I've covered here and here on the how the Republican Party is trying to renew itself after its embarrassing second loss to Obama. And no, the party is not becoming more libertarian. Far from it, in fact.
They're basically just trying to find the right words to use to get themselves back in control of the sword. As Machiavelli pointed out, the people need to be tricked, so the Republicans are doing some serious thinking and brainstorming in an effort to find the right trick.
Democrats have beat them twice now, and feelings have been hurt. Republicans are starting to suffer from the withdrawal of having control of the tank that tramples the populace and takes away their money and freedoms.
Republicans can relate to the following insight from Ludwig Von Mises:
"The worst thing that can happen to a socialist is to have his country ruled by socialists who are not his friends."So Republicans are thinking...They're mulling...
Peter Wehner, who worked for Reagan, George H.W., and George W. has a few ideas that he's tossed into the ring. So let's take a look at them.
The party must shake off an intellectual rigidity that has set in. Some examples of this include declaring that not raising taxes is an inviolable principle rather than a reasonable policy judgment and insisting that global warming is a hoax. And a self-confident conservative movement would not bar the gay group GOProud or New Jersey Governor Chris Christie from its events, as the Conservative Political Action Conference has done.In other words, soften up guys. Your red ties are pulled too tight.
Taxes? Global Warming? The people dig these things. Look at them walking around with their reusable bags and rummaging through their filthy trash making sure the plastic bottle is separate from the tomato stained aluminum can.
And what's with the Christie snub?
So Judas likes to party with the Democrats once in awhile. He's a free spirit.
He still has that Republican iron fist. Don't forget Judas's wonderful performance during the Superstorm. He instituted price controls, broke contracts, bullied private companies, and siphoned off billions of dollars from the rest of the country to pay for the damage! Don't overlook these wonderful leadership qualities.
Get with the program! Loose as a goose....loose as a goose....
Wehner continues:
There is an alternative conservative tradition to draw on that seeks to accommodate timeless principles to shifting circumstances, that rejects unyielding orthodoxy and believes prudence, not purity, is the cardinal political virtue. And while it believes in limited government, it is not carelessly antigovernment.Now, in reality, a person need only look at a chart of the federal budget and the federal debt to see that there is no limited government, and surely no antigovernment anywhere in sight.
There is no push and pull to be found. It's just a constant and relentless increase.
But the problem that Wehner is pointing out is that the rhetoric is losing steam. Republicans are the kings of limited government rhetoric. But the populace has been worn down and brainwashed to such a degree that it's probably safe to get rid of the rhetoric. The "purity" is holding Republicans back.
Wehner sees signs of this "intellectual unfreezing" and believes that it is good:
Now for the good news: There is an unmistakable, if far from complete, movement in this direction since the 2012 defeat. An intellectual unfreezing is taking place. It's actually a pretty interesting time to be a Republican. The Democratic Party found itself in a similar moment in the early 1990s. The party was open to a New Democrat--and out of this emerged William Jefferson Clinton. The GOP awaits its version of the man from Hope.That last sentence sums it up nicely.
The Democrats found the right entertainers. Slick Willy and Mr. Hope and Change both stole the show.
Republicans need that.
Think dammit!
Think!
Come On! |
Follow @ChrisRossini on Twitter
Isn't there another worthless Bush offspring in the pipe?
ReplyDeletein all that time when prudence ran the show in republican party, which party was in the majority?
ReplyDeleteOr a token brown skinned candidate?
ReplyDeleteOne man isn't going to any difference when the Party is rotten at the core.
ReplyDeleteI assume this is the same reasoning behind Glen Beck's "libertarian" nonsense. The other brand of despotism is faltering badly, so a new safe alternative is needed before people start doing anything dangerous. Like thinking.
ReplyDelete