We’ve learned the Republican Party has been admitted to Hospital USA and is in critical condition after being slammed in the rear end by the Democrat Party in the 2012 presidential election. The diagnosis for recovery is poor. The party is on life support. It’s white voter count is dropping fast and the party appears to be unable to boost it pool of brown, black, beige and female voters to help it regain strength in future elections.
The near fatal accident was caused by Mitt Romney's epic loss of the 2012 presidential election, despite the odds in his favor of an awful economy and historically high unemployment. Romney lost the woman vote by double digits to President Obama (44%-55%) along with the black, Hispanic and youth vote. Caught up in the euphoria of winning 60% of the white vote, 78% of the evangelical vote and 52% of the male vote, Romney lost control of the Republican party on the political freeway, came to an abrupt stop, resulting in the collision with the Democrat party.
The doctor called in the Party’s guardians and explained the old drugs “weren’t working” and offered a rarely used, risky treatment to revive the Republican Party. With a grave look, the doctor suggested a transplant of new faces and voices into the soul the GOP.
Listening to the doctor’s recommendation, the white and mostly elder men gasped in disbelief. After some consternation and talk amongst themselves, the party leaders agreed to the try the treatment. They turned to the House Republicans who elected Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA) as House Republican Conference Chairwoman. “Whew,” the men uttered with a heavy sigh, thinking all now would be well.
But the doctor warned, “Making McMorris part of the leadership team and the highest ranking woman among House Republicans will help the party regain consciousness but it’s only a short term fix.”
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“What do you mean?” howled those in the establishment who were present, Haley Barbour, Reince Priebus, Karl Rove, Ed Gillespie, Ralph Reed, Rush Limbaugh, Gary Bauer and Mitt Romney, “You said all we needed was new blood.”
Casting a troubled look at the men, the doctor revealed that a scan of the Republican Party’s brain revealed it was suffering from a reality disorder called “voter denial” which has resulted in a serious “image problem.”
The doctor explained the party and Romney had failed to see the American electorate was getting browner not whiter. “The GOP will need serious treatments to begin seeing 28% of American voters are minorities and the number is growing. Never again will the party be able to win elections by just going after the white vote,” said the good doctor.
“No, that’s not true,” Romney interjected. “President Obama won because he focused on giving targeted groups a big gift —so he made a big effort on small things.”
“You’re not living in reality that’s the problem,” replied the doctor. “Obama exploited the minority, women and youth vote with empty promises but you ignored those groups because in your world view their votes didn’t matter. Therefore, you are system of the party’s illness.”
Panic stricken and trembling with fear, the men pleaded with the doctor, “How does the Republican Party get better? How do we win again?"
“Sit down,” said the doctor. They obliged. The doctor gave the grim diagnosis. The problem he said is the GOP keeps running losing candidates, focuses too much on wedge issues like abortion and defining personhood and doesn’t bother growing the party beyond white people.
The doctor recommended an intense treatment plan for the Republican Party, gathering binders full of conservative minority and women resumes and diversifying the ranks of Hill, campaign and RNC staff. As for candidates, the doctor advised the party to start thinking outside the box, recruiting candidates to run for state and national offices, who look more like the changing face of America.
“If you’re serious about getting the party back on its feet,” declared the doctor, “you old white guys will open up the club’s guardianship to new blood. You’re literally killing the GOP with your image and tunnel vision.”
They grimaced as the words sank in and a long silence followed. The doctor couldn’t tell if they were willing to go forward with the treatment or let the party die a slow death. He waited for an answer.
The moral of this melodrama is change must come to the Republican Party or as my father warned, America will find itself governed by one party. We don’t need to change our message but we need an image evolution and we need different messengers and to start talking to different people. The GOP is good at making our message boring and angry but not exciting and sexy.
The GOP has been on the wrong “trajectory” for years but only after Romney’s epic failure are Republicans having their “oh, crap” moment. What’s laughable is the very people like Newt Gingrich, Ralph Reed and Haley Barbour, who said the party needs “a very serious proctology exam” and must be more inclusive are the same white men who’ve been in power for decades and done nothing to change things. To borrow from Mitt, “what you’ve been doing hasn’t been working.” Maybe it’s time for the Republican Party to change the people in the driver’s seat.
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