Hey Republicans, Don't Double Down

I'm not a Republican (or a conservative), so I won't be surprised if the Grand Old Party ignores my advice. However, a well-functioning democracy requires at least two counterbalancing political parties able to compete with each other for the hearts and minds of the masses. Tuesday's election results show that one party -- the Republicans -- may be lurching toward irrelevancy and national oblivion. The Republicans have been brutalized in the last two national election cycles and, if the reporting on party machinations is correct, seems determined to repeat the mistakes that have led it to significant electoral defeats. If the Republicans double down on the kinds of conservative-led simple-minded, narrow-issue, intellectual hatred that has led the party to great success during the last generation or so, then it will become a largely impotent regional party teetering on oblivion. The party must take three steps to avoid going the way of the Whigs.

First, recapture the moderates. For all the talk about the Democrats' problems in the South, Republican performance in the northeastern part of the country is an embarrassment to a party that purports to be national in reach. Chris Shays' loss on Tuesday marks the end of an era in Republican politics. He was the last Republican to represent a New England district. Even when Republicans were dominating the south, there were still Democrats in the house from that region. Add to that the beating moderates have been taking for years at the hands of conservatives, it's no wonder many moderate voters have decided to join up with the Democrats. Delusional pronouncements from Republican leaders notwithstanding, America is not a center-right country -- to believe otherwise shows contempt for the mounting evidence to the contrary. If the GOP doesn't recapture moderates, then it can forget ever being competitive with the Democrats.

Second, acknowledge that the arc of ideology is bending away from conservatism. All ideologies have their day and recent elections have shown that conservatism is approaching dusk. It will rise again, just as liberalism is on the upswing now after years of decline. Just not now. The current crop of conservatives who argue that the party is losing because it is not conservative enough are in desperate need of push back from party moderates and liberals. The conservative takeover of the party brought it great success. That same movement has run its course and is turning off voters left and right. An ideology based on saying "no" to helping people and "yes" to war, wasteful spending, and expanding the gap between rich and poor will continue its downward trajectory.

Third, embrace diversity. Did you see the crowd shots during speeches at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul? It resembled an America that no longer exists. The Census Bureau issued a press release in the summer of 2008 that projects that by 2042, the United States will no longer be a White majority nation. Of course, you would have never known that by watching the Republican National Convention. African Americans, for example, comprised just 1.5 percent of the delegates to this years convention. Relying on a graying base of a shrinking demographic to win elections is a losing proposition when the other side is collecting virtually all of the groups that are growing. President-elect Barack Obama won 95 percent of the Black vote. That's not a big surprise, but a four-point increase from Vice President Al Gore's 2000 performance. Moreover, Obama's larger share came from a larger pie, as total Black turnout grew all over the country. GOP performance with Latino voters is growing worse by the day as well. Obama won 67 percent of the largest and fastest growing minority group in the country. That's a 14 percent jump from 2004. The Republican's deport, arrest, and build a wall approach to illegal immigration has inflamed Latino voters, many of whom voted GOP on cultural issues. If they GOP doesn't get serious about diversity, then it will have to write off sections of the far west. How can a party win a national election if it's not competitive in the northeast, mid-Atlantic, or far west?

The Republicans have a bigger problem than they think. Continuing with the same ideological leadership and ignoring the demographic reality facing the country will only make things worse. While I do take a bit of a perverse delight in the current state of the party, I also understand that two parties competing for the center of the electorate is, ultimately, better for the country than one. The GOP is so far out of the mainstream and riven with delusion about how they got there that a reality is necessary. Let's hope someone is listening.

Michael K. Fauntroy is a professor, author, and, a political commentator whose most recent television appearances include the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and the Early Show. He blogs at MichaelFauntroy.com.

Comments

[iLogos]

As to the idea of a renewed GOP... I'd actually prefer to see them just go away. I'd like the DNC to split into Liberal Corporatists (National Liberal Party?) and Progressive Reformers ((American Progressive Party?).

This would allow the true center of America be represented, battles in the House and Senate would no longer be about the poor being under-fed, under-educated, and under-insured (with one group trying to stop it and the other trying to ensure it), and instead be about which types of regulations will best spur business in the interest of the people/protect the commons.

