Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A Silver Lining Within The Ashes Of Defeat

“Stop insulting the intelligence of the voters…we’ve got to stop being the stupid party…We’ve got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street Bailouts, big corporate loopholes big anything…We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys.”
                                                                                               Republican Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal

“Republicans should not kid themselves.  They lost 25 of 33 Senate seats, and Republicans gained back the two states that were easy to gain back, and no other new states at the presidential level…Republicans lost control of the national House, they kept control of the House because of redistricting and Democratic voters are more concentrated in some districts, it was a bad year and the youth vote is very worrisome at 60-40…It won’t kill the country if we raise taxes a little bit on millionaires.  It really won’t, I don’t think.  I don’t really understand why Republicans don’t take Obama’s offer.”
                                         Influential Conservative Editor of the “Weekly Standard,” William Kristol

“When people look at Republicans they see loons and wackos.”
                                                                    Senior Strategist to the McCain Campaign, Steve Schmidt

As we watch Republicans sift through the debris of their most recent electoral beat down; we have observed what may just be a Republican reality check.  The quotes listed above are just a small sample of comments made by moderate Republicans in the wake of last Tuesday’s election.  These are words that no one dared to speak prior to the election for fear of reprisal form the Tea Party base.  Such heresy would label one a traitor and result in a Tea Party backed primary challenge come next election.  But now as the dust clears and the extent of the damage to the party becomes evident moderates are boldly speaking out.  They understand that if the Republican Party wants to avoid irrelevance it has to find a way to work with Democrats to get things done.
Certainly there are still those in the Party that have vowed to continue with their intransigent ways.  Ryan, McConnell and Boehner have publically stated their belief that the voters returned control of the House to Republicans as a mandate for a job well done.  Perhaps this is just a preliminary “fiscal cliff” negotiating ploy; for if Republicans really believe this they are whistling past the grave yard. 
This past campaign may have provided some flip flops and inconsistencies on the part of both candidates.  But one issue was abundantly clear…the president wanted to raise taxes on the wealthy and Governor Romney did not.  The president won.  The Democrats picked up more seats in the Senate.  And even though Republicans maintained control of the House the exit polls made it very, very clear that the voters approved raising taxes on the rich by an overwhelming margin.  If there is any mandate here it lies in the hands of the president.
This is all very clear to moderate reasonable Republicans.  Fortunately, for their party and the country, they are speaking out.  Perhaps if they continue to call for compromise on the part of their radical members a grand bargain can be reached.
Republicans have a choice.  They can listen to the voices of their moderate members and return to being a viable party with a principled conservative message.  Or they can continue to listen to the Limbaugh’s, Trump’s , Nordiquist’s, birthers, racists, homophobes, obstructionist and other loons and wackos that brought them this ignominious defea,; and become a marginal player in today’s politics.
There is a silver lining to be found within the ashes of this defeat.  Let’s hope the Republican’s are observant enough to see it.                    

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