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.
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.
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