I will say this. I am not a Republican. I have never identified with Republicans, and for the most part, I have voted Democratic or Independent/Third Party. That is not to say that I don’t agree with some of the principals that republicanism holds. I believe we should be smart with our money, I believe that excessive government is bad, and I do believe in Gun ownership. I tend to be someone who thinks in moderation, and within Politics, especially today, moderation is an anathema. I find myself at odds with people here on DKos, but I feel that I should still have a voice. I wanted to talk about the GOP from an outsiders perspective, because I feel the GOP has lose any insight into their own party whatsoever.
I am approaching this as someone who has always been interested in politics, and regardless of the party, I love the storylines, the drama, and the history of it all ( I have a degree in History after all)
Not to sound clichéd, but I feel that the GOP started down this road in 2001, when the GOP finally, after years of trying, was able to capture the House, Senate, and the Presidency. When that happened, I feel that the GOP self-lobotomized itself and began the path to where we are today.
In the 1990’s the GOP was a force to be taken seriously. After the huge win in 1994, the GOP seemed like a monolith of Borg-like proportions. They voted as a massive bloc (most times) and even when it cost them (The Government Shutdown) they worked together, House and Senate to go after Bill Clinton.
Then George W. Bush happened.
I know it is easy to blame everything on Bush, and I am loathe to give him credit for this, but I feel that his administration, Karl Rove, Dick Cheney, and others, molded the Party into what it is to today, mindless politicians who take their cues from anyone but themselves.
When the GOP acended to power in 2001, the House and Senate Republicans began ceding control of their legislative power to the Executive Branch. Soon, the White House would introduce legislation, the House would rubber stamp, and send to the Senate. There of course, was the rub, due to the close numbers, but by in large, Everything that happened for the GOP agenda went through 1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW. In some respects, that was good. The President is the leader of the party, and what he says goes. It became however, the Executive branch, with their ties to Lobbyists, billionaires, and massive industries, began calling all the shots.
However, as we saw with Obama and the Democrats in 2009 under similar situations, there was discord, strife, and disunity amongst the party. What made many Democrats and Progressive tear their hair out is what may have saved the Democratic party from the same fate as the GOP.
With Bush (or more appropriately his Administration) making all of the decisions for the party, the farm system for up and coming politicians started to decay. No one in the house, or Senate came up with new ideas. People were not groomed for leadership in later years. they were given marching orders and told to obey. Everything came from the top down, and the Republicans were expected, no… demanded, that they follow the President. After 9/11, this became even more stark as the language of the party in power was “you are with us or against us.” It began an expectation that the GOP was a homogenous brain and no one could deviate from that. As time went on, the brains that controlled the party shifted. As Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others began to leave, go back to their companies, think tanks, and cushy lobbyist positions, or take a back seat. The Rank and File of the GOP did not step up. When 2006 happened, and they lost Congress, instead of developing what they did in the 80’s and 90’s, create significant legislation to counter Democrats legislation, they simply decided to sit on their hands and say "No". It didn’t take leadership, it took being stubborn. And with the Bush Administration jumping ship and more concerned for themselves, the party had no one to turn to.
And still, the Farm system continued to decay. With the standard bearers such as McCain, or Graham getting older, there were relatively few young Republicans wanting to step up. Each new, flashy member became a potential scion, but they too became lazy. They relied on talking points given to them, they looked to their leadership, which was quickly changing into faceless money men, for support and received the order to continue saying “No”
The Bush administration taught the GOP to turn off their brains, and they have forgotten to turn them back on.
Now, as the tactics of 30-40 years ago start to become antiquated, the Democrats seem to be on the cusp of a major change: The Demographics of the United States are shifting to their favor. This has only increased by the GOP continuing to keep their brains switched off. With The Bush team long gone, replaced by Billionaires with too much money and not enough social time on their hands, the GOP suddenly find themselves on a shrinking island of electability. As they look around, the people who have said “no, no, no" are realizing that their partners in Political parties are actually insane people with plans they never expected. With no leadership, these ideas festers and infected the party. The idea of “no new Taxes… ever” seeped in, and with no one groomed to be a leader and stop such insane rhetoric, it stuck. Then it was going after Obama… wanting to relive the Congressional Investigation industry of the 1990’s, tried time and time again to find something, anything to make Obama look bad. No one was the adult in the room to say “lets work on something else” and now we have Sherriff Joe proclaiming Obama Birth Certificate is a fake. Now we have Conservative Shock jocks of the 90's now leading Republican policy 15 years later, and the "leadership" of the GOP is too incompetent to push back.
Contraception became an issue because the GOP just wanted to be against Obama, damn the consequences. Again, a true leader would have stepped up killed the argument. instead we have people trying to double down.
The GOP leadership farm team is dead, and in its placed are some very overwhelmed and ineffective people trying to herd cats. In 2008, it was said that Bush had no heir to the leadership of the party, and a part of why they lost. However, Bush did something even more egregious to the party. He killed it by not letting anyone outside his team of self-promoting businessmen run the show.
Think about this. The GOP Presidential Primary is now between three people who haven’t been in Political office in at least the past 6 years. None of the candidates can be considered insiders or leaders of the party. They do not comment on legislation unless someone else stakes a claim. They do not have answers to the issues facing America outside “Lower Taxes” and they rarely come out first on an issue, but wait until the Democrats, or others associated with the party (through Conservative News stations/radio) to get their stance.
And while We have complained about the lack of leadership in Obama, you cannot disagree that Obama works with the other leaders of the Congress: Pelosi, Reid, Schumer, and also brining up younger, newer leadership as well in Gillabrand, Koucher, Ducksworth, and others. The Obama Administration has worked incredibly hard to make sure that legislation is not a top-down process, but a give and take. It may be messy, and we may get annoyed… but at the end of the day, it develops future leaders who know the process, who know how to work things within government, and gives the party a future. The GOP have leaders opening fighting each other, a farm system in shambles, and everytime someone steps up, they falter and the GOP try to distance themselves (Haley, Jindal, Palin, Kasich, Walker, Scott, etc). We often say Obama is the only Adult in the room, I am wondering if the GOP even have any teenagers in the room. Can you look to Rubio, or Christie? they sat out, and they aren’t making any decisions for the party, they are only thinking of their own aspirations and self-interest… and as long as that stays the case, the GOP is doomed.
I have a question… who is in charge of the GOP?
In my opinion, it is no one, and that is why they are facing extinction if they don’t get their act together… and it may be too late. This is a party that is scared of a Radio Personality, who takes their talking points from a media mogul, and look to Billionaires to fund their campaigns because no one is seriously donating to them.
They have shot themselves in the foot with Women, Hispanics, African-Americans , College Students, The youth in general, the GLBT community, teachers, Unions, Non-Christians, and Immigrants, and while people from all of those groups will vote Republican, they will be in the minority, and in too little numbers for the GOP to stay relevant.
I know this is an odd diary. I am doing my best to come at this objectively, and without malice. This is not the GOP of the 1980’s or the 1990’s… this is the inbred offspring that is now trying to run the country, and it shows.