The Anti-Republican
Bruce Bartlett talks about why, as an Independent, he considers himself an anti-Republican. If the GOP wants to regain strength, it needs to heed some of Bartlett’s advice: stop pandering to birth certificate crazies (birthers, or nirthers, if you will), extremists and creationists – groups who refuse to budge from entrenched positions. Embrace the Constitution and the principles of Individual Liberty, instead. It’s better in the long run, ie past 2010. Because, as Bartlett writes:
Both CBO and OMB are predicting better than 4% real growth in 2011 and 2012. If those numbers are even remotely correct Obama will have it in the bag.
There are worse things for the Republican Party (and the country, for that matter) than Barack Obama being reelected in 2012.
If our aim as a movement is simply to prevent Obama’s reelection, then it will really amount to nothing…even if he loses reelection.
Put simply: it’s the ideas, stupid. We need to get the ideas right. We need to be about ideas. And we also need to not be afraid of being about ideas.
Obviously, when a group grounds themselves in ideas, it necessarily means that people who don’t share those philosophies will be put off. That’s OK.
But, as the liberals are finding out right now, if a movement gets so consumed with the acquisition of power that it forgoes its ideas and ideals in the pursuit of power, that will ultimately fail them. They’re all befuddled right now how the majorities they’ve won can’t produce a healthcare reform that they’ve long lusted after.
The reason is obvious to me: they made a conscious decision to embrace non-liberals as a means to regaining a Congressional majority. They also made a conscious decision to nominate a president who would talk as a moderate to get elected, but would try to govern decidedly farther left once in office.
And it’s not working for them. In fact, it likely threatens the integrity of their coalition entirely….because the liberals’ are smelling blood and coming around to realizing that it’s their fellow Democrats who are keeping them from feasting.
Conservatives shouldn’t follow their lead simply to bolster the chances of a Republican resurgence. I want a Republican resurgence. But I don’t want it if it means having to count on a bunch of panty-waists who really don’t share my ultimate goals or visions.
Good points (& thanks for the comment!). You’re spot-on about the problems facing the Democratic leadership. The 2006 and 2008 election gains were not due to a leftward shift in the nation, but rather a reaching out (at the time) to moderate Democrats. And yes, now we’re seeing an abandonment of that outreach.
The GOP would do well to take notes.