What does it mean to be a Republican these days?
Pragmatism is also likely to be the driving force behind a softened stand on immigration reform, given the drubbing the GOP suffered among Hispanic and Asian voters last fall. And while Republicans will have a chance to flog the need for spending cuts in new fiscal fights in March, that won’t be a cure-all for their image, especially since President Obama and Democrats will get partial credit for any deal. The upshot, looking ahead: The party’s antitax brand is getting muddied and it is saddled with the perception that it is obstructionist and too conservative.
What’s the answer? One option would be to become the party of better government — not big or small government, but government that’s more efficient, more productive, and more focused on specific goals. The idea would be to position the party as an affirmative, dynamic, reformist, solutions-oriented force.
It wouldn’t be an overnight fix, and Obama and Democrats would surely argue that, Solyndra notwithstanding, they have been good stewards of government. But the party hasn’t made a thematic push on this front since the Clinton-Gore Reinventing Government initiative in 1993.
Commentary magazine has assembled a long list of suggestions about the future of conservatism from “53 leading American thinkers and writers.” Many of them advise conservatives to stand their ground on cultural and economic issues, and wait for Democrats to stumble or for Americans to see the light. But some recommend courses that fit squarely into the category of redefining and improving both the GOP and the federal government.
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Bupkis.
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on January 5, 2013 at 4:23 PM
Never having to take a stand.
sharrukin on January 5, 2013 at 4:26 PM
I’m sure arch-liberal journalist Jill Lawrence has the answer.
Robert_Paulson on January 5, 2013 at 4:26 PM
Get bent. Amnesty is a deal-breaker. So are idiots who try to lie about amnesty by calling it “immigration reform”.
Go straight to hell. And take the GOP cowards with you.
ThePrimordialOrderedPair on January 5, 2013 at 4:27 PM
It means that you don’t stand for anything. That you’ve forgotten what’s important, developed a weak spine and have become the master of compromise.
That you’re no different than a Democrat.
tencole on January 5, 2013 at 4:29 PM
Thread!
OldEnglish on January 5, 2013 at 4:29 PM
How about being the party of individual liberty?
rbj on January 5, 2013 at 4:30 PM
What is this “liberty”, of which you speak, slave?/52%
OldEnglish on January 5, 2013 at 4:32 PM
Nada mucho.
Sacramento on January 5, 2013 at 4:34 PM
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on January 5, 2013 at 4:37 PM
Cubs fans of Politics.
GruntDoc on January 5, 2013 at 4:43 PM
If you’re in DC, it means, for most, to be in Pelosi’s undies and Reid’s crotch.
Schadenfreude on January 5, 2013 at 4:47 PM
It means you like following party Ayatollahs who say one thing and do another once elected.
It means the party should change it’s mascot from an ELEPHANT … to like maybe a MUSHROOM. You can feed BullSh1T to a mushroom all day long and they just eat it up. Same thing for your basic Republican voter.
HondaV65 on January 5, 2013 at 4:48 PM
To be a Republican today means you support the Party of the Democrats.
I joined the Republican party because I wanted to belong to a party that supported Democrat ideals. Fought for the Democrat agenda. I believe in the Democrat agenda of bankruptcy and communism taught in our schools, their war on religion (except radical Islam) and that is why I vote Republican.
I admire also, how the GOP ignores the lies and corruption of the Democrats. How they never ever miss and opportunity to cover up and ignore opportunities handed them by Democrats.. opportunities that, if used politically, might make the Democrat party feel uncomfortable or change the direction of a Democrat attack.
When certain key Democrats are caught not paying their taxes, or take expensive flamboyant $7,000,000. vacations in the middle of our government going bankrupt… The GOP works hard at ignoring these obvious inconsistencies in what the Democrats say vs what they actually do. I also admire how the Republicans ignore massive fraud and waste by the Democrat party. And no one ignores direct personal attack by Democrats better than a Republican leader does! Why.. it warms my hears when a Democrat personally attacks a fellow Republican by falsely accusing him or her of being too white or too rich or throwing grandma over a cliff… and the entire GOP leadership will respond, if at all, with a s mile and a handshake.
Yes… why do I love the Republican party so much? Because they are so much like the Democrat party. And honestly, if it wasn’t for our current crop of Republican leaders, I don’t think the Democrat party would be near what they are today.
JellyToast on January 5, 2013 at 4:57 PM
Excellent post!
elfman on January 5, 2013 at 5:01 PM
It means you don’t even get kissed when you’re getting screwed.
Since Republicans are turning into Democrat Lite, we should just adopt their symbol. They have the Donkey, we get the Donkey punch.
29Victor on January 5, 2013 at 5:19 PM
There’s nothing the GOP can do but lose. The game is rigged for the GOP to lose even when it “wins”. The best thing to do is the recognize this fact and to accept it.
The absolute worst thing the GOP can do is to give in on immigration.
ninjapirate on January 5, 2013 at 5:44 PM
If we had committed principled leadership in the House… it wouldn’t matter a hill of beans whether the Dems had Obama, Harry Reid controlling the Senate and the entire media against us… We would win nearly every battle we focused on. And sometimes.. you don’t have to win a battle to win it. You just have make the other side consider if the fight is worth the price.
But who we have now are a bunch of thumb suckers. Good for nothing. They represent nothing. In fact, I think they’d rather lose so they truly not would be responsible for anything at all.. and still get paid.
JellyToast on January 5, 2013 at 6:20 PM
There is no Republican party. There is but Americans (us), proles (them), and the “inner party” (elected/appointed Republicans and Democrats).
That’s it.
Punchenko on January 5, 2013 at 6:27 PM
Well let me save you some trouble then POP’s. You can go on ahead and consider that deal broken. It’s gonna happen and they’re not worried about losing you.
What would YOU have them do?
Genuine on January 5, 2013 at 7:01 PM