The Reality Divide in the Republican Party
November 4th 2008 02:39
With a party about to be dramatically swept out of power due to almost comprehensive failures, both foreign and domestic, corruption and the most unpopular President in the history of polling, some Republicans are adopting, get this ... reality. Ed Rollins, Republican strategist, foot soldier in the Reagan revolution and most recently National Chairman of Mike Huckabee's Presidential campaign, is one of the born-again realists:
Rollins does not go so far as to admit Bush's policies have been utter disasters for the country, but he does admit the vast majority of Americans believe that to be the case. Which is not bad for a recent reality convert. Rollins' disdain for his party's leaders is not all directed at Bush, either. He has this to say about John McCain:
One of the first steps in adopting reality is to get off Republican talking points and Rollins is way-off message. Their message is the election will be close. McCain may lose, but he has a fighting chance. Rollins is willing to publicly admit what growing numbers of Republicans privately know: There is little chance of this election being close.
He also offers this sobering warning for McCain's political future:
McCain perhaps deserves little blame for massive congressional losses. Otherwise, Rollins is dead on.
Reality is hitting home on the campaign trail as well as smart Republican candidates make the pitch Washington needs to maintain a respectable opposition party. McCain is campaigning on the notion Democrats will hold huge majorities in congress while many Republican congressional candidates campaign on the notion Republicans will almost surely lose the White House. Both are right.
Meanwhile, while the reality-faction of the Republican party grows, many wingnuts are not anxious to get reality. Faced with adversity, they cling to their precious fantasies tighter than ever.
In a recently released "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America," James Dobson's Focus on the Family paints a picture of what is likely to happen over the next four years of Democratic domination. This is what the strongest backers of Rollins' most recent client think will happen during the next four years:
Gay marriage in all 50 states
Christian couples have trouble adopting children
Disbandment of the boy scouts
The Bible banned in many settings
Pornography on cable in prime-time
Four terrorist attacks on U.S. Soil
Widespread communism in Latin America
Israel nuked by Iran
A 3-year wait for cancer treatment
People over 80 no longer have access to medical care
Massive unemployment
Small businesses fleeing the U.S.
Huge increase in the budget deficit
$7 per gallon gasoline
Conservative talk radio shut down
Christian book publishers forced out of business
Dozens of Bush administration officials in jail
That last one is a fantasy we share. It is also hilarious to note Dobson once said he would not vote for John McCain. Now his organization thinks the fate of the world dependents on it. At least, the fate of Israel, four U.S. cities, Christians and anyone in need of medical care.
Republicans have been divided for some time by ideology. But they have been able to keep the theocon, neocon, corporate con and paleocon factions under the same tent because they were winning. Now, divided they fall. The 2008 election will leave them without an outlet to make public policy and without a party leader to rally their troops in hope of a better day.
What this means is we must work harder than ever. This election is our best opportunity in 44 years to build up a majority. The next several years will be our best opportunity to produce progressive legislation. We cannot assume we will ever have a weaker opposition than we do today.
The Republican party is in shambles, but the Democratic party was also in bad shape just four short years ago. We were out of power. There was a battle for the soul of the party. We rose to the challenge and remade our party to be a 21st century electoral machine. Look at what we have done in four years. Look at what we did in just two years.
We have to assume Republicans are capable of a similar comeback. We do not know what the Republican party will look like in 2012 or even 2010, but they will reevaluate every aspect of their party and what will emerge is likely to be a much better and more modern electoral operation.
Rollins knows this is our best shot, too:
But he also knows Republicans can find their way out of the wilderness:
The year 2012 looks awfully different to Rollins than Dobson. The difference is reality and in a sane world reality will sweep through the Republican party like a grassroots fire. We have to be ready. We have to do everything we can this week.
Not satisfied to change only American politics, Bush and his neo-con advisers, led by Dick Cheney, wanted to use American military might to spread democracy to places that had been led only by tribal councils and ruthless dictators.
If Bush had accomplished these goals, he truly would have been a historic president much like his newfound hero Harry Truman. But his failures were unimaginable. W will go down in history, all right.
He will leave office with the lowest approval ratings of any president in modern times and will be judged as a catastrophic failure who destroyed his party, left his successor with two unpopular, unfinished wars and left the country in the worst economic condition in nearly eight decades. That's not even counting the Bush administration's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
If Bush had accomplished these goals, he truly would have been a historic president much like his newfound hero Harry Truman. But his failures were unimaginable. W will go down in history, all right.
He will leave office with the lowest approval ratings of any president in modern times and will be judged as a catastrophic failure who destroyed his party, left his successor with two unpopular, unfinished wars and left the country in the worst economic condition in nearly eight decades. That's not even counting the Bush administration's inadequate response to Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.
