5 reasons GOP will rebound
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John Feehery
Special to CNN
"It is important for us to have a strong Republican Party," Democratic Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi tauntingly told a press conference on April 23. "And I hope that the next generation will take back the Republican Party for the Grand Old Party that it used to be."
Thanks Mrs. Pelosi, for your best wishes. But be careful what you wish for. I wouldn't write the obituary for the Republican Party quite yet.
Sure, things are looking grim at the moment. Yes, our Republican Party Chairman Michael Steele stumbled out of the starting gate, making several verbal gaffes, and raising questions about his competence. Yes, the latest poll numbers are in the toilet, showing only 21 percent of the American people call themselves Republicans. Yes, Arlen Specter decided the GOP was a drag on his personal political future. And yes, we lost a special election in upstate New York that maybe we should have won.
But things change. Remember a year-and-a-half ago, when everybody thought the election would be a referendum on the Iraq war. Remember 10 months ago, when everyone thought that expensive gas was going to drive people to the polls. It turned out that, by the time of the election, the most important thing that people cared about was their declining 401ks or their lost job.
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Filed under: John Feehery • Raw Politics • Republicans |
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Look, this is how it's going to go. If Obama fails, people will go running back to the Republicans. And, if he does a good job, then it is not going to matter what Republicans say, or do. Because no one will be listening.
I'll agree with points 1 and 2, especially point 2 as we learned the GOP has about as much fiscal restraint when they control all branches of government as the Dems do; as such the check is definitely needed – regardless of which party is in control of the White House.
As to points 3-5, well, good luck. Thus far, I keep hearing the same party platform with simply a reordering of the words within the sentence, but the same sentence and message nonetheless. And while I would have preferred Jeb over George, I do believe that America is tired of the same political families running the parties. Further point 5 is especially laughable, hillarious actually. The GOP has never been a party of personal liberties. If they were, they would actually stay out of my bedroom and away from body.
Here's something to consider for the GOP to make its comeback - actually listen to the people (not the corporations or lobbyists but the people); keep your moral platform to yourselves to exercise how you personally wish and stay out of my personal life (you cannot, no matter how hard you try, legislate morality). And please, most importantly, come up with some new ideas – tax cuts are not the single, only answer cure-all to solve what ails us.
If John McCain would have went to the poorest areas of every large city and gave each person 10 dollars to vote for him the end result would have been different. Do you actually think with ACORN handling the census it is going to be fair? Especially since they received billions of dollars from the Democratic side after the election. They are already preparing for the 2012 elections and how they can change the outcome!
Pelosi rehearsing for Letterman's top 10?
The problem with the Republican party is they refuse to embrace anybody not like them, they need to reach out to more people than rich white folks because America is changing and they need to get with the program.
Being anti-democrat is not going to rebound your party Mr. Feehery. Republicans must change with the times. Selecting an African American (Steele) as your party chairman shortly after we elected and African American President was obviously because of his race. Maybe that is why Steele doesn't appear to have gotten of to a good start.
Its funny how you are waiting for Democrats to "screw it up". I'm sorry but which party had a sitting President when all this was brewing, thats right the Republicans. I suggest Republicans follow John McCain's campaign message of "Country First" instead of being the party of "No" and waiting for Democrats to "screw it up". That is how they will rebound.
I'm confused, if what people care about is their 401K and jobs, why would they ever vote for a Democrat?? That is the major difference between the parties, Democrats tax and spend and are big time into social programs. Republicans are for letting you keep more of the money you earn. Republicans are the party for the responsible and Democrats are the party for those who need to be taken care of. Hopefully the generations coming up will realize that the opportunity to work hard and get ahead is yours if you want it and not want to be taken care of by the government.
Yes, I think the Republican Party will revive eventually, even under another name, if necessary. If history is any guide, the current liberal-reform wave will be over by the 2020s and the Republiacns will probably elect presidents again sometime in that decade.
To win in the North and West, though, they will have to run a lot of RINOs and moderates, even if that means they will vote with the Democrats half the time. And what if they do? Who says that a conservative party has to be a party of no change?
I do agree that we need a respectable opposition party in the US, just to balance the system.