Where the Republican Party Went Wrong
When I was younger, I identified strongly with the Republican Party. I found them to be the party with the most common-sense. They were for balanced budgets, smaller government, and balancing a strong economy with a strong national defense. All of these things appealed to me. As time went on, I found myself disagreeing with their social stances, particularly the influence of the Christian Coalition.
By 2000, I had pretty much become a moderate, and hardened my stances as the years went on. I supported John McCain in the GOP primaries against George W. Bush because I felt McCain was more qualified, more pragmatic, and more sensible as president. However, when faced with the choice of Bush or Gore (and Kerry in 2004), I chose Bush both times. My defense of his presidency and why I finally gave up on him are well-chronicled in this blog and need no elaboration here. Suffice to say, I recognize that the Republicans chose to break with the idea of fiscal conservatism for one of guns and butter (or in this case, guns and prescription meds). Very reminiscent of LBJ, with similar disastrous results. In 2008, McCain finally got his chance, but voters had had enough of Republicans in the White House, and I guess I can't blame them.
I had hoped that my fellow Republicans could change their stripes and return to their roots following the election of President Obama. Instead, they turned into full-fledged copies of Democrats, at least in terms of being the opposition party that lives to oppose. Rush Limbaugh declared that he hoped Obama would fail, and then pretty much assumed the mantle of head of the party, as everyone (including the actual head of the RNC) went groveling to him any time he attacked them for stepping out of line. Furthermore, he declared that the Republicans were in the shape they were in BECAUSE they had nominated John McCain. In other words, the sign was posted outside the party headquarters proclaiming, "Moderates need not apply." The Tea Party was thought to be good in principle, with their beliefs in returning to fiscal conservatism and libertarian leanings... but it turned out they were small-l "libertarians" and not large-L "Libertarians", in that they believed in less government... when it suited their purposes. Being called a RINO for my views grew tiresome, and the tragic shooting of Rep. Giffords only made me more eager to see more compromise and civility and less rhetorical warfare.
Instead, we got this showdown over the debt ceiling, and this is where I finally gave up on the Republican Party. Needing to cut spending in order to get our fiscal house in order was certainly a necessary evil, and those who continue to stick their heads in the sand and say there is no debt crisis are just fooling themselves into thinking we'll never hit the level of Greece. The president's grand bargain was a gutsy but pragmatic move, inviting venom from the left wing of his own party, but recognizing the need for cuts and increases in revenue. But the GOP wants no part of it. Blame Grover Norquist, blame the Tea Party, but mostly the blame belongs to every single member of that party (especially the leadership) for deciding that ideological orthodoxy trumps everything. When John Boehner walked out of the talks and Eric Cantor declared that even TALKING to the very president whom they hoped would fail was a sign that they had compromised, I said enough was enough.
And now we get the final act... the Republicans, having found themselves on the wrong side of the argument by stonewalling the best possible solution, have decided that winning the argument is now more important than actually averting a default. After wasting a week with the pointless political maneuver that was the "cut, cap, and balance" bill, they have now decided to send a stopgap measure to the Senate, knowing that either the Senate will again vote it down or that President Obama will veto it. Either way, the GOP can then proclaim to the cameras that it was the Democrats who caused the default by stopping their plan. I fear I'm not making that bold of a prediction here, but... America, we're going to default. And the worst part is that as our economic ship goes down, the people steering it will be too busy blaming each other to get us into the lifeboats.
And why is all this happening? Some Tea Party-inspired move to defend free market capitalism from antagonistic freedom-robbing forces such as Obamacare? Hate to break it to all of you strict Constitutionalists (of which I am one): there is NOTHING in the Constitution about protecting free markets or capitalism, which was in its nascent stages when the Constitution was passed. Therefore, if the Supreme Court decides that the commerce clause allows Congress to mandate health insurance for everyone and allows the federal government to run health care, then precedent is established for nationalizing anything and everything. If Republicans truly believe that the federal government should do all it can to protect the free exercise of capitalism, then they should have worked to put such language in the Constitution when they were in power in the 1990s and 2000s. What did we get instead? The Defense Of Marriage Act, and talk of constitutional amendments to define marriage, ban flag-burning, and other parts of the Right's moral agenda.
The moral agenda has so taken over the Republican Party that we cannot trust the party to do otherwise when they are in power. Therefore, what are our GOP presidential candidates talking about when they debate? Not jobs, not managing our deficits... they want to keep talking about DOMA and constitutional amendments on marriage and whether the federal government should continue to have the power to decide that marriage is between a man or a woman. There is no reason to believe that their top priority would ever be anything but an agenda of government intervention in private lives and a rollback of private liberties, rather than an agenda of truly protecting freedom and liberty, not to mention creating a stable capitalist economy.
Suffice to say, I feel more Libertarian than Republican, and the truth is I have been for a long time. My only reason to identify as a Republican was to hope that I could try to turn things back in the right direction by throwing my support behind a common-sense GOP candidate in 2012. Instead, I don't see anyone who fits that description. Instead, we have Michelle Bachmann leading the polls in Iowa. If it was Election Day 2012 today and I had a choice between any of the declared Republican candidates and President Obama, I'd hold my nose and vote for Obama, because at least he is trying to solve our problems and has proven himself not to be a pure ideologue. The shoe is truly on the other foot when I would vote for Obama today for the same reasons I voted for Bush twice.
Therefore, as of today, I am declaring that I am no longer a member of the Republican Party. Don't get too excited over this, my liberal Democrat friends... I have no intention of joining your side. I'm part of a growing chorus of Americans who long for a pragmatic third way in this country. Conservatives used to claim that liberals treat politics as their religion, but it has become clear that the Right worships at the altar of ideology just as much as the Left does. Our elected representatives have truly reached the point where scoring rhetorical points is more important than keeping the country afloat. The consequences are truly tragic, and sadly, they are only beginning.