Rollins does not go so far as to admit Bush's policies have been utter disasters for the country, but he does admit the vast majority of Americans believe that to be the case. Which is not bad for a recent reality convert. Rollins' disdain for his party's leaders is not all directed at Bush, either. He has this to say about John McCain:
I will vote for McCain, but I do so knowing he has run one of the weakest presidential campaigns in modern times and is probably going to lose big.
One of the first steps in adopting reality is to get off Republican talking points and Rollins is way-off message. Their message is the election will be close. McCain may lose, but he has a fighting chance. Rollins is willing to publicly admit what growing numbers of Republicans privately know: There is little chance of this election being close.
He also offers this sobering warning for McCain's political future:
What he does after this campaign is a serious question. Returning to the Senate where his party's numbers will be greatly diminished would be a giant letdown -- and he will likely be blamed, at least in part, for those diminished numbers.
McCain perhaps deserves little blame for massive congressional losses. Otherwise, Rollins is dead on.
Reality is hitting home on the campaign trail as well as smart Republican candidates make the pitch Washington needs to maintain a respectable opposition party. McCain is campaigning on the notion Democrats will hold huge majorities in congress while many Republican congressional candidates campaign on the notion Republicans will almost surely lose the White House. Both are right.
Meanwhile, while the reality-faction of the Republican party grows, many wingnuts are not anxious to get reality. Faced with adversity, they cling to their precious fantasies tighter than ever.
In a recently released "Letter from 2012 in Obama's America," James Dobson's Focus on the Family paints a picture of what is likely to happen over the next four years of Democratic domination. This is what the strongest backers of Rollins' most recent client think will happen during the next four years:
Gay marriage in all 50 states
Christian couples have trouble adopting children
Disbandment of the boy scouts
The Bible banned in many settings
Pornography on cable in prime-time
Four terrorist attacks on U.S. Soil
Widespread communism in Latin America
Israel nuked by Iran
A 3-year wait for cancer treatment
People over 80 no longer have access to medical care
Massive unemployment
Small businesses fleeing the U.S.
Huge increase in the budget deficit
$7 per gallon gasoline
Conservative talk radio shut down
Christian book publishers forced out of business
Dozens of Bush administration officials in jail
That last one is a fantasy we share. It is also hilarious to note Dobson once said he would not vote for John McCain. Now his organization thinks the fate of the world dependents on it. At least, the fate of Israel, four U.S. cities, Christians and anyone in need of medical care.
Republicans have been divided for some time by ideology. But they have been able to keep the theocon, neocon, corporate con and paleocon factions under the same tent because they were winning. Now, divided they fall. The 2008 election will leave them without an outlet to make public policy and without a party leader to rally their troops in hope of a better day.
What this means is we must work harder than ever. This election is our best opportunity in 44 years to build up a majority. The next several years will be our best opportunity to produce progressive legislation. We cannot assume we will ever have a weaker opposition than we do today.
The Republican party is in shambles, but the Democratic party was also in bad shape just four short years ago. We were out of power. There was a battle for the soul of the party. We rose to the challenge and remade our party to be a 21st century electoral machine. Look at what we have done in four years. Look at what we did in just two years.
We have to assume Republicans are capable of a similar comeback. We do not know what the Republican party will look like in 2012 or even 2010, but they will reevaluate every aspect of their party and what will emerge is likely to be a much better and more modern electoral operation.
Rollins knows this is our best shot, too:
For Republicans, if the polls are any indication, Karl Rove and George Bush's plans for a major party realignment may come true. It just won't be the party they wanted.
But he also knows Republicans can find their way out of the wilderness:
But rest assured. Next week, if McCain loses, small groups of folks will start plotting and planning for the candidate of their choice for 2012. To paraphrase Arnold Schwarzenegger's slogan in the movie the Terminator: "We'll be back!"
The year 2012 looks awfully different to Rollins than Dobson. The difference is reality and in a sane world reality will sweep through the Republican party like a grassroots fire. We have to be ready. We have to do everything we can this week.
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Comment by Brandon Gay
on Could Former Vice President Al Gore be Future Vice President Al Gore?
I don't think there is any question Gore would make the best vice president of the possible candidates. I also don't think anyone could give the ticket the expirience it needs better than Gore. And, he does not conflict with Obama's theme of change. I don't know how likely it is he would accept the offer, but he would have to at least give it some thought.
The vice presidency is not nearly as defined of a job as the presidency. He would have far more time to devote to global climate change as vice president than he would as president. And, if a President Obama gave him the responsibility, he could impact the issue more as vice president than he can as a private citizen. It almost seems like a perfect scenario for everyone.