An analysis of the 2008 election from a Centrist-Republican (practical pro-business and liberal on social issues) perspective is especially depressing.
For the Republican party as a whole, the bad news is greatly exaggerated. We are in the midst of so much bad news, it is a wonder that the results for red-staters were not way worse. Everyone has seen 25% of the value of their stocks, 401k’s, and houses disappear overnight and we’re in the last ugly phase of our longest and least popular post-war military occupation ever, so for the Democrats to get anything less than a 48-state landslide is something of a surprise. All that happened was national preference for the Democratic candidate shifted from 49% to 51%. Big deal.
But it was the Bible belt that held together support for McCain/Palin (emphasis on Palin), while Centrist Republicans in blue-state suburban areas were getting the worst spankings. And when you dive into the California results you find the only interesting anomaly being the Latino and African-American voters who split their ticket between Obama at the top and then yes-on-H8 in the props — while the electorate as a whole said “sure, why not” to a slew of irresponsible borrow-and-spend bond measures.
The future Republican strategy is too clear. Go after Latino and African-American church-going, married voters with church-based grass roots organizing and the same anti-intellectual moralistic rhetoric that worked with blue-collar Southerners.
So we’re surrounded by voters with no sense of financial responsibility. On one side of the political spectrum are power-hungry people pleasers with no economic sense hoping to get a warm fuzzy feeling by giving away other people’s money. On the other side of the political spectrum are judgmental religious fanatics with no real appreciation for individual rights or freedoms hoping to fix the world by establishing a theocratic state. And the public has zero interest in any third-party movement.
Any suggestions?
My solution WOULD be to have our state secede, but considering how the political strategy would trickle down to us anyway, what’s the point? If Obama successfully governs from the center we should be fine, otherwise, maybe we should all jump the border into Mexico. How about THAT irony?
SMS
I suggest moving to Canada.
Maybe the time is right for a third, Centrist party. This party would attract the center from both the Democrats and Republicans.
It would take some high-profile politicians to get it rolling. But what if people like Romney, Lieberman, our governer were to get on-board.
Of course the lack of established financial backing would be the biggest, initial obstacle to the forming of such a party. But didn’t the Obama campaign prove that you can attract voters and $$ in other ways besides the established power political machines?
Ireland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Chile, and Australia are the other contenders.
Ron,
I would suggest that the interest in an honest party is much higher than anyone really thinks. However I have to also admit that you sure couldn’t tell by the votes this time around. The lack of logic in both parties is just disgusting. The lack of candidates who are honest, logical and concerned with maintaining Rights (or even getting a few back) is like the vacuum of space. Yes, there are a few bodies out there, but most of it is void.
One of the HUGE problems any party faces is the media and its total dishonesty in fairness and reporting. Then there is the vast spin army that both parties employ or have as volunteers, that raise the level of cacophony to even greater levels. The very unfortunate reality is that truth gets lost in the noise machine. Clichés and spin are the current fodder of politics and the media is very much a part of the problem. The current media could dig their way out of a sandbox, much less uncover the truth. When a true centrist like McCain is portrayed as a radical and Obama as a centrist you know the truth detectors are in need of calibration.
As I have told my NRA buddies this is a recruiting opportunity unlike any we have seen in years, let’s take advantage of it and get to work preparing for the next swing of the pendulum, we all know it’s coming. We all know as well, if we’re at all honest with ourselves, there is NO WAY that all the promises that Obama made are going to happen and that a bunch of folks will be incredibly pissed off they got lied to. I really take no joy in saying that, my first concern is the nation and each of our individual Rights that we still have. Maintaining what’s left and when the opportunity arises, grabbing back a few that slipped away.
The Republican Party could do well to attempt to keep the Dems. in line and refuse to give any more of our Rights away, period, none. It’s probably the single biggest issue I heard from folks who refused to vote for the first time in their lives, and that was one of the biggest problems with this election too many of them didn’t vote. Or worse gave the Dems. more than enough rope to hang not only themselves but the rest of us too.
As I have said before, we usually get what we deserve, sadly…
I am planning long term to move to Alaska, where for the most part, freedom and honesty is still a revered.
The Republican Party is going to become only a regional party if they continue on this downward spiral. There is more to putting a policeman in each woman’s crotch and banning gays from being married. People under 30 do not tolerate most of this crap going on in the party right now.
And the Karl Rove strategy of spending like Democrats and governing like a theocrat is killing the party.