The Joke is on us

[insanity]

It has become quite funny for the media to watch the public implosion of Republican Party. And, to be quite honest, I can not think of a funnier scenario than former Vice President Dick Cheney valuing the opinion of Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell. The joke is on us, though. The inability of the Republican Party to offer an alternative agenda about the future of the country ends up hurting the country more than the failure of their ideas.

Part of the problem is that the Republican Party has two separate interests which each are driving more and more Americans away. The country has long been more pro-choice and recently has become more supportive of gay rights, pro larger government and higher taxes on the wealthy, for the complete regulation and taxation of marijuana, and against the politics of fear. Social conservatism, which plays well to southern white evangelicals, has a ceiling of about 20%. However, the social conservatives have an unprecedented amount of influence on primary elections and thus the candidates the party fields for the General. The other interest of fiscal conservatism and trickle-down economics has a ceiling that is much higher, probably around 40%, but is shrinking fast because of the inability for the party to articulate that position in a way that is relative today.

Trickle-down economics and laissez-faire did not work. 8 years of growth under Bush ended up leaving us in the worst economic climate since the Depression. Instead of recognizing the mistakes, most Republicans seem interested in offering up the problem as the solution. My generation, whose saturation into the electorate will continue to drive away social conservatives, is quickly abandoning the Republican Party’s because we’ve seen the dangers of unchecked growth.

The GOP obviously will have to change, to become more center-right, if they ever want a chance of winning in the near-future. The resistance to do so means the Democrats will continue winning elections and driving the GOP into permanent minority status. That is dangerous. We always will need new ideas to meet new challenges. Simply burying our heads in the sand will only suffocate us and isn’t an alternative to facing down the issues, but it seems to be the strategy of the GOP. No party or person is infallible, and I say this as a loyal Democrat: we need somebody to check the Democrats because we may not always be right.

So I challenge the GOP to try and take our monopoly on logic away. Embrace the world we are in now, because in a lot of ways you created it, and present America a legitimate alternative for the future. I’ll still vote against it because I think conservatism is morally bankrupt, but at least the country will have a legitimate minority that might actually stand a chance.

[RDANGELO]

1. It's only going to get worse for the Republicans.

The people dominating the party right now are completely out of touch with the rest of the country, it's problems and the urgency of those problems. The policy positions that come out don't come from logic or fairness, they originate from a cultural view of society, which is why they often result disastrous outcomes. I think the best hope any time soon for a competent alternative is through the emergence of a third party.

[insanity]

3. It's sad, but true.

Republicans have been the downfall of democracy.

[liberal N proud]

2. This is how political parties become non-existent

They distance themselves from American ideals thus rendering themselves irrelevant.