In his appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Democratic strategist James Carville was asked what the Republican Party has to do in order to recover. Mr. Carville pointed out that “It’s hard when you’re a congressional party.” What he meant by that is that without a titular head, a party is relatively undisciplined and often sounds cacophonous. The press will focus on the most outrageous statements made by backbenchers, which leads to responsible members of the party often finding themselves with “a fist in your forehead.”
That’s a fair point. At the same time, a period like the Republican Party is in right now can also lead to some intellectual creativity, with good ideas being generated by governors and members of Congress. Wilderness years can help a party that has become ideologically rigid and somewhat out of touch with the changing nature of America. As Rod Dreher pointed out in a recent symposium in COMMENTARY, in the short run political cohesion and effectiveness have their advantages, but this can be “a disaster for a party that needs–as every party does–to have its intellectual base replenished by fresh, creative discussion and argument.”
I also agree with Carville and “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough that a strong leader eventually needs to emerge to help the GOP regain its political footing. But that will have to wait at least until the next presidential cycle, which is still a ways off.
Until then, Republicans have to do the best they can given the situation in which they find themselves. And this can be–it actually is–an intellectually interesting moment for the GOP and conservative movement, which are engaged in fairly searching and healthy re-examinations. More needs to be done (Ross Douthat explains why here). Still, reactionary liberalism seems to me to be exhausted and unequipped to address the problems of the 21stcentury. Which means on the national level the Republican Party and conservatism will have their chance again. When it comes, readiness will be all.
It's not so much which leader will emerge, but which message. On the one side are the traditional Republicans who want to compromise with the Liberal Democrats, because it is inevitable that our country is 'evolving' into a more progressive society. This is the side the Hollywood Media machine is working for, and any Republican who wants good press will bow to the Hollywood gods.____On the other side are the Conservative Republicans who do not want compromise, certainly not without getting something in return. They want to challenge the Liberal Democrats for the heart and soul of our country, to pull us back from the brink of Marxist Socialism. This is probably where most Republican voters would be found.____So, the question is, Will our next Republican leader be a RINO 'moderate or a Conservative Warrior, taking the fight not only to the Liberal Democrats, but also to the Hollywood Media machine? (You can probably guess which side I am pulling for. It's the warriors, not the RINO's.)
James Carville played politically naive conservatives for fools during the 1992 presidential election. He was among the creators of the strategy to manipulate these easily angered individuals into abandoning Bush 41 and helping Bill Clinton capture the White House. The GOP has never fully recovered. Bush 43 won in 2000 primarily because of the Monica incident. If it had not been for Clinton's zipper problems—the Democrats would have held the presidency for the last 21 years.
The system is stacked: generational brainwashing in K-12 (self-esteem boosters), ensconced liberal academia, cultural leftist poses in Hollywood and music and sports, and civil institution parasites (public unions, trial lawyers, short-sighted crony capitalism corporations, etc.). n nAdd to that the gerrymandering problem that is too often supported by short-sighted Republicans in liberal states and vice versa: this destroys both real compromise and the skills for compromising and keeps Republicans from even trying to talk to inner city poor and minorities. n nA leader needs to come forward and help dismantle this very aristocratic system of largess that spills out of Washington. People will scream and shout to lose their second home mortgage tax breaks and wind farm subsidies because they've staked their life on being given money. For all the BS about fiscal restraint, most Republican candidates still couldn't tell Iowans that the ethanol subsidy was and is a bad idea. We need a leader. n nAll the cowards, Rubrio, etc. al. who chose not to run, are not going to be that leader. They will be better than a Democrat, but the more I look back at the Bush years, the more I realize that he was not a true leader (domestically). He was a better placeholder than a Democrat, no more.