By 2000, I had pretty much become a moderate, and hardened my stances as the years went on. I supported John McCain in the GOP primaries against George W. Bush because I felt McCain was more qualified, more pragmatic, and more sensible as president. However, when faced with the choice of Bush or Gore (and Kerry in 2004), I chose Bush both times. My defense of his presidency and why I finally gave up on him are well-chronicled in this blog and need no elaboration here. Suffice to say, I recognize that the Republicans chose to break with the idea of fiscal conservatism for one of guns and butter (or in this case, guns and prescription meds). Very reminiscent of LBJ, with similar disastrous results. In 2008, McCain finally got his chance, but voters had had enough of Republicans in the White House, and I guess I can't blame them.
I had hoped that my fellow Republicans could change their stripes and return to their roots following the election of President Obama. Instead, they turned into full-fledged copies of Democrats, at least in terms of being the opposition party that lives to oppose. Rush Limbaugh declared that he hoped Obama would fail, and then pretty much assumed the mantle of head of the party, as everyone (including the actual head of the RNC) went groveling to him any time he attacked them for stepping out of line. Furthermore, he declared that the Republicans were in the shape they were in BECAUSE they had nominated John McCain. In other words, the sign was posted outside the party headquarters proclaiming, "Moderates need not apply." The Tea Party was thought to be good in principle, with their beliefs in returning to fiscal conservatism and libertarian leanings... but it turned out they were small-l "libertarians" and not large-L "Libertarians", in that they believed in less government... when it suited their purposes. Being called a RINO for my views grew tiresome, and the tragic shooting of Rep. Giffords only made me more eager to see more compromise and civility and less rhetorical warfare.
Instead, we got this showdown over the debt ceiling, and this is where I finally gave up on the Republican Party. Needing to cut spending in order to get our fiscal house in order was certainly a necessary evil, and those who continue to stick their heads in the sand and say there is no debt crisis are just fooling themselves into thinking we'll never hit the level of Greece. The president's grand bargain was a gutsy but pragmatic move, inviting venom from the left wing of his own party, but recognizing the need for cuts and increases in revenue. But the GOP wants no part of it. Blame Grover Norquist, blame the Tea Party, but mostly the blame belongs to every single member of that party (especially the leadership) for deciding that ideological orthodoxy trumps everything. When John Boehner walked out of the talks and Eric Cantor declared that even TALKING to the very president whom they hoped would fail was a sign that they had compromised, I said enough was enough.
And now we get the final act... the Republicans, having found themselves on the wrong side of the argument by stonewalling the best possible solution, have decided that winning the argument is now more important than actually averting a default. After wasting a week with the pointless political maneuver that was the "cut, cap, and balance" bill, they have now decided to send a stopgap measure to the Senate, knowing that either the Senate will again vote it down or that President Obama will veto it. Either way, the GOP can then proclaim to the cameras that it was the Democrats who caused the default by stopping their plan. I fear I'm not making that bold of a prediction here, but... America, we're going to default. And the worst part is that as our economic ship goes down, the people steering it will be too busy blaming each other to get us into the lifeboats.
And why is all this happening? Some Tea Party-inspired move to defend free market capitalism from antagonistic freedom-robbing forces such as Obamacare? Hate to break it to all of you strict Constitutionalists (of which I am one): there is NOTHING in the Constitution about protecting free markets or capitalism, which was in its nascent stages when the Constitution was passed. Therefore, if the Supreme Court decides that the commerce clause allows Congress to mandate health insurance for everyone and allows the federal government to run health care, then precedent is established for nationalizing anything and everything. If Republicans truly believe that the federal government should do all it can to protect the free exercise of capitalism, then they should have worked to put such language in the Constitution when they were in power in the 1990s and 2000s. What did we get instead? The Defense Of Marriage Act, and talk of constitutional amendments to define marriage, ban flag-burning, and other parts of the Right's moral agenda.
The moral agenda has so taken over the Republican Party that we cannot trust the party to do otherwise when they are in power. Therefore, what are our GOP presidential candidates talking about when they debate? Not jobs, not managing our deficits... they want to keep talking about DOMA and constitutional amendments on marriage and whether the federal government should continue to have the power to decide that marriage is between a man or a woman. There is no reason to believe that their top priority would ever be anything but an agenda of government intervention in private lives and a rollback of private liberties, rather than an agenda of truly protecting freedom and liberty, not to mention creating a stable capitalist economy.
Suffice to say, I feel more Libertarian than Republican, and the truth is I have been for a long time. My only reason to identify as a Republican was to hope that I could try to turn things back in the right direction by throwing my support behind a common-sense GOP candidate in 2012. Instead, I don't see anyone who fits that description. Instead, we have Michelle Bachmann leading the polls in Iowa. If it was Election Day 2012 today and I had a choice between any of the declared Republican candidates and President Obama, I'd hold my nose and vote for Obama, because at least he is trying to solve our problems and has proven himself not to be a pure ideologue. The shoe is truly on the other foot when I would vote for Obama today for the same reasons I voted for Bush twice.
Therefore, as of today, I am declaring that I am no longer a member of the Republican Party. Don't get too excited over this, my liberal Democrat friends... I have no intention of joining your side. I'm part of a growing chorus of Americans who long for a pragmatic third way in this country. Conservatives used to claim that liberals treat politics as their religion, but it has become clear that the Right worships at the altar of ideology just as much as the Left does. Our elected representatives have truly reached the point where scoring rhetorical points is more important than keeping the country afloat. The consequences are truly tragic, and sadly, they are only beginning.
Labels: politics, Republicans
posted by Dave | 4:13 PM
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