This week's Rolling Stone has a picture of Bush slaying the GOP Elephant, and they make the case that he has undone the Republican party.
Jack Cafferty, in a CNN op-ed piece agrees. He says...
NEW YORK (CNN) -- This week the Republicans gather for their convention. For four days, they will labor under the illusion their party is still relevant. It's not.
It is entirely fitting that the headliner for this masquerade is a feeble looking 72-year-old white guy who doesn't know how many homes he owns.
It's more than symbolic that when a million Americans are losing their homes to foreclosure, the Republican candidate for president has lost track of his holdings.
McCain surrounds himself with people like former Republican Sen. Phil Gramm who called America a "nation of whiners" and said we are only suffering a "mental recession."
That's the same problem the Republican Party has. It has lost track of what it used to stand for: small government, a disciplined fiscal policy, integrity.
In a way, the perfect storm of a rapidly changing population -- old white people aren't going to be in the majority very much longer (and isn't that who most of the Republicans are?) -- has combined with the total abdication of principles, Republican or otherwise, of arguably the worst president in the nation's history to mark the beginning of the end of the Republican Party as we know it...
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In support of this view, the Census Bureau has noted that by 2050, "minorities" will be the majority in the US and white folk will be a minority.
What do you think? Are demographic changes and current Republican leadership going to cause the Republican Party to dry up and blow away in the next few decades? Will this election be their final hurrah? And if so, what would replace it?
12 comments:
In my home state of Kansas, long a Republican stronghold, we have a Democratic governor, a Democratic Attorney General, and two Democratic U.S. Representatives. Nearly a dozen former Republicans have recently won elections after switching to the Democratic party.
It will be interesting to see what happens down the road -- whether the Republican Party can reinvent itself for the changing times, or whether it will fade away.
However, since John McCain is now running even with Barack Obama, I wouldn't count the Republicans out in the short term.
No, they're still here. And the Dems are no great alternative much of the time so it may be that the Republicans are here to stay. It's just that these days, they're not looking that permanent.
And, with their supporter demographics, one has to wonder...
While it is possible that the Republican party may go the way of the Whigs. I am fairly confident that there will be some movement/party of conservatives that will pick up the torch.
Ultimately the bigger problem (as I see it), is the gop leadership trying to out democrat the democrats(can you say pandering). Both parties seem to be drifting to the left which leaves those on the right increasingly un represented.
I have to laugh at the analysis however. The homeownership is such a silly issue to be getting so much play. Several/most of the homes in question were owned by his wife prior to their marriage (John Kerry anyone). AT least one of those is being used to house one of their relatives. If only BHO was as generous with helping his family with housing.
Of course the dems have no culpability at all (to the extent that govt has any culpability for this situation).
So while I agree with the conclusions (the gop has abandoned it's principles), I find the analysis pretty unimpressive. Finally, the fact that someone considers this to be "news" make me wonder where they have been for the last few years.
Sorry if that got a little "ranty".
PS pop by and take a shot at my three questions post.
Personally, I think the Republicans are going to be in rebuild mode for a while. Conservatism is just not going to win elections, at least in the near term. They may continue to tout all sorts of conservative talking points and offer conservative values but, in the end, as far as I'm concerned, the fringe will return to its fringyness (if that's a word).
Cafferty's op-ed piece is pretty much a rip-off of Biden's speech last week which was a rip off of Biden's 88 speech, which was a rip off from some guy in London.
Not much has changed since 88 except now we all have computers. Like Bush, Reagan was the worst President in history. Like Bush Reagan left millions of people homeless and poor. Like 1988 the Republicans were dead in the water.
In 1988 the only people whining were a bunch of Democrats who think the President is responsible for them not being educated enough to read a mortgage, go to college, borrow money, get a job etc. . .
Problem with this "piece"/Biden's speech is exports are up, unemployment is 5.5 (A figure Clinton used to brag about). Average annual salaries are up.
Perhaps the real problem with our country is there are too many Democrats who are making poor decisions. Should we now trust them to decide the next President? Perhaps Democrats should ask some other old white guys besides Biden how to make wiser choices.
In 1988 the only people whining were a bunch of Democrats who think the President is responsible
And the difference now is the world and the US is fairly united in agreeing that neo-conservatism is a failed direction to travel in, and that since the Republicans have tied their kite to that string, they have sailed away and are now trapped in its tangled mess.
Thanks, Geoffrey. I agree. I think the Republicans will be hurting for a while. The only thing that can save them, seems to me, is the Democrats screwing up royally.
Which is always an option.
Third and fourth parties, anyone?
I would love to see third and fourth parties -- hard left and hard right. With a center-lib and center-con, too.
