The party of Abraham Lincoln, of Ulysses S. Grant, of Theodore Roosevelt, has been on a downward spiral into obscurity and irrelevance starting with their patron saint Ronald Reagan and his administration's economic policies. Reaganomics, as his fiscal policies are so called, paved the way, as far as I'm concerned, for the current economic catastrophe. After Reagan came along George Bush, Sr., and while he did take down Manuel Noriega, his policies in Iraq set the stage for W. and his pop's old pals Dick, Colin and Rummy to start an unneccessary, second Gulf War. Only George W. Bush took it a few steps further and declared war on all of terror in the world, everywhere. All of this combined with a growing base of support for progressive positions nationwide have created the perfect storm for the Republican Party's dance into national irrelevance and, if they play their cards wrong, eventually complete impotency in American politics and governing.
I believe the Republican Party is in distress for one main reason above all: Their idealogy is losing support with the American people. The population, at this point in time, fundamentally want Democratic ideas and positions to be enacted. They want universal healthcare, withdrawal from Iraq and immigration reform. They support regulation of the markets and they support development of clean, alternative energies. I'm sure they wouldn't mind some electoral and lobbying as well. Hell, I just saw a poll showing healthy, bipartisan support for sending more troops to Afghanistan.
Rasmussen Reports, Afghanistan Support Poll - March 20, 2009
Sixty-one percent (61%) of U.S. voters agree with President Obama’s decision to put more U.S. troops in Afghanistan.
Twenty-five percent (25%) are opposed to putting more troops in the war-torn country, and 14% are not sure in a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
The Democratic Party has the upper hand on all of these major issues and the Republican Party fundamentally oppose nearly all of these popular positions. Shit, even on gay marriage things are looking better for us. Although the population are still opposed to legalizing same-sex marriage, a majority support legally-sanctioned unions for gay couples.
Polling Report - Recent Polls on Same-Sex Marriage
Newsweek Poll conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates International. Dec. 3-4, 2008. N=1,006 adults nationwide. MoE ± 3.7.
"Do you think there should or should not be..."
"Legally-sanctioned gay and lesbian unions or partnerships"
55% Should, 36% Should not, 9% Unsure.
Legally-sanctioned gay and lesbian marriages"
39% Should, 55% Should not, 6% Unsure.
And even when it comes to a Constitutional ban on gay marriage at the national and statewide levels, public opinion opposes such a measure.
This is from the same Newsweek poll.
"Would you favor or oppose an amendment to the U.S. constitution that would BAN gay marriage IN ALL STATES?"
43% Favor, 52% Oppose, 5% Unsure.
"Gay marriage can also be an issue at the state level. Suppose YOUR STATE held an election where you could vote for or against an amendment to the state constitution that would ban gay marriage. Would you be more likely to vote 'yes' in favor of OR 'no' against a ban on gay marriage in your state?"
45% Yes, favor ban, 49% No, against ban, 6% Unsure.
On top of these sad truths (for them) George W. Bush and the Republicans in Congress with their disastrous and irresponsible economic policies of de-regulation and corporate cronyism are precisely what got our country into this fucking mess. So, them being primarily to blame for our economic hardship and the two disasters in the Middle East, coupled with growing support for progressive ideals give them a dark and dismal future in the electoral process. Like I said before, we can only hope that they screw the pooch so hard that it leads them to regional party status based in the Deep South and Utah. The thing is, this is an entirely possible, if not probable, outcome of their inherent lack of empathy and understanding of what the American people really want from their lawmakers. As long as we continue on our current path as a party, with our outstanding grassroots organizing electing more progressive candidates into office, I foresee the possibility of a very long-term Democratic Majority and prosperous future for the nation we love.
It seems to me that we may be at the very beginning of a trend in which each generation will be getting more and more progressive or liberal. A conservative would scoff at my very mention of that, but if you think about, it is entirely plausible. We saw, throughout Barack Obama's entire Presidential campaign, how to engage and interest the youth population in the electoral process through the use of technology and our well-organized grassroots efforts. It is relatively well-known that people who register with a certain party tend to stay in that party throughout their life, in most cases at least. So, if the Democratic Party just follows Obama's gumption in registering record numbers of voters under 30 into the party in each and every election cycle, we can build an immanently progressive majority across the nation.
We know, as liberals and progressives, that the Republican Party is absolutely wrong on a ton of the most urgent and important issues facing America today. We know that this is because the Republican Party we see today has lost the morality and decency of the Republican Party of Lincoln and Grant. We also know that regardless of the bile they spew against us everyday on Fox and talk radio, we do love our country and we know what will help our country, not only through this crisis, but into the future. After all, liberals and progressives are responsible for some of the greatest programs, legislation and stances in our country's history. Social Security, Medicare, Women's Suffrage, African-American Suffrage and even Abraham Lincoln, a liberal Republican as President Obama so put it, was responsible for freeing African-American slaves, and not to mention, winning the American Civil War and maintaining our entirety as a nation. The Republican Party's biggest problem is their current failed policies and idealogy, above all. And when the public fundamentally disagrees with your party platform that spells disater of monstrous proportions for your very existence as a political party.
Their decline will not happen all at once, as is well understood, but I see it as an eventuality if given enough time. They are going to have to open their party up to more than the just the radical religious right and rich, old, white men if they want to compete with our base of diverse support and appeal with independent voters in future elections. This is the very reason that I see them falling into the abyss. I absolutely do not believe they are capable of this. Their base of support has become infuriated everytime RNC Chair Michael Steele has mentioned the need to recruit new and different voters into the party. They are not going to risk losing the only people that fully support them by inviting people into the party that their base vehemently disagree with or loathe altogether. They should, but they won't. Losing the religious fanatics would do wonders to appeal to the more down-to-Earth Americans that they need. The only way I see them getting out of this, if it gets that far, is by disbanding the Republican Party and creating a new political entity to associate with. This however, would seem to me, to take years, if not decades, though to accomplish. I feel it will eventually come down to that but I foresee them fighting themselves on every change of the party, status quo enacted along the way. They fundamentally are satisfied with the their idealogy, behavior and failed policies they just can't seem to let go of. People who think like that will ultimately have an immense struggle breaking into the "mainstream" of public opinion and ultimately falling into electoral, and therefore governmental, obscurity and political darkness.