[harriscrl3]

Republicans are like fish food right now but come January 20th I have no doubt they will magically get their act together. Nothing unites them like hatred of the communist socialist marxist radical terrorist trying to take away their money.

Carol

[Cat65]

Mary, I would beg to differ. I am a Christian. I value all life. I agree, although I believe that there are many more people out there then you see across the land that have warped that very value system. They are customizing it to suit themselves. It is in detriment to them and the actual foundation of Christianity to do so. I personally found the ideals of Rev. Wright to be just as offensive as well as I find the KKK or any "so called" Christian congregation adding division, fanatical verbosity and hate. These things are in strict conflict to a wonderful religion where there is not and should be none of that. It is not a Rep condition alone, neither a Dems. It is a collective state of ignorance in regard to actual Christian teaching. As a voter I am very concerned about policy. As a Christian, my conscience is my guide. As it is I will exhibit no judgment.

[iluvsam]

Oh puuuullleeezzzz.

Here we go with the religious ridiculousness again.

[iluvsam]

One of the problems the Republicans will have is changing the mentality of their base, which they created with the likes of Lee Atwater (the first of the ilk), Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Sarah Palin, and the rest. When the base has been brainwashed for thirty years to believe that "liberalism" is the Devil and that the country should only be run by white Christians, how does the GOP now convince the base that it was wrong all these years? Is Ann Coulter going to wake up one day and say that she was wrong and the base should now be moderate? That being a little liberal or having moderate aren't such bad things after all? The Catholic Church has been telling its members to vote solely on the issue of abortion and to ignore their pocketbooks... how does it now tell its members that it was wrong? The GOP is stuck on the right side of the field, and it's the weak side in this game.

[billw8017]

If you think Republicans are small government fiscal conservatives who improve the country, you may be interested in some figures that can be found on Wikipedia.

Republican v Democrat, 1978-2005
Federal Spending/Federal Debt/ GDP
Republican administrations: +12.1% / +36.4 % / +10.7%
Democratic administrations: +9.9% / +4.2% / +12.6%

These numbers cannot be a surprise. Jog your memory and you will remember seeing it happen.

[billw8017]

These numbers are a small part of a large article on the National Debt. Other figures are even more damning. It's not just Bush, and Carter doesn't drag Clinton down so much as Republicans would have you believe.

[alumtrix]

First of all Michael, I did enjoy your article. I'm not here to tell you you are wrong but I do see things from a different perspective. You probably think that Clinton was a great president. A lot of people do. As a republican, the thing I liked most about Clinton was he moved from the left to the center. Or dare I say, to the right. If you look at Obama's record, he's extremely left. He campaigned and won by doing what? Moving from the left to the center. Or dare I say again, towards the right. The republican congress lost a lot of ground over the last 2 elections. The public voted them out of office. And why is that? Because they moved from the right to the left.
The public will accept a liberal going into office and spending money on liberal policies. That's what they do. The public will NOT accept a conservative doing the same. Republicans forgot who they were over the last 8 years. They have governed horribly. I'm one of the 25% or so that think Bush has done a remarkable job. I think it has been Congress that has been terrible and let the public down.

[Mary2008]

This past presidential campaign was horrible and scary due to a radical climate change brought on by the GOP zealots and fanatics of the far right-wing. It reminded me of a throwback to an earlier time in our nation"s painful history, when supposedly decent white men paraded around in white sheets, and conducted acts against humanity in the name of justice (God). In 2008, supposedly decent conservative men and women congregated in droves and listened to outright nonsense, lies and half-truths spread by their pastors and ministers. Many carried and parroted the rhetoric wherever and whenever possible. It was most appalling to see the numbers of supposedly highly educated men and women succumbing to a dumbing of the Republican Party. While professing to be Christians, it was appalling to hear the degree of nonsense and fanatical verbosity spewing in a very unChristian-like manner. No longer recognizable as friends and colleagues, these individuals became the beasts for the GOP. "There is no hope, because there is no Love." Joseph 2004

[wbranning]

As a lifetime Republican, I am deeply troubled by the changes in the party since Regan left office. The party has become intolerant of even moderate political views, and there is a tendency to label and pigeonhole any opinions that aren't strongly conservative. We are now at a historic watershed as a nation, and the political waters have changed. Unless the Republican Party develops some of Teddy Roosevelt's progressivism, we might as well change the party emblem from an elephant to a mastadon (you know, extinct). Our public discourse as Republicans must be intelligent, thoughtful, and positive in order to get a hearing. Our world has changed - if we don't adjust to the change, we will go the way of the Whigs!

