My guess is that I’m not alone in being extremely tired of reading shallow post election analysis. Why did Republicans lose two straight elections? It’s not because they don’t know how to win – not long ago, they held the very power the Democrats hold today.
What Republicans don’t know how to do is govern according to their principles. GOP principles demand bringing real reform to government. To successfully implement that kind of reform our Republican leaders would have had to aggressively make their case and win public support for that change. But they failed, so voters tossed them out.
For those who want to blame the 2006 election defeat on the Iraq War, I have argued that winning public support for a war effort is no different than that of winning support for domestic policy changes. When the going gets tough, the feeble minded elected Republicans hide in the tall grass.
When the Republican candidate lost the special election to succeed former Speaker Dennis Hastert, we predicteddisaster unless the U.S. House Republican campaign committee in Washington changed its ways. It didn’t.
Sadly, going forward, Republicans in D.C. still show no sign of understanding about what specifically must be done differently. My argument is straightforward: the weakness of the state and local parties combined with the refusal of our GOP elected ranks to use their bully pulpits is a recipe for continued failure.
Since all learning involves repetition, let us repeat a few things. Republican fortunes can be turned around in short order with principled leadership that knows how to organize and communicate. And, a Republican reformation of the civic and political culture is needed to counter those profiting at taxpayers’ expense.
And this: Thinking has never been a strong suit for those in Republican political circles. How else can you explain the party with the better ideas continuing to fail to even try to win public support for them? Think tanks from coast to coast have provided ample evidence that what the Democrats offer can’t be made to work, yet Democrats win elections anyway.
And this: Republicans are supposed to believe in personal responsibility, so they better stop waiting for someone to ride in on a white horse and rescue them from the political left and its failed policies. They also shouldn’t expect to be rescued from corrupt or ineffectual Republicans.
Right now, those who profit from tax dollars or seek to advance a big-government dream dominate the arena. Engaging more good people in the process might seem wildly idealistic, but it is going to be required if we’re ever going to restore some balance to American political life.
Since the government that has been constructed is unsustainable, the only way to avoid a complete Europeanization of the American economy is to activate more citizens who are committed to limited government and free markets. Without such a force, expect European-like dismal economic growth and unemployment rates, as well as a falling standard of living. Don’t be surprised to see, as well, liberal social experiments taking place that won’t work any better here than they do in the Netherlands.
And this: The only way to change the poll numbers is to fight on every front. Unfortunately, if the poll numbers said we should jump off a cliff, most Republican politicians would still not work to change public opinion but would instead line up to lead the leap, thinking that was leadership.
Turning public sentiment in the right direction will require an enormous effort by a lot of people, so any Republican official who is not building towards that end is not leading. We will continue to lose ground if our political and party leaders don’t start doing things differently. Party and political leaders must help change what is “politically possible.”
While the left has been assembling a well-motivated army, Republicans have seen a thorough breakdown of the Party apparatus. Because politics is a shooting war, it’s hard to take ground without troops.
For what you can do immediately, follow this link – Help bring life to the Illinois GOP: Crash the party.
