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David Keene of the American Conservative Union also said the idea of the Republican Party as the party of smaller government was undermined by the rapid increase in government spending over the last eight years.And Tony Perkins of the Christian conservative Family Research Council says:
"Republicans in Congress began to act like the Democrats they'd gotten rid of in the '90s. The president began to spend money like he was Lyndon Johnson, and the result was that voters began to get very upset," Keene said. "So, yes, you have to go back to your basics."
"What has made the conservative movement strong is when you have social conservatives, fiscal conservatives and foreign policy conservatives working together," he said. "This was the first step in what will be a long journey in rebuilding that communication and that common vision."I would suggest that Perkins and his social conservative colleagues need to work to get conservative pro-lifers to better understand the morality of markets and the benefits of limited government. "Compassionate conservatism" and "Huckabeeism" are not the answer.
UPDATE: Another good point:
"The Republican brand of politics worked in the 1980s world, but it needs to be re-configured for 2010 and 2012," said Rich Galen, a party consultant and a former adviser to Newt Gingrich. "We had a 20th-century message that we were trying to bang into a 21st-century world, and it clearly did not work."The Old Guard needs to reach out to the Young Turks and talk about the generational/cultural factors involved in the Democrats' dominance of the under-30 demographic.
Harper's Conservatives in Canada HAVE tapped into the twenty-somethings and the teens. It's a simple message- cut taxes, cut government, get out of the way.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that Perkins and his social conservative colleagues need to work to get conservative pro-lifers to better understand the morality of markets and the benefits of limited government. "Compassionate conservatism" and "Huckabeeism" are not the answer.
ReplyDeleteOne key: embracing self-sacrifice and self-denial--hallmarks of ACTUAL Conservative ideology. Having a savings account is friggin' prudent; the alternative is, of course, "compassionate" Gummint programs.
For that matter, I do not know an actual Conservative who preaches the glories of greed--so simply reject it, publicly.
The Old Guard needs to reach out to the Young Turks and talk about the generational/cultural factors involved in the Democrats' dominance of the under-30 demographic.
ReplyDeleteAt least this part seems simple enough to me... the 'Culture War' is over. Those under 30 (even from religious households, which I found interesting) are not afraid of Gays, Minorities, Abortion and other Religious Right concerns. Democrats are more "live and let live" while the Republicans have been banging the "America is being punished by God for its sins" rants from the far right that just makes them sound like a party of loony-tunes.
Republicans have made a fetish of denouncing and alienating people of all faiths, colors, and political stripes. Makes perfect sense for them to denounce moderates, which by definition is where most people are.
ReplyDeleteHaving spent years telling Americans that half their neighbors and coworkers are for the terrorists, and the last six months in terrible fear of crypto-Muslim terrorist socialist racist Obama, the previous year ranting about illegal immigrants who work, pay taxes, raise families, and whom banks are now reporting as being the best credit risks, the year before that threatening a third war in Iran, the year before that trying to privatize Social Security, which actually lost support the more people heard about it, I'm amazed that there are very many Republicans left.
Americans WANT Medicare to have a prescription drug benefit, so by all means advocate reducing or eliminating it. Americans WANT the U.S. out of Iraq, so I'm pleased the President and Republican candidate fighting with the "sovereign" Iraqi government to keep our troops there. Americans WANT their own privacy, so by all means have the Republicans insist on warrantless wiretapping, reading of email, monitoring of financial transactions. Americans WANT reasonable policies on immigration, so by all means Republicans should run on building a wall and rounding up the foreigners.
That two thirds of 18-30 year olds voted Democratic in this election tells me you guys are losing a generation. Be proud to stand by your ideals, and denounce anyone who disagrees as wanting the terrorists to win. Call progressive taxation socialism, as though a commie lurks behind every tree and shrub. Eighteen year olds don't even know what that means. Call foreign policy changes surrender to Americas enemies. Call diplomacy appeasement. Demonize premarital sex, and teach abstinence only to a generation who see the hypocrisy of it. Advocate small government that daily contracts billions of dollars with corporations, and advocate cutting social spending. Demonize gays. Demonize abortion. Demonize expertise and education as "elitist," while medical and engineering schools fill with students from every corner of the world, and every doctor and nurse speaks with an accent.
That will create a permanent Republican majority.