Visual source: Newseum
Former Republican Senators William Brock, Jack Danforth, Trent Lott and Don Nickles raise the red flag for the GOP and argue it needs to drop ideological purity if it's going to make any electoral gains:
EACH OF US has had the privilege of serving in the U.S. Senate, with Republicans as diverse as Jacob Javits and Jesse Helms. There were many policy areas on which we did not agree, but fundamental values held us together. [...]
Starting off an appeal for appealing to moderates by citing Jesse Helms? Yep, that'll work. On to their bemoaning of the teapartyization of the GOP:
“Moderate” became an epithet to be hurled at opponents said to be something less than true Republicans. The acronym RINO (Republican in Name Only) was used to vilify men and women who had devoted much of their lives to serving in office or supporting our party’s candidates. [...]
One need go no further than to note that primary challenges were mounted against two of our most distinguished and dedicated Senate icons, Orrin Hatch and Richard Lugar, with claims that even these solid conservatives were not pure enough.
In our day, it was common for conservative Republicans to campaign for moderate colleagues, and vice versa. The goal was control of the Senate, not absolute ideological conformity, because the ultimate purpose was to keep Congress true to America’s core values — and that result required a majority.
Many of these more recent assaults constitute an attempt at a political purge, an effort to remove from the party all but the “doctrinally pure,” however critics define purity.
The Republican Party is, in its entirety, an extreme right wing instittution. Sorry to break it to the former Senators, but that Tea Party stink isn't going to fade away any time soon.
On the issue of immigration, where the GOP has alienated the country's fastest growing voter bloc, Republican Senator Marco Rubio is trying to undo some of the damage, Alexander Bolton reports:
Senate Republicans want to alter DREAM Act legislation to steal away Hispanic voters from Democrats.
Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), the only Senate Republican of Hispanic heritage and a possible vice presidential pick, is working on an alternative version of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, which would grant legal status to illegal immigrants who came to the country at a young age and serve in the military or attend college. [...]
Democrats say Republicans are trying to have it both ways by trying to ingratiate themselves with Hispanic voters without offending anti-immigration conservatives within their base.
“There’s definitely a buzz among Republicans to curry favor with Latino voters, but they want to do it in a way that their base doesn’t notice or get offended by,” said Angela Kelley, vice president of immigration policy at the Center for American Progress. “They’re floating a lot of test balloons. What they seem to be wanting to do is limit the scope of who’s covered and not offer citizenship.”
A watered-down version of the DREAM Act can't be that appealing to Latino voters, especially if it's unveiled in an election year as a transparent election ploy. Republicans have a pretty huge canyon of a gap to make up, as
Oxford Analytica lays out over at CNN:
The surging Hispanic population is a serious dilemma for the Republican Party, which is perceived by many in that community as the anti-immigrant party. A recent Pew national poll of Hispanics showed that only 14% would vote for the Republican nominee for president over President Barack Obama. In that same poll, 60% said that the Democratic Party is most likely to help Hispanics 'achieve the American dream', whereas only 10% chose the Republicans.
Another problem for the Republicans this year is that Hispanics comprise sizeable portions of the electorate in several swing states, including New Mexico (42.5%), Florida (19.2%), Nevada (17.3%), and Colorado (13.4%).
The leading candidate for the Republican nomination, Mitt Romney, has adopted a harsh position on illegal immigration - one that plays well with the overwhelmingly conservative voter base in the party's presidential primaries and caucuses, but that undermines his appeal among Latinos.
Meanwhile, on to budget issues.
Guy Cecil explains why the dangerous GOP budget plan will anger voters:
In 2010, Republicans sold voters a bill of goods. Their message was simple: "Send us to Washington and we will focus on creating jobs." But as soon as the election ended, they have set out to end Medicare as we know it while preserving tax loopholes for oil companies and the richest American. Even worse, they want seniors, college students, and middle class families to pay for their extreme agenda. That is not a jobs plan--that is a recipe for disaster.
Rep. Paul Ryan's plan is not just one person's proposal, it is the Republican Party's vision for our country: slash student loans and Pell Grants, raise taxes on the working poor and middle class, and do irreparable damage to the safety net for seniors.
There should be no confusion: If Republicans gain the majority in the Senate, they will become a carbon copy of the Tea Party caucus in the House of Representatives. They will turn Medicare into a voucher system run by private insurance companies, which will cost seniors an average $6,000 more each year.