The Republican Party must change
A vibrant two-party system has always been the driving force behind America’s success.
If there’s one thing certain about all of us, it’s that “we, the people” don’t always agree. The result has been a political back-and-forth that led to finding compromises best for the most number of Americans.
This history of compromise has created an incredible standard of living, the world’s greatest superpower and a country universally viewed as a bastion of opportunity around the world.
However, over the last few decades, our two-party system has been degraded by fringe ideologies with deep pockets that hold sway over and require adherence to a narrow set of ideals that benefit only a few. As a political party caters to narrow interests, it loses touch with its founding purpose and ultimately the people it supposedly represents.
This corruption of our two-party system hasn’t been even-handed, and it has laid waste to one party more than the other. In the wake of President Barack Obama’s second inauguration earlier this week, you can’t turn on the news or open the newspaper without hearing pundits from every political persuasion offer analysis about the future of the Republican Party and what it must do to stay relevant to more Americans.
Surely there is a problem. If not, then how could the Republican Party have failed to beat an incumbent president presiding over a sluggish economy with high unemployment whose singular achievement is a health care reform package that so bitterly divides Americans?
The explanations are varied and many. Republicans didn’t do a good enough job wooing Latino voters. They let abortion politics alienate women voters. Maybe Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s comments about the 47 percent were just too easily exploited by Democrats.
But what these analyses miss is the central point that ties not just these few issues together but that underpins a significant portion of the current Republican Party platform: a lack of empathy and intolerance for Americans with life circumstances and viewpoints different than their own. This is what American voters picked up on and rejected in November.
And it is the result of a party platform built around the narrow views of an influential few instead of the broad views of the majority of the party.
Take, for example, the official Republican Party stance against abortion even in the case of rape or incest. While there is a vocal, well-funded and outspoken contingent of anti-abortion advocates within the Republican Party who wholeheartedly support this position, it is nonetheless far out of line with the values expressed by the average Republican voter.
This disconnect isn’t limited to social issues. A regressive economic policy bent toward upper-income Americans and corporations was revealed when Romney, trying to curry favor with wealthy donors, made his infamous 47 percent comment.
Those comments told the average American that Republican tax policy was focused to benefit the influential few.
This country needs two representative parties to craft the compromises that will lead America forward over the next 100 years.
Which party you align with isn’t important.
What’s important is that there continues to be at least two credible party options for you to choose from.
For that to happen, the Republican Party must change. Hopefully, that change will include a commitment to crafting a more inclusive party platform that focuses on the needs of average Americans, not just the influential and loud-spoken ones.
Jeff Bowles owns Proforma Promotionally Yours, a marketing and promotions company. He lives in Kansas City with his wife and children. To reach him, send email to oped@kcstar.com or write to Midwest Voices, c/o Editorial Page, The Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108.
Mark Hastert
3 months, 3 weeks agoYa know the party’s in trouble when Bobby (let’s teach creationism in schools) Jindal calls them the party of stupid to their face at their big strategy meeting. Even worse when Haley Barbour repeated the charge. They’re gonna have to have a purge.
George Hunsucker
Northland
3 months, 3 weeks ago‘fraid not Jeff….. All the r!s need to do is wait for the implementation of zero care next year and the implosion of the economy due to zero!s and his band of community activist!s policies…..
This doesn’t!t even take into account more foreign policy blunders e.g. Benghazi….
R!s need to embrace conservative ideas and values and stop being patsies for zero….
Suzanne Conaway
3 months, 3 weeks agoI’ve been reading today where the GOP is trying to reshape the Electoral College rather than their own party.
That’s called cheating where I come from.
JR Beillenhouser
3 months, 3 weeks agoIt’s also called cheating when your website does not check to make sure that you are a US citizen when you give money to a campaign. It’s also cheating when you vote in more than one state, or more than one time, or are an illegal and vote (even when the Supreme Court has consistently ruled that Kobach type ideas are constitutional). But that doesn’t seem to bother you. You are either ill-informed or living in lala land.
