Michael Steele, the new GOP Chairman, feels that the Republican Party is ready to turn a corner under his recently re-energized leadership. He feels that following his 3 fluffy ideas will help the Grand Old Party return to majority status:
1. Becoming the party of “new ideas”
2. Opposing Obama
3. Seizing the momentum of his so-called resurgence among GOP supporters across the country.
It is not quite that simple, Mr. Steele. The Republican Party was kicked out of power for a multitude of reasons, one of the most important being the literal estrangement of large swaths of the American public which have identified with conservative or Republican causes over the past few decades. The GOP fails to recognize that the social conservative evangelical crowd is not enough to win elections, especially at the national level. The Christian right can only do so much for the GOP, but its influence in the Republican Party is disproportionate to the overall demographics of the United States.
By constantly lionizing such alienating figures as Michelle Malkin, Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage and their ilk, Jerry Falwell, Reps. Peter King, Sensenbrenner, and so on, the GOP is simply entrenching the belief among certain groups that they are not welcome in the GOP, despite being a natural fit for the party. By constantly expressing its support for xenophobic, homophobic, racist and sexist ideas, the GOP has not done itself any favors.
George Bush and his brother Jeb recognized the importance of minorities, even to the extent that both had minorities in their cabinets. Jeb’s wife is hispanic and he speaks Spanish fluently. GWB understood the importance of immigrants and supported the McCain-Kennedy bill. Yet the Republican Party led by the likes of Tancredo does not even begin to break out of its obsession with the Christian right agenda.
Let’s take a look at the different groups that should be voting Republican but have been alienated by the party:
1. Immigrants -
South Asians, Arabs, Latin Americans and Eastern Europeans tend to be disproportionately conservative, especially on social issues. Catholics, Muslims, Orthodox Christians and Hindus have belief systems that lead them to social and fiscal conservatism. Yet, these groups identify with the Democratic Party. Why?
Because of the GOP’s crazed obsession with illegal immigration and its members’ professed xenophobia. The Republican Party fails to recognize the contribution of illegal immigrants to the economy and blindly focus on the wrong aspects – that they are breaking the law and taxing the public benefits systems. We cannot constantly demonize illegal immigrants, especially if they are trying to earn a living to raise their children and look after their families.
You can’t expect Hispanics to vote for your candidates, while your elected and appointed officials are busy criminalizing and deporting their friends and relatives. Republicans are so obsessed with home-grown terrorism and their xenophobic anti-Muslim and anti-Arab sentiments that they can’t see the thousands of Muslim and Arab voters who are a natural fit for the party.
2. Minorities -
African Americans again tend to be socially and fiscally conservative but are driven to the Democratic Party by the racist views of media personalities such as Limbaugh claiming to be the voice of the Republican Party. How can the Republican party leaders even dare to question the end of segregation or the usefulness of Affirmative Action, knowing full well that they will anger millions of blacks by doing so? These millions of blacks should be brought into the big tent of the Republican Party, not driven away. I have already talked about minority immigrant groups.
Now, it is projected that these “minorities” will become a “majority” within a generation. Where will the GOP stand in 2050 if the new majority were to remain alienated? Evangelicals and Republicans are already becoming a minority…
3. Union members -
Union members, especially in the mid-west, tend to be Catholic and socially conservative. Yes, they vote Donkey because liberals support union policies. Yet, the Republican party can attract votes from this group by highlighting socially conservative views, while toning down its anti-union rhetoric. It’s all about big-tent politics. Everybody is welcome as long you share atleast some values with party members.
4. Young people -
A lot of young people these days are fiscally conservative and don’t care much about social issues. Guiliani attracted the under-30s crowd last year because of his openly liberal views on social issues. Yet the Republican party has become so attached to big government spending and the evangelical agenda, that it cannot grasp the needs of this important demographic.
5. Libertarians -
Libertarians, especially in states such as NH, cannot stand voting for Democrats. But they can’t bring themselves around to vote for candidates bought and paid for by Falwell. Republicans have completely lost touch with fiscal conservatism. Shockingly, Ron Paul, the self-professed messiah of libertarianism, leads Congressional Republicans in pork-barrel spending. We can’t continue spending like maniacs and raising taxes – how do we expect to differentiate ourselves from the Democrats in the eyes of socially-liberal Libertarians?
With new leadership at the helm of the RNC and a party out of power and favor, this may be the opportune moment to re-create the big-tent Republican party of yesteryears. With a charismatic, albeit faux-pas prone, African American leading us Republicans, we can bring back the Rockefeller wing of the Party. We should bring the Log Cabin Republicans and the Republican Leadership Council to the forefront of the party and highlight the diversity of views and all other attributes of Republicans.
Diversity has become a dirty word in the GOP. We need to reverse recent trends towards homogeniety in the party before the GOP itself becomes a dirty word with the rest of the American population.
