Religious right could be left beind by new Republican plan
“The report didn’t mention religion much, if at all,” said Tim Wildmon, president of the American Family Association. “You cannot grow your party by distancing yourself from your base, and this report doesn’t reinforce the values that attracted me and many other people into the Republican Party in the first place. It just talks about reaching out to other groups.”
Sandy Rios, an Evangelical radio host and Fox News contributor, said the RNC report’s proposals amount to a “namby-pamby” abdication of religious values, and warned that the party could soon lose the grassroots engine that has powered its electoral victories for decades…
In the 2008 Republican primaries, they were split between a culture-warring Mitt Romney and the insurgent Baptist minister Mike Huckabee, and neither won. Then, in 2012, conservative Evangelicals vacillated between a bevy of Republican candidates, allowing the well-financed Mormon guy — who had dropped the social agenda rhetoric and was now just talking math — to navigate his way around them and grab hold of the nomination.
“They have really been in the wilderness since then,” said Patrick Millsap, who served as Newt Gingrich’s 2012 chief of staff.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2
Just in case folks thought I had tinfoil on my head when I implied the order has gone out on the Left to play up our divisions…
Sekhmet on March 20, 2013 at 1:45 PM
This is what passes for “Republican thought” these days.
I have to say, the one thing about amnesty which will make me happy is watching these guys implode and lose spectacularly.
Doomberg on March 20, 2013 at 1:45 PM
Again, why does the GOP elite even listen to the liberals on anything? They WANT US TO LOSE! The only group that reliably showed up for Romney was the So-Cons. The Ronulans/Libertarian/Stoners didn’t show. Yet you read the libs, and those are who the GOP should base their party on?
Iblis on March 20, 2013 at 1:45 PM
The only option is changing the electorate. Either we need new voting laws (not going to happen) or we need to change the culture (difficult but possible) or literally change the electorate by outbreeding the opposition (fun! but very long-term).
happytobehere on March 20, 2013 at 1:47 PM
It’s always been pretty easy to vote. What has been different about 2008 and 2012 was that nice black man like Martin Luther King or something, like, and it’s like so totally cool and I show how cool I am by voting for him, you know.
Put an old white guy or an old white woman at the top of the D ticket, and manicures and the Kardashians become more fun.
Sekhmet on March 20, 2013 at 1:48 PM
Yeah, just a nastier version of the Democrats. Let them have the party. Er, keep it. The GOP’s dead anyway.
ddrintn on March 20, 2013 at 1:50 PM
Don’t count on it. I think Hillary would pulverize any of the “acceptable” GOP potential nominees at this point. The “vote against the Dems” days are over, if they were ever here to begin with.
ddrintn on March 20, 2013 at 1:53 PM
The Pew Hispanic center noted a big drop in the birth rate of Hispanic immigrants of unverified legality in 2010. My own observations tell me that illegals come here for a few years to earn money and have the taxpayers pay their OB-GYN and initial pediatric bills, and then they go back. Middle schools and high schools are not remotely as crowded as elementaries and preschools. If the immigrants have stopped having babies, they seem to do this within a couple of years of leaving the country. Net immigration went 0 on 2007. Looks like without amnesty, it will go negative, probably starting next year if not already.
There’s your changing electorate.
Sekhmet on March 20, 2013 at 1:54 PM
I posted this on another thread, but it also applies here. My theory on what appears to be happening:
This should not be surprising to those of us who watch politics. The whole of Washington is moving left on social issues which, by the way, is what is encouraging Rand Paul to espouse his libertarian leanings as well as all these politicians to come out for leftist policy. Just my opinion.
KickandSwimMom on March 20, 2013 at 1:56 PM
Oh, I can tell you how that will work out. The GOP will be headed straight down for Whigdom on a greased pole.
ddrintn on March 20, 2013 at 1:57 PM
*I* was being sarcastic, Doomberg. I don’t sound like Amanda F. Marcotte unironically. I’m a socon (beadsqueezing variety) and I share your sentiment.
DRPrice on March 20, 2013 at 1:58 PM
That seems to be the plan: there’s this El Dorado of fiscally-conservative/socially-liberal voters just itching to vote GOP if only the stank of social conservatism could be Febreezed away. Because Senator Carly Fiorina and stuff.
Let’s give Moesart and Company their fondest wish and try it out in 2014.
DRPrice on March 20, 2013 at 2:03 PM
Either this is sarcasm or an excellent example of why America isn’t worth saving. How can you possibly win with an electorate this stupid? Why would you want to?
happytobehere on March 20, 2013 at 2:06 PM
Some things never change.
Genuine is still genuinely stupid.
Schadenfreude on March 20, 2013 at 2:07 PM
Hillary is not black.
They’ll run Booker, or such, for the “first really black president”. Obama is only half black and not a descendant of slave, in the USA.
Schadenfreude on March 20, 2013 at 2:09 PM
Ever see the movie “Memento”? Unfortunately, there’s a strand of conservatism that has the same attention span and inability to engage in long-term thinking. Yeah, and it’s not just conservatives, I know.
DRPrice on March 20, 2013 at 2:11 PM
Michelle
happytobehere on March 20, 2013 at 2:11 PM
My apologies for the error.
This is what I’ve believed since 2011, though with some modifications. I think they’re trying to kick the ENTIRE base to the curb – social AND fiscal conservatives – and create a coalition of party line voters (i.e. people who blindly vote the whole Republican ticket without giving it much thought) and center-left Democrats dissatisfied with Obama’s governance.
They tried it with Romney in 2012 and it failed miserably as the left-leaning independents they won could not make up for the numbers in the base that stayed home. Rather than abandon this plan, they’ve decided to try to buffer this “new fantasy base” with Hispanics via amnesty – they think they can buy the Hispanic vote with welfare.
Honestly, I think they have hit the point where they would rather lose without us than compromise and win with us. The endless rain of vitriol unloaded on both social AND fiscal conservatives by phony “moderate” Republicans is clearly a reflection of this. Frankly, if they want a divorce, I’m all for it. We will do much better starting a new party from scratch than continuing to lurch left with these guys.
Doomberg on March 20, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Nice try but…yawn.
29Victor on March 20, 2013 at 2:30 PM
Doomberg on March 20, 2013 at 2:25 PM
Agree with you that the GOP was trying to kick conservatives to the curb with Romney in 2012–and in a sense they succeeded because a large amount of them stayed home. However, I do believe that their new coalition has at its core moderately fiscal members from both parties. This moderately fiscal platform will be about the only thing that will distinguish the GOP from the democrats and will attract those who are not on board with the democrats leftist agenda.
This last election cycle soured me on the GOP in a major way. I frankly hope they implode sooner rather than later.
KickandSwimMom on March 20, 2013 at 2:58 PM
Whoa. Must be a full moon or some’n.
Ladysmith CulchaVulcha on March 20, 2013 at 2:59 PM
Comment pages: « Previous 1 2