Republicans Through the Looking Glass

There’s a meeting of Republican state governors going on now down in Miami. That’s appropriate; isn’t Miami where so many people go to retire? Maybe they should all look into getting a condo.

OK, maybe that was unfair. Maybe the Republicans will take a good long look at themselves and see that the ideals that carried them into power, that sustained them in power for so long, no longer reflect the ideals of a majority of American voters. Maybe they will realize that for the party to regain the advantage then the party itself has to change. Maybe they are prepared to accept that it is more their message that has been ill-received than it is that they chose the wrong messenger.

Maybe. Probably not, though.

Sadly, the Governors will probably conclude that they’re not to blame, that their politics/policies/dogma aren’t to blame, that they don’t need to change what they’re saying but just adjust how they’re saying it. I would really love to see them finally abandon the tactics that they have used in the past; the negative attacks, the flag-waiving hype, the fear-mongering, the whole assortment of "dirty tricks" that have served them so well in the past but which didn’t work this time. But I don't think I'll be seeing that.

I fear that Republicans will adhere to the same strategies: "vote-for-me-or-you’ll-die" or "vote-for-me-because-my-flag-is-bigger" or "vote-for-me-because-I’m-a-true-American" or "vote-for-me-because-my-opponent-is-a-communist/socialist/nazi/liberal/whatever." They will continue to make unsupported allegations, exagerated claims, bogus pronouncements, and if they don't work than it's all someone else's fault.

Hasn’t the campaign just concluded taught them anything? Sadly, I don’t think so. I think they will continue to assign blame to people who don’t deserve it, to situations that were beyond their control, to the voters; to anyone, in fact, but themselves, the Republican elite, the people who have taken the low road for so long that to aspire to a higher road would, to them, seem disloyal.

Then again, I don’t actually know what’s going on in Miami. (I’ve never been closer than Daytona.) For all I know, the Republican governors will take that long, hard look at themselves and decide that what is needed is a new party, a less negative party, a party that plays their message more to people’s hopes than to their fears. Maybe they’ll realize that they don’t need a "cooler" Grand Old Party; they need a Grand New Party.

Probably not, though.

The Blues Viking

The opinions here expressed are mine and if you don’t like them you can get your own damn blog.