Democrats' Woes Won't Cure GOP

[question everything]

AUGUST 25, 2009

Democrats' Woes Won't Cure GOP

By GERALD F. SEIB
WSJ

In this August of Democratic difficulty, here's something that Republicans ought to keep in mind: Politics isn't a zero sum game. That is, just because one party is down doesn't automatically mean the other party is up. That's an underlying principle of American politics, but it's remarkable how often it's forgotten. In this case, it means that even as Democrats hit rough seas, Republicans shouldn't forget that they still face significant deficiencies and structural problems of their own -- problems that just a few months ago seemed almost insurmountable. The danger for Republicans right now, in fact, is that they become so entranced by the recent decline in President Barack Obama's fortunes that they lose sight of their own problems.

A reminder of this challenge comes in the form of a long article in the forthcoming issue of Commentary magazine by two of the Republican Party's deeper thinkers, former Bush White House speechwriters Pete Wehner and Michael Gerson. They lay out what their article calls a "path to Republican revival," making the point that simply opposing Obama initiatives isn't sufficient to bring about such a revival. They also argue that being anti-government isn't sufficient in a country where "it is patently clear that most Americans do not locate the source of all of today's social ills in an overactive government." Instead, they argue, Republicans need to be seen as a party with new ideas for reforming "ossified" features of that very government, particularly regulatory and tort systems that are behind the times, and an education system that needs to make teachers both better paid and more accountable for their performance.

Intriguingly, Messrs. Wehner and Gerson also suggest that Republicans steal a page from the playbook that British Conservative Party leaders David Cameron and Iain Duncan Smith have used to revive their party. Those British conservatives have, the authors note, "emphasized a range of issues that directly influence the quality of life in community: homelessness, addiction, prison reform, family breakdown, long-term unemployment." So far, the authors note, "Republicans have no comparable agenda to address such issues of social justice from a conservative perspective.".. Indeed, the woods in which Republicans found themselves after the 2008 election are, and remain, thick. Republicans lost across the board because they did badly with the two most important voting constituencies of the future, young people and Hispanics. Moreover, they could suffer for some time from last year's record wave of voters registering as Democrats.

Republicans have no obvious national leader, and some of the most prominent personalities that have arisen (Sarah Palin, Rush Limbaugh) carry plenty of baggage. Nor have recent Democratic travails made Republicans broadly popular by comparison. In the most recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll, 42% of respondents had positive feelings about the Democratic Party, compared with just 28% for Republicans.

(snip)

The best news for the GOP this summer, Mr. Wehner says, is that "the issue set that is dominating the national debate is in the Republican wheelhouse, which is taxes and spending." In the Commentary article, he and Mr. Gerson also suggest Republicans continue to offer a "full-throated stand for a strong national defense" amid conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and peril in North Korea and Pakistan. But other areas remain problematic for the party, not least immigration. There, Republicans remain deeply divided over whether to back an overhaul that offers citizenship to illegal immigrants. Meanwhile, the party's tone often comes across as hostile toward all immigrants. Count that as one big area where Democrats' woes aren't sufficient to solve Republicans' own problems.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125115669365555171.html (subscription)

Printed in The Wall Street Journal, page A2

[orwell]

1. What a steaming pile...

...The best news for the GOP this summer, Mr. Wehner says, is that "the issue set that is dominating the national debate is in the Republican wheelhouse, which is taxes and spending."

Let's just continue the canard that Republicans are the "fiscally responsible ones."

Let's also believe in the tooth fairy, Santa Claus, and compassionate conservatism.

Over 80% of our current debt was created under Republican Administrations.

But hey, let's not wreck a great storyline with confusing little items like facts.

[question everything]

2. And, as he himself admits - these are hard storied to convince

anyone.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

3. I don't know if Republicans can ever develop a "conservative response" to

a range of "quality of life issues" because IMHO everything they do and everything they want to do is inherently destructive to or simply uncaring about the "quality of life" of everybody but themselves (and their cronies and benefactors, of course).

[orwell]

4. The conservative response is this...

...the invisible hand takes care of all when individual freedom is maximized.

In other words, fuck 'em all and let God sort 'em out.

They don't want to admit this because the recent results of conservatism since Reagan have been an unmitigated disaster. So now they must couch this theocratic Darwinism with the illusion of conservative policy solutions. It is a canard, as any true conservative should admit. If you believe that Sky God© is in charge, then say it.

Why do they want to hold every government office when they don't believe government has any answers?

Because they are power mad, wealth addled, lying hypocrites.

[ellie]

5. What recent decline?

These fucking people are nuts and have a forum to spout their idiocy.

[TxRider]

6. That cuts both ways....

"In this August of Democratic difficulty, here's something that Republicans ought to keep in mind: Politics isn't a zero sum game. That is, just because one party is down doesn't automatically mean the other party is up."

It also means that just because the repubs are down, doesn't necessarily mean dems are up...

As the broad resistance to many policies being introduced shows clearly.

Obama didn't necessarily win because everyone demanded his policies, he also won because he "wasn't Bush".

America didn't suddenly change it's political ideology in a big way....