicans for saying no when that's all they did during the Bush years.
Thirdly, RJ is also correct, the Democrats are their own worst enemy, this too will pass. Politics in America today swings back and forth (except in Maryland), no one party in todays world will dominate for long. Republicans do however need to be more innovative and pick up the mantra of small responsive government that people crave. We must find our fiscal roots as well as build bridges between our various factions. The Party must stand on principle but not demand a litmus test to belong.
Posted by: Dave | February 2, 2009 2:05 PM
And Mr. West, I know the Sun has abandoned any attempt at bi-partisanship, but could you not be so blatant? Or could you at least in the interest of full disclosure state your partisan hackery?
Posted by: Dave | February 2, 2009 2:09 PM
Dave - this is a blog - you are SUPPOSED to post opinions. Ease up.
Paul West raises some interesting points, but a look at histort indicates things aren't as bad for Republicans and as great for the Dems and you would think. Obama and McCain (a poor excuse for a presidential candidate if there ever was one) were essentially tied until September, 2008 when the financial markets collapsed. It took two wars and a collapsing economy for the Republicans to lose the WH. The only thing worse than W's atrocious approval ratings in 2008 was CONGRESS's (which was majority Democratic). If it took the Dems 12 years to recover from the Carter years, I expect sonething similar could happen if Obama comes across in his first term as the political weakling that Jimmy Carter turned out to be.
Posted by: Paul | February 2, 2009 3:13 PM
It seemed to be a pretty fair assessment to me. Republicans are reeling nationally. It would have been a fair assessment to say the same thing about Dems the many times they've been DOA as a party. Polling numbers are what they are and so is the current public perception. There's constructive criticism and realistic options about how they can recover. Hardly a hatchet job.
Posted by: James C | February 2, 2009 6:50 PM
My best friend in high school was a republican, She was the smartest person I knew at the time...(you know the type...she took AP Calculus but bumped into walls) Her family was mostly Democrat and exactly what you would expect from a Democratic middle class white family...Therefore I'm going to hypothesize she was born with this disorder...as for what we should call it? Maybe Ignorantitis or Truth-Blindness...
Posted by: blue cross insurance | May 8, 2009 9:42 AM