A
new Rasmussen poll surveyed both Democrats and Republicans about the future of the Republican party. This is what kills me:
Coming off a shellacking at the polls in November, the plurality of GOP voters (43%) say their party has been too moderate over the past eight years, and 55% think it should become more like Alaska Governor Sarah Palin in the future ...
This, to me, seems to be symptomatic of the current Republican
death spiral, similar to
TalkingPointsMemo's take:
... [P]oll data like this could indicate that the Republican Party is getting ready to relive the classic cycle of ruling parties who get turned out of power in a landslide: With the party base itself shrunk down, the people who are still around are the most hard-line members, and are really the least fit people to fix the situation.
1 comment:
This is an interesting piece to me. As a conservative, I found myself this election cycle in a quandary. My choice for president was between a Chicago liberal and a D.C. lifer who had straddled the fence for decades.
The republican party keeps being told by the media (and liberal factions within it) that they need to become more like the democrats. I keep hearing people telling Obama to become more conservative (govern from the middle), etc. I think people need to be what they are and communicate that honestly and forthrightly.
Palin at least did represent a conservative point of view. Bush and Republicans took a shellaking in part this past year because no one was sure where they stood on anything. There were no clarion calls and strong leadership. Republicans got into a waffling match with liberals and frankly they just don't communicate a hypocrite's view that well.
Bush failed (to whatever degree history determines he did fail) because he made bad decisions and did not live up to the conservative ideals of Reagan, etc. The government is the largest ever. The contract with America (c.a. 1994) has long since been forgotten through a haze of two-faced politics. The true conservative model gave us the prosperity of the 90's (and early 2000's) and even overcame the devastation of 9/11.
But this past election, we had no conservative at the top of a ticket and Obama was smarter and more attractive a candidate than McCain.
I agree that conservatives are looking for someone who can have integrity and leadership while being a true conservative. Studies show (sorry guys) that the U.S. is more conservative now than at any time since the 1800's. Find a real conservative with clarity, conviction, and ability, and that person will win in 4 years (not eight). Obama will be pretty beaten up by then with the economy (he's already lost about 20 pop. points).
I'm hoping against hope that J.C. Watts will return to Washington.
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