[pknute]

Many years ago over lunches at the Broadway Deli in Crystal City, Virginia, during the late 70's/early 80's, Tip O'Neill shared his take on the two party system with me more than once. The Republican Party was the Party of wealth, achieving it in a free enterprise environment, holding on to it anyway possible, and creating the philosophy that anybody can achieve the American Dream through hard work free of government interference.

The Democratic Party garnered its support from the millions of Americans who had been deprived of the American Drean no matter how hard they worked. The Democrats' goal was to introduce one government funded program after another to somehow equal the playing field for all Americans. But if any of those programs actually were successful and did equal the playing field, forner Democrats who achieved the American Dream as a result of those government funded programs might become wealthy Republicans and erode the Democratic Party's voting base.

American democracy requires a two - or more - party system to provide the necessary checks and balances. Americans want results now more than ever, not just more vote getting lame promises from any Political Party.

[idest]

Actually American democracy doesn't require ANY parties. Check the Constitution. George Washington's last wish in office was for there to be no parties in American politics. He was a far-sighted man.

[swhitt222]

Amen. I'm with Kengulette. It is well past time to stop revisiting demeaning, dehumanizing hate language. I too was a Republican but no longer. What I have heard in the past few years reminds me of languange I heard during the Civil Rights Movement, and it distresses me. I voted Democratic because that is where I heard the voice of reason and a candidate listening to people just like me.

[kengullette]

As a former Republican, I have to say that until the GOP stops the hate speech and the politics of division, they won't recover. I left the party when Pat Buchanan gave his hateful speech at the 1992 convention. Their values no longer matched mine. They talk family and Christian values but they don't walk the walk. When someone disagrees with you, that does not make them terrorists or athiests or Marxists or socialists. People who have a different opinion are not aiding and abetting the enemy. They do not live in "fake America" and their views are not anti-America. The GOP leaders must reject the politics of division and call their candidates and leaders when they use hateful tactics. Karl Rove-style politics must end.

[sieben13]

you couldn't have said it better. UNTIL they get out of gutter politics ,they will never win again

[monty88]

The real issue is the media - they elect the president! They are so biased and don't report any of the good things about republicans or the real issues facing this country.

We are in for one hellava ride and all I can say is GOD SAVE OUR COUNTRY!

[sieben13]

I shouldn't believe that you are that NAIVE, but seeing is believing .To blame it on the media is ludicrous the blame was rightly placed on your party, who lied ,spread false rumors and in general conducted one of the dirtiest campaign in american history look in the mirror and if you like what you see God help america

[hardtruths]

Monty....to blame is media is irresponsible. Why is it so hard to understand that, even if your core values as a Republican are good for America (insert typical platitudes here)...when you cocoon those core values in racism, xenophobia, anti-intellectualism, etc., your core message gets lost?

In other words, people in general (and the media too, to be fair) are ALWAYS going to gravitate toward the "ugly". So if you want your core values (i.e. "good things about Republicans", as you say) to really take the forefront, then you as a party have to stop condoning the ugliness, the hate that also comes along with being a right-wing Repub. Stop condoning (and catering to, in some cases) the "lowest common denominator" in the Republican "base", and you guys might have a chance. But until you do, any good you do will be outweighed in the minds of most Americans by the biotry, fear-mongering, and "so happy to be stupid" bloc of your party. Time to trim the fat, so to speak.

[wbranning]

Your comments don't reflect much original thought. As a lifetime Republican, I acknowledge that there is bias in the media. However, as I watch TV and read the news, I see that the Republican message still gets through. I think that the real problem is that the world is changing, and is currently in a state of crisis. The Republican party has been in denial regarding this cornucopia of problems, and has been spouting a lot of stale slogans and indulging in negative politics. The party must be relevant to the contemporary world instead of pretending that it is still the 1980's.

[idest]

I guess Fox News only broadcasts in the South?

[bmj33]

Why would we want to move to the center!

That would be the biggest mistake the Republican party could make!

