Since the beginning of time political parties in America have clashed on wide ranging views in order to appeal to the masses and gather as much support as possible. Some of these issues are abortion, gun control, wars, immigration, and more recently rights for same sex couples. The battle over the issue of gay rights has waged on for the better part of the last 10 years and I don't see an end in sight. The problem here, lies within the Republican Party. The party of Reagan and Lincoln, a party that once stood for equality is now a party in ruin following the biggest political collapse in the history of the United States. If the Republican Party wishes to regain its strength they'll need to appeal more towards the "middle" if they have any shot of challenging the Democrats, who now have an edge both in seats in Congress as well as a psychological edge over the Republicans.
Historically the Republicans have had more people elected President than the Democrats (18-13). That number was only made possible by the "dynasty" the Republicans achieved when Richard Nixon was elected in 1968 (took office in 1969) starting a long run of Republican Presidents. Including Nixon's election in 1968, the Republicans won 4 of 7 Presidential elections. These Presidents were Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, and George W. Bush. (they had 5 of 7 Presidents but Gerald Ford took over for Nixon following his resignation in 1974).
The above paragraph clearly shows that the Republican dynasty was really thriving, 5 out of 7 Presidents really says something about what their party was all about. The key word being was. As we all know in 2000 George W. Bush was narrowly elected President (500,000 votes) over former Vice President Al Gore (thanks Florida). During the Bush Presidency things really took a downward turn for the Republican Party. Through a series of events (PATRIOT Act, war crimes, Geneva Convention violations, torture, etc) George Bush really tarnished the image of the Republican Party. This was evident in the congressional elections beginning in 2006. Prior to these elections the Republicans held leads in the House and Senate 232-202 and 55-45 respectively. After the 2006 elections, not only did the Republicans lose their leads in both houses, they were no longer in the majority. The seats were allotted 232-202 and 51-49 for the Democrats. After their huge turnaround in 2006, the Democrats steamrolled into 2008 with hopes of gaining a stranglehold in government with the election of a Democratic President as well as increasing their leads in Congress. In the congressional and senatorial elections the Democrats increased their leads in the House and Senate 257-178 and 58-41(the senatorial race in Minnesota is still ongoing) respectively. The goals of the Democrats were completed when Sen. Barack Obama defeated Sen. John McCain in the third largest landslide elections in US history (365-173), 3rd only to Bill Clinton's victories in 1996 (379-159) and again in 1992 (370-168).
If the Republican Party wishes to regain its "mojo" they're going to have move more towards the center of the political spectrum. Their base is to the right, which doesn't appeal to very many people in the United States. It's a time of desperation for the Republicans. This was clear with john McCain's selection of Sarah Palin for his VP. She doesn't appeal to very many people, let alone women which is the underlying cause for her being selected. McCain was hoping to scoop up the disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters following her loss to eventual President elect Barack Obama. This plan failed miserably and was doomed from the start. If the Republicans continue to grasp for any sign of hope instead of focusing on how to restructure their party they will continue to struggle against the Democrats in the upcoming elections.
1 comment:
I think you're absolutely right there's a decline in the stance on the party. I think the Republican Party has morphed over time towards a direction I do not believe was intended by its founders. Now it seems that they have developed such a strong stigma from the opposition where leftists view the rightists as too close minded and a destroyer of hope for the middle class. I hope they rediscover their roots because they're could destroy something that started for the preservation of human rights and freedom and have 180ed into the opposition.
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