It's rare that I agree with Republican David Brooks, but I've got to say I love his New York Times column today. According to Brooks, the Republicans have become the "Grim Old Party" as the public abandons them "in poll after poll," on "social issues and on attitudes toward government." The public "wants change," but the Grim Old Party won't do it. Instead, according to Brooks, they are "like people quietly marching to their doom."What about the Grim Old Party (GOP) Presidential candidates? According to Brooks, "each of them has been going around pretending to be the second coming of George Allen - a bland, orthodox candidate who will not challenge any of the party's customs or prejudices." Ouch.
Why is this? According to Brooks, it's a combination of a "bunker mentality," what he calls "teamism," the opposition of powerful right-wing interest groups (e.g., the "Club for Growth") that "whack" anyone who proposes deviation from orthodoxy, and a "a simplistic view of Ronald Reagan" as a "rigid," which he most definitely was not.
The bottom line is that the Grim Old Party needs to change, but they're not changing. Instead, according to Brooks, "the odds are it will take a few more crushing defeats before Republicans tear down the self-imposed walls that confine them."
That's where Democrats come in. If we can offer a vision that is forward thinking, "progressive" in the Teddy Roosevelt/JFK sense, optimistic and focused on the people who work for a living in this country (as opposed to those who earn most of their money from capital and investments), we will win big. If not, we will simply muddle along, perhaps with narrow victories but without an overarching, powerful, progressive mandate to guide us.
In other words, we can NOT simply sit back and rejoice as the Grim Old Party collapses into "the second coming of George Allen." We have to offer something of our own, and we have to do it as clearly and concisely as the GOP has done in the past.
So the GOP couldn't even find a way to accept the massive amounts of aid foreign governments offered after Katrina...why are we not surprised.
This is what you get when you hire government employees based on good old boy connections and theocratic favoritism.
She's one of the people who left the GOP. I'm one. I think there are a fair number who visit this site who likewise left.
I have been following Maxine Roles' campaign for state Senate, and I noticed that the firm has been the largest contributor to her opponent, Obenshain. So, I investigated to see how much that firm contributes to other candidates. They have typically contributed to candidates from both parties, but they seem to be padding the Republican candidates this year, with Obenshain in the top three.
What does it mean?
Could you please elaborate more on this? It seems that you have ideas about it, and I like your quick sketch on it. :)