The party is losing it's conservative values which are the same values on which this great country were built!

Moving to the center would just weaken our nation (economically and socially) and truly lead to us becoming a socialist society!

"At the heart of our message should be five simple familiar words. No big economic theories. No sermons on political philosophy. Just five short words: family, work, neighborhood, freedom, peace."

President Ronald Reagan, 1980

[rwt1138]

The country wasn't built on conservative values, that has to be the most ridiculous delusion that conservatives have after "the ten commandments are the basis for all of our laws".

America was the grandest, boldest experiment in liberalism that the world had seen, in her inception. The notion of a government of the people, by the people was hardly a conservative idea in a world dominated by monarchies and dictatorships. The idea of an executive accountable to the law was a liberal idea. In fact, all of the best and most popular ideas that the country has ever produced--food safety, product safety, medicare, social security--all of these were liberal ideas, at least when conceived and implemented.

All of the worst periods in American history, by contrast--the civil war, the great depression, the McCarthy witch trials, the S&L scandal, Enron, the Bush presidency--happen when conservatives ascend to a position in government more significant than "loyal opposition".

In closing, I leave you with the words of our first president, on exactly his take on what America should be:
"As Mankind becomes more liberal, they will be more apt to allow that all those who conduct themselves as worthy members of the community are equally entitled to the protections of civil government. I hope ever to see America among the foremost nations of justice and liberality."
--George Washington

[gabemill]

Invoking the name of Reagan repeatedly, as sage and soothsayer, is another tact the Republican Party should abandon.
He was the architect of trickle down economics, which has proven disastrous.
He was a major proponent of deregulation. As the current meltdown suggests, the free market place is not perfect and does not always correct itself.

He supported Saddam Hussein (to include subsidies and CIA battlefield intelligence) against Iran in the 80's war and at a time chemical weapons were being utilized on Iranians, and ultimately, against their own people. In a UN vote in 1984, the Reagan administration opposed a resolution condemning Iraq's use of chemical weapons, though the Geneva Protocols and rational humanitarian concerns demanded action. In 1985, while still at war with Iraq, he covertly started arming Iran. The proceeds of these sales were diverted to the Contras, a right wing Nicaraguan paramilitary force.

I give all credit to Reagan that is due him, but his worship as the poster boy of the Republican Party should end. Moving to the middle would be a rational conclusion to be considered for the sake of the common good.

[Celtchief]

Out of curiosity, who should Republican's use as their poster boy, if not Reagan?
Seriously.......W? Bush, Ford, Nixon, Eisenhower, Hoover?

I mean, sure Reagan had faults, and also did things that people disagreed with... but as far as I know the last prez who could do no wrong was Washington.

[DeUshuaiaAQuiaca]

Unfortunately both parties have been hijacked by the extremes in both the left and right wing perspectives. It is fairly simple.

One party runs up a monster deficit and the other party has to raise taxes to pay for it and balance the budget. Then the first party gets to go on air and vilify the other party for being "tax and spend". Go figure.

One party scares the country with talk of gay marriage, abortion and gun control. Then the other party scares the country with higher taxes.

One party wants to closely monitor what goes on in our bedrooms while ignoring what goes on in the boardroom. The other party wants to pay for oversights from the above.

Hey guys, there is a middle out there...a big one. Most of us don't want to have to deal with zealots and extremists.

If you want a religious theocracy, move to Iran or Afghanistan. The Taliban has lots of openings.

Now to the more sane amongst us....there is a wide ground between Socialism and Social Darwinism. Both parties need to find it.....

We dont need endless sessions to enact more laws. Enforce the ones we have.

And both parties need to mind the business in the boardrooms and keep out of our bedrooms. Those of us with libertarian ideas...enjoy whatever is your madness but don't do it in front of me and don't do it with a minor. Otherwise we need to mind our own business.

[robinadair1951]

The big problem in this country is we are being represented by multimillionaire politicians and we are not multi millionaire politicians. They do not know what is in the best interest of anyone except multimillionaires/ To me observing them clearly the entire matter of government is no longer for the people by for the Dems or the Reps. What the people need and want no longer matters just which party won. Betweem their deals with big biz and crooked banks they have run this nation into the dumpster. It is really time to start all over again.