Republicans Heed the Warning: Evolve or Die!
Hey GOP, I have some news for you — the party that I was excited about as a youngster, the party that I used to write checks for, the party that I was a vocal advocate for … Apparently, that party is long gone. A party, instead, that is dominated by cultural conservatives who want to check my freedoms and teach my kid the earth is 6000 years old. I still remember the party of clear thinking and reasonable adults. A group of personal winners and civic leaders who expressly stayed out of other’s personal business. A party that emphasized a strong national defense, reasonable spending, and kept the trains running on time. Period. The Republicans I remember never interfered in the social aspects of life. What you did, where you went, how you worshiped or who you held hands with wasn’t a public issue. Who cares?
If the GOP wants to return from the political wilderness, it better find a way to the cities, or at least to the affluent suburbs. The demographic pool of old, rural white voters is becoming increasingly, dangerously shallow. They’d better develop a quick way to climb up the muddy bank of political evolution and expand the base or die as a ruling national party. Of course, being the permanent, loud, screechy opposition is actually attractive to cable talking heads and radio hounds. The uncomfortable fact remains that most Americans oppose the criminalization of abortion, tend to favor the legalization of same sex unions, and won’t expel the illegal Mexicans. I know that’s not what a lot of conservatives hear from their regular cohorts. My suggestion is that it’s time to differentiate what are private, personal issues and what policies should be pursued by a national political party. It’ll be a hell of a fight. From my perspective, I just wonder if the bloody brawl, the cultural death match is still worth it.
Michael Barone wrote a recent column titled “The GOP Should Go Upscale”. I recommend it. Read it. Nicely done, Mr. Barone. However, here’s some advice — watch your back at the next SARAHPAC event. Don’t stand too close to the top of the stairs … sudden, slippery strange things can happen to non-believers.