Now that the election is over, the reviews are coming in. We can certainly look at all of them, but if you want comic relief, look at how the republicans are handling defeat… in every wrong way.
Sensible people after losing, would look at what they have done wrong and say ‘Back to the drawing board’. Many republicans are eschewing that common sense approach and are pointing fingers everywhere except at themselves. Hence we get a wide plethora of nonsense from them… from some woman claiming that the republicans lost because Mitt Romney didn’t defend abortion enough, to a senator who call his own constituents stupid (good luck next time Wisconsin senator Ron Johnson,).
Others blame the ‘lamestream media’, accusing them of brainwashing the populace, Chris Christie for effusively praising Obama ( that one I can buy), the super storm for happening, and the most ridiculous is that the country has been taken over by minorities despite whites still making up over 70% of the nation.
The latter is especially important because it underscores the republican racism. They are selling that because, they expected the entire white America to buy into their ‘no decent white person would vote for Obama’ thought process. But not every white American is racist and more than 30% of American whites didn’t buy into that philosophy, or the idea that Romney and the republicans have the solutions to America’s current problems.
Someone should put together all the ridiculous finger-pointing being done by the republicans. Oh they have.
Many republicans are behaving as if they won, demanding Obama to compromise with them. Sorry bros, but losers don’t get to own the commanding heights. But its all part of the ‘old white man’ mentality, like my uncle who believes he is always right.
Take this dude, republican senator Ron Johnson who said in an Associated Press interview that he would “… explain the ‘facts’ of the budget to her…”. Her being the newly elected democratic senator Tammy Baldwin and Johnson condescending attitude despite Baldwin having held congressional office since 1999 (he was elected in 2011), and she with a double major in mathematics and political science.
Despite their current posturing, I believe the the republican leadership will do not only the common sense thing but the right thing. Move to the middle, recognize the voice of the people, and compromise. In that they will face a civil war with the tea partyers but if they hold the line they will win. Mainly because of funding… they have more billionaires that the tea party does.
The republicans will have to by necessity cooperate with Obama and the democrats. Despite their tough guy posturing, they have no choice but to create a better, more compromising face. Most might not realize it as yet, but they soon will recognize that to act the same way now as they did then means the death of that party…. they will not win the next election.
Why? Because the main galvanizing reason behind them getting out their votes on the basis of polarization, will not exist in 2016. They will not face another black man running for president. Racism will not be an active ingredient.
Not by any means saying that most republicans are racist, but saying that it was definitely a factor in the decisions made by quite a large % of republican voters.
Already the GOP is talking about moderating their stance on immigration. Unfortunately this shift is not because they are sympathetic with that cause, but because they recognize that the changing demographics are putting them out to pasture.
The point is that they will have to make much more fundamental change than just slightly browning the ‘old white men’ structure of the party at the lower level. They will have to do much more than self-serving changes. They will have to move their entire philosophy back to the middle and the only way they can do that is to make the tea party defunct.
They have been looking for an opportunity to do that, and if you read my blog of December 2011, you will see that I believe that they have orchestrated this opportunity. Read that blog… I won’t rehash it here.
Already the cry is going up in the GOP that wider changes are needed, not only to the faces but to wider social issues. Pretty soon people will start looking even closer to the party’s dog like slobbering at the feet of corporate lobbyists.
People will soon realize that the protection of the rich comes at their expense. The GOP targeted rural folks for a long time because they are pliable, compliant and easily led.
Obama on the other hand, targets city folks… the young and the educated. The GOP will have to reduce that base, but there is a consequence to inviting educated people into your ranks. They can’t be fed bullshit.
The battle lines are quickly being drawn, and it is interesting to see who is drawing them. Many will be surprised that we have to now put House Leader Boehner amongst the ‘good guys’. Governor Jindall is now a front-runner for change within the party. Do not think he is the only one, or the leader of this now quiet ‘downrising’.
I’m sure many of the new voices will be the young and educated… and these voices will be planted, just enough to start a conversation, then later it might just become a roar… the night of the long knives then begins.
I would like front seats to this but I’m like, allergic to blood spatter…and there will be a lot. Now the fun really starts.
