Skip to main content

The Faltering of the Republican Party

Everywhere you look, someone is talking about why the Republicans lost the Presidential election and only gained one seat in the House and lost two in the Senate. I haven’t been listening to anyone. Ruminating over the past few days, I have come up with my own theory—the Republican Party itself.

If you are a regular reader of my opinions, then you will know that I am not a proponent of the two party system or an any number party system for that matter. However, I feel the Republican message is not what voters really want to hear.

The Republicans think they have this large conservative base that they need to appease. That is why Romney picked Ryan as his running mate, which was a huge mistake. Ryan is too far right, although left of Santorum. This “base” is not as big as the pundits would lead us to believe. These people are the ultra conservative fringe of the party.

People such as myself are where the party’s focus should be if they wish to survive. Unfortunately, they keep ignoring the true base—the moderates. When I read the party’s official platform after the convention, my stomach turned. I don’t want the country engaged in any more wars. I don’t want some form of social control. I don’t want anyone telling me what sort of relationship I need to have with divinity to be a decent human. (I have these issues with the Democrats too, to be fair.)

Politics should get out of social issues altogether and focus on what is fair treatment of individuals under the law. Marriage is a legal matter, not a religious one as far as government is concerned. Prohibiting online gambling because it ruins families is social control that undermines personal responsibility.

A Republican is a person who supports the Republic. A Republic is a country, which is governed by a set of laws. In our case, that set of laws is the US Constitution. Many within the Republican Party have strayed from this definition.

Republicans should be concerned with reducing the government’s debt. That alone will take a lot of undoing of the ever expanding government and curtailing the spending. Another area of concern is making the country better for growing the economy. When it comes to the military and foreign policy, they should go with the will of the people and bring them home. Nation building needs to be done here not on the other side of the world. Everything else that has been thrown at us is nothing more than a distraction from the real problems.

As long as the Republican Party continues to pander to the extremes of the party, it will cannibalize the party. To endure, it must truly believe in liberty, thus loosening their stranglehold on the people. They can no longer ignore the moderates. Drop the "push-their-beliefs-down-our-throats" big-mouths and embrace the silent majority who want nothing more than to be left alone.

My ancestors, who have been Republicans since the party’s inception, are probably rolling over in their graves at what the party has become. Caring for the Republic has gone by the wayside to be replaced with self-indulgence and greasy palms. I, for one, am disgusted. Many feel the same. Without major reform, Republicans will continue to lose elections in the years to come. I and those like me will not lift a finger to fight for the survival of the Republican Party (or any political party). We are too busy trying to fight to save our Republic.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

No Gold Star for You

Every so often, I enjoy store-bought breakfast cookies with my morning coffee. When I was growing up, my parents would occasionally buy a certain brand of Italian-style breakfast treats. How I loved them. The soft anise flavored sponges and the S-shaped cookies were my favorites. They still are. Today, I decided to indulge in these cookies. Earlier than usual this morning, I headed out to my local really big super duper store to fill my tummy with some of the cookies I knew since childhood. After only finding four types of cookies made by that certain brand, they came home with me. As the cookies rested on the table, coffee beans whirred in the grinder. Hot water mingled with the oils, filling my kitchen with that warm, intoxicating coffee aroma. Wanting to satiate my Italian-style cookie craving, I began to cut the plastic coverings. When I grabbed the anise flavored sponges, my heart sank. Short of time and without thinking, I had put my trust in my really big super duper s...

A Light at the End of the Tunnel?

2012 is almost over. We’re supposedly going to dive off the so-called fiscal cliff. There is a discussion about taking away certain guns and more gun control. The America we know, or think we know, is slipping away from us. Before the ball drops and the bungee cordless cliff diving begins, I wanted to share a few factual tidbits combined with my overactive imagination. I am a writer, after all. Let me set the scene: The year is 20NE (2075CE). The cities in what remains of the U.S. have been razed. Eco-friendly Pod Cities have been built in their place. A 17 year-old boy and his 14 year-old sister, Xavier and Nickie, escape from Pod City one-five, finding a settlement of people that should not exist. From Chapter 14 of my dystopian novel, Tricentennial : I wanted to sink in my chair wallowing in hopelessness until Nickie asked, “How did all this happen? I mean, why are we out here, all alone, without the comforts that the people in the Pod Cities enjoy?” “That’s a long...

Demos and Graphics

All over the news, “they” keep saying that single women vote Democrat and married women vote Republican. Where do “they” come up with this stuff? Personally, I am sick of being told that I should be one way or another because I fit a certain demographic. The ubiquitous they feel the need to pigeon hole us into convenient little boxes to make their lives easier. As a young single woman who has never been married nor have any children, I wholeheartedly resent being thought as though I have no mind of my own. All I am supposed to care about is “reproductive rights,” which actually means access to birth control. There are those out there who feel that being able to hand out birth control like candy (well more than candy because candy is now a no-no food) will solve all problems. I hate to break it to you, but it does not. Contraceptives are against some religions. Plus, they may lead to other health issues in the long run. Nowhere in these reproductive diatribes does it men...