This year’s election meltdown for the Grand Old Party had as much to do with the public rejection of the status quo as it did to any Republican failings. The combination of an unpopular president, a seemingly endless war, and a depressing economy were too much to overcome. However, the party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, and Reagan must alter their identity if they plan on regaining the majority control they have held for the better part of the last three decades.
The GOP of the new millennium has proven to be fiscally irresponsible and oblivious to limited government policy. These are some of the core beliefs of the modern American conservative, and many of the current Congressional members got what was coming for them when they rejected those central tenets of conservatism.
This party needs a new revolution. Call it “Reagan Revolution II: The Comeback.” Whatever suits your fancy, the Republican party is due for some mandatory house cleaning in order to reinvent itself to the American public in 2010 as it did in 1994. That was the GOP that this county identified with.
They must reinvent themselves, rejuvenate the base, and get back to the principles that made them so popular amongst everyday Americans: small government, low taxes, strong national security, free market capitalism, and local control of education. These were the ideals that this center-right country fell in love with when Ronald Reagan came to rescue America from its Jimmy Carter nightmares in 1981. These were the principles that Newt Gingrich and the GOP Congress promised in its “Contract With America.”
Sometime in between then and now a pandering, politically minded GOP ascended on Capitol Hill, poisoning the pillars of conservatism. They started spending out of control, expanding government bureaucracy, and currying favor to corrupt lobbyists. And because of this, the American public spoke in this year’s election to the tune of “hope” and “change” in the form of Barack Obama. Senator Obama didn’t win this election because the country is moving in a new direction. He didn’t even win because the majority of Americans buy into his message of hope and change. Senator Obama won this year because Reagan Democrats, Independents, and Clinton Republicans became disillusioned with the ever-changing Republican identity.
Exit polls by CNN found that 78% of voters were either conservative or moderate. Further, election polls strongly suggested that a clear majority of voters indentified with common conservative principles. Despite this, Obama won with 53% of the popular vote. What gives? The crumbling Republican brand. This brand is in need of a serious makeover if it wants to compete in 2010 and 2012. The mission starts today.
Guest Posted by Brad Christie
