I once was lost, but now I'm…to be continued
Fabion Seaton
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: Always Fair, Never Balanced
The Republican Party is in shambles. It is Tyson circa '04, it is Stallone in Rocky Balboa, it is the former-plastic turned overweight gold digger. I cannot tell you where they made the wrong turn, but they are terribly lost. I came to this realization following two striking instances that occurred within the last two weeks.
It began with Newt Gingrich saying that the Republican Party was seeing the end of post-Reagan conservativism. Come again, Senator? You said what? That is a completely absurd notion. Reagan galvanized the Republican Party by pulling together a coalition consisting of conservatives and liberals alike. In the two decades since his presidency ended, neocons, bushies, and fanatic evangelicals have thoroughly eroded Reagan's body of work. I will be frank, if the Republican Party truly espoused to their views of limited government, limited spending, and limited intervention, I would vote for a Republican candidate. If the Republican Party stopped pandering to loud-mouth, over-opinionated and under-educated Americans, and started tugging at my mind and logic as opposed to my assumed nationalist zeal, I would vote for a Republican candidate. This new Republican Party is a slap in the face of Reagan because it is divisive, has a terrible image, and lacks leadership. If Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin, and Bobby Jindal are the faces of American conservativism, count me out. If Republicans do not know if they are following the lead of Michael Steele or Rush Limbaugh, count me out.
Speaking of lack of leadership, a captain-less ship comes to mind when I think of the modern GOP. Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh are trading barbs like Undertaker and Stone cold Steve Austin. It is sad and pathetic. Rush is an entertainer. He gets paid more than 30 million dollars per year to get people riled up enough to listen to him. Michael Steele has had his job for less than two months, and already he is apologizing to Rush? For those of you that are not in the know, D.L. Hughley baited Steele by calling Rush the "de facto leader of the republican party". Baiting aside, it showed a chink in the GOPs armor. They are undivided to say the least. Steele should have never entered into a battle of words with a man who berates guests on his show for a living. They remind me of the Democrats circa 2000. There are already calling for Steele's resignation. Their two early hopes for 2012, Palin and Jindal both flopped miserably. One of them has proven that she has no place in national politics, and the other gave a Mr. Rogers impersonation on national television. It just makes me shake my head.
I am calling to arms all the true conservatives; the conservatives that believe in Reagan's vision of bipartisan coalitions and cooperation; the conservatives who wished they could have replaced McCain 2008 with McCain 2000. That's what I wish for with this Republican Party. Until the GOP finds itself, it will continue to lose me, people like me, and elections.
It began with Newt Gingrich saying that the Republican Party was seeing the end of post-Reagan conservativism. Come again, Senator? You said what? That is a completely absurd notion. Reagan galvanized the Republican Party by pulling together a coalition consisting of conservatives and liberals alike. In the two decades since his presidency ended, neocons, bushies, and fanatic evangelicals have thoroughly eroded Reagan's body of work. I will be frank, if the Republican Party truly espoused to their views of limited government, limited spending, and limited intervention, I would vote for a Republican candidate. If the Republican Party stopped pandering to loud-mouth, over-opinionated and under-educated Americans, and started tugging at my mind and logic as opposed to my assumed nationalist zeal, I would vote for a Republican candidate. This new Republican Party is a slap in the face of Reagan because it is divisive, has a terrible image, and lacks leadership. If Joe the Plumber, Sarah Palin, and Bobby Jindal are the faces of American conservativism, count me out. If Republicans do not know if they are following the lead of Michael Steele or Rush Limbaugh, count me out.
Speaking of lack of leadership, a captain-less ship comes to mind when I think of the modern GOP. Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh are trading barbs like Undertaker and Stone cold Steve Austin. It is sad and pathetic. Rush is an entertainer. He gets paid more than 30 million dollars per year to get people riled up enough to listen to him. Michael Steele has had his job for less than two months, and already he is apologizing to Rush? For those of you that are not in the know, D.L. Hughley baited Steele by calling Rush the "de facto leader of the republican party". Baiting aside, it showed a chink in the GOPs armor. They are undivided to say the least. Steele should have never entered into a battle of words with a man who berates guests on his show for a living. They remind me of the Democrats circa 2000. There are already calling for Steele's resignation. Their two early hopes for 2012, Palin and Jindal both flopped miserably. One of them has proven that she has no place in national politics, and the other gave a Mr. Rogers impersonation on national television. It just makes me shake my head.
I am calling to arms all the true conservatives; the conservatives that believe in Reagan's vision of bipartisan coalitions and cooperation; the conservatives who wished they could have replaced McCain 2008 with McCain 2000. That's what I wish for with this Republican Party. Until the GOP finds itself, it will continue to lose me, people like me, and elections.
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