If it helped the Dems, you’d have nothing to say about it. I’d suggest that the Republicans do this in every state where it will assist them and then trade it for proper voter id laws to stop Dems from cheating.
JR Beillenhouser
3 months, 3 weeks agoRepublicans just need to run a good candidate. Romney was a typical RINO type choice that did not excite the base and as such, voters did not turn out for him. Please note that there is a record of states with Republican Governors and Legislators. The Republican party needs to get on the ball and figure out RINO’s will not win a national election.
As for the comment in the article about economic policy, the R’s have one that works. The coming financial apocalypse will be tagged to the D’s.
Mark Hastert
3 months, 3 weeks agoAs I said, The Pubs are gonna have a purge restore a little sanity. They’re gonna have to stop pandering to the Grumpy Old Peckerwoods.
George Hunsucker
Northland
3 months, 3 weeks agoNice to see the star allows these slurs to continue from the libs….
Peckerwood (or simply wood) is a slur used through the mid 20th century by southern African Americans and upper class whites to describe poor rural whites.
I guess he considers himself an upper class white lib who is again behind the times… Poor little lib…..
Kent Mueller
3 months, 3 weeks agoSuzanne, you must come from a very strange place if you call legally changing a state law to be cheating. Really? Cheating? I know you and I will agree on very little, but you disappointed me with your charge of cheating.
Did you bother to see what the bill in Virginia is about? Yes, it would change how that state’s electoral college votes are allocated. I’m not saying I would vote for it, but did you even consider the proposal?
It is very unbecoming to disagree by calling out……….cheater!!!!!!!! Especially, when it’s not cheating when you go about thing legally.
Where is that place you are from where legal things are cheating?
Mark Hastert
3 months, 3 weeks ago“a slur used through the mid 20th century”
Actually GH if you’ll bother to check the dictionary you’ll see that it precisely describes the elements in the party of which I (and Bobby Jindal, Peggy Noonan et.al.) was referring. Then there are those who aren’t poor and ignorant but speak and write in the manner to mobilize those elements in the party for political gain.
They may be easy to mobilize but they’re responsible for the decline of the party to it’s current sad state and they are on their way out.
Glen Enloe
3 months, 3 weeks agoWe hear this simplistic solution time & time and again from liberals & rinos. Turning the Republican party into a weak clone of the Democrats will never give them enough votes to win anything. The problem is the weak message & weak moderate candidates. We’re losing because we’ve strayed too far from our base already. Turning mushy on pro-life issues & other conservative positions will do nothing but lead to more disillusioned voters. Listening to Democratic socialists tell us what & how to do things is akin to spitting in the wind. The Republican party needs to stand FOR something again & fight for what they believe in — not shamelessly pander to looters the way the Democrats have always done.
JR Beillenhouser
3 months, 3 weeks ago“Then there are those who aren’t poor and ignorant but speak and write in the manner to mobilize those elements in the party for political gain.”
Eh. you just described the Democratic party.
George Hunsucker
Northland
3 months, 3 weeks agozero is showing his disdain for the rule of law AGAIN.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/obama-continues-violate-his-own-stimulus-law-not-releasing-quarterly-reports_697896.html
Kent Mueller
3 months, 3 weeks agoOnce again for the umpteenth time, a liberal has told the Republicans what they need to do to be competitive and win elections.
Folks, just think that through. Does Bill Self give advice to Bruce Weber? Does Bill Snyder give advice to Charlie Weis? Do either of those want it to be more likely that the other would win? Hell no.
So, why does anyone give an iota of credence to anyone from the left when they give advice to the right? Just like Bill and Bill, anything said isn’t meant to help.
Although, I do find it amusing to see so many on the left presuming to be an authority on what’s on the right. It’s a cause for a good chuckle.
Suzanne, are you still calling legally changing a state electoral process cheating?