I have commented often on what has happened to the Republican Party over the years since I resigned from the party as it began to fall under Christianist control. It's not a pretty picture and those moderate members of the Party who remain are headed towards extinction unless someone is elected to leadership who can stop the exodus of rational, educated, and non-religious zealots from the GOP. Politico has an interesting column by one of the endangered species GOP moderates calling for a return to rationality in the Party and also reciting statistics that should wake up Republicans - at least whatever non-Kool-Aid drinkers who are still left. Here are some highlights:*
On Friday, the 168 members of the Republican National Committee will vote on a new party chairman. After what can only be described as disastrous outcomes of the past two election cycles, lifelong Republicans like me held hope that we have finally learned that the key to winning is being inclusive and true to our limited government core. I had hoped that the RNC members would focus on the pressing bread-and-butter issues facing our country and our party.
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[T]he debate among the candidates for RNC chairman is more of the same: a call to energize the right wing of the party, despite the fact that this hyper-ideological, so-called base no longer represents the majority of GOP voters. And, as a consequence, vilify anyone who does not pledge 100 percent allegiance to an exclusionary social agenda. . . . The RNC members continue to pander to a small, vocal, fundamentalist faction instead of revamping its message, mission and agenda to appeal to a broader base of voters. All of this bodes ill for the GOP.
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According to national exit polls, the Republican brand lost with the two largest voting blocs in the country: women and moderates. Self-described moderates — who make up 44 percent of the electorate — gave Barack Obama a 21-point advantage over John McCain. Women gave Obama a 13-point advantage (56 percent to 43 percent). The GOP won the male vote only 49 percent to 48 percent, a negligible difference. Voters under 30, the future of both parties, gave Obama a landslide victory (66 percent to 32 percent). . . . These facts seem to be either ignored or not enough for our party leaders to see that the base is changing.
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[T]he reality that the reason the Democratic Party is the majority in Congress and in the White House is that they ran on a platform of inclusiveness and diversity. Our newly elected president took the oath of office sounding like a “big-tent” Republican — calling for common-sense solutions, leaner budgets, a reduction in government waste and greater personal responsibility — because he knew that these are the beliefs of the majority of voters. Meanwhile, the GOP is looking to repair its party by doing just the opposite: excluding voters, ignoring issues of concern and exhibiting an inability to provide common-sense solutions.
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The newly elected chairman must welcome diverse views on heartfelt social issues while remaining true to core Republican principles of limited government, individual responsibility and personal freedom. If the party cannot do this, there will be no Republican Party to fight over in the future.
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Personally, I do not see rationality returning to the GOP any time soon. Not when the lunatic base continues to weld too much power over the leadership. Therefore, perhaps the best solution is for the GOP to cease to be a national party either until it comes to its senses or is replaced by a new moderate conservative party not controlled by religious extremists.
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