And wheelin' and dealin' to beat the band to govern!
It seems unlikely that the GOP will just disappear. There are too many people who have too much power (and will cling to it) for that to happen.
If they're clever, after they get a thorough drubbing in this election, they'll retool, rebrand, and, I hope, become relevant again. I'd be thrilled if we had more than 2 parties, but while we only have 2, it would be nice if they were both strong, relevant, and provided different options. It would also be nice if they actually stood for what they say they stand for.
It is generational, however. Clearly the GOP can't continue to rely on the John McCains and Bob Doles of their party for too much longer. Though some of the older crowd might not like some of the younger folks coming up, I don't think they'll have much choice in the matter.
(BTW, I'd say that homeownership is only a silly issue to those who have 7, I guess. Having just spent some time in Western Michigan where the economy is in tatters, and unemployment is the highest in the nation, it's not such a laughing matter there. Republicans ignore such issues at their own peril. It's bad enough to not know how many homes one owns. It's worse to call homeownership issues silly.)
"There are too many people who have too much power (and will cling to it)..."
I won't argue with that except to say the DNC and its members are just as black-hearted (h/t to ER) in their desire for power as the RNC and its membership.
Let's take the power away from them all: force Washington to return to its enumerated powers. And give the states back what the Constitution guarantees them.
As to Cafferty. I have nothing nice to say, so I'll say no more. EXCEPT... he's just a shrill shill with as much objectivity as... well... as I said, nothing nice to say, so...
To your question: No. But allow me to ask you a question...
What happens if McCain wins? Will the Democrat Party be "done"? And don't say it can't happen-- you know it can.
No, the Dems won't be done. They are expected to win handily in many, many Congressional races and fairly strongly control Congress.
Whatever happens in the presidential race, the Republicans are hurting.
And what of the demographic trends? Will fewer and fewer old white people mean fewer and fewer Republicans or will they somehow find a way to reach out to the young and the "minorities?"
"I won't argue with that except to say the DNC and its members are just as black-hearted (h/t to ER) in their desire for power as the RNC and its membership. "
I didn't imply that they aren't. But the question was about Republicans. People like power and they tend to cling to it, Republican, Democrat, Independent, Libertarian, Communist, Green Party, etc., etc., etc.
"What happens if McCain wins? Will the Democrat Party be "done"? And don't say it can't happen-- you know it can."
Same answer. If they're clever, if, God forbid, they lose this election, they'll need to retool, rebrand, and, I hope, become relevant again. In fact, I'd say, that they would be in even more dire shape than the Republicans. At this point, the Democrats should be able to run an Inanimate Carbon Rod* for President and win. (In fact, I believe they tried that in 2004 and still lost.) If they lose this time around, I think it will be far, far, far worse for them as a party. (And for the country, given the coming Cylon Apocalypse that will occur should McCain win the White House.)
If McCain loses, I don't think many Republicans would be surprised, if for no other reason than people do recognize that neither party can win forever, and these things have a way of going back and forth over the years. A loss for McCain would not be the sort of shock that an Obama loss would be. Republicans may even be able to convince themselves that nothing is wrong, that McCain was just not a great candidate, and thus delay retooling their party until they lose some more elections. So, I'll revise my previous statement and say that if McCain loses, this might not be the end of the Republican party as we know it. But if McCain loses, and they lose the midterms, and Obama is elected for a second term (God willing) *then* maybe the Republican party will have to do some major retooling/rebranding.
However, if Obama loses, clearly the Democrats, having already lost against Bush twice (or maybe once and a half), and then to his Cylon clone McCain, are in for some major soul searching. Tthat's just a turn of phrase, I'm not suggesting that politicians have souls.)
*(h/t Simpsons)
ELAshley -
force Washington to return to its enumerated powers. And give the states back what the Constitution guarantees them.
The only problem with that is, the Constitution does not guarantee the states anything. Any powers not listed in the Constitution or the Bill of Rights are "reserved to the states respectively, or to the people." [emphasis mine]
When states trample individuals' rights, someone has to step in to stop them. That's what the Civil War was all about: The Southern states wanted more power in the hands of the states, and the Northern abolitionists wanted more power in the hands of individuals (even individuals who were, according to the Founding Fathers, only 3/5 of a person).
That's why the Supreme Court ruled in the mid0-1960s that the state of Connecticut had no authority to forbid married couples from using birth control.
That's why the courts ruled a couple years ago that the Dover, Pennsylvania could not force teachers to promote "Intelligent Design" in the science classroom.
And sure, there is an equal danger on the other side, of the Federal Government trying to grab power that it shouldn't have. But simplistic "states' rights" slogans don't give justice to the Tenth Amendment's true intentions.
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