Posted on 11/08/2012 6:33:38 AM PST by brother_humility
For the last two days I've been hearing conservatives decry "the death of the conservative movement" or "the end of the Republican Party," as well as a lot of other hyperbolic nonsense. Believe me: this happens every time a Democrat gets elected. And it happens every time a Republican gets elected on the other side. Passion is a great thing, but don't buy into all the crap. You lost an election; it happens and it's part of politics.
What you should be thinking about is *how* you lost the election and how to win the next one. To figure that out, I suggest looking at all of the successful campaigns by Republicans.
People on the left love to demonize Bush, just like they did Reagan. It's understandable; conservatives do the same thing to Obama and Clinton. That doesn't mean you should buy into the idea that Bush was a bad Republican. On the contrary, he won two terms for the Republican party!
How did Bush win two terms? In my opinion, he won them with the two most important qualities that Romney lacks: empathy and humility.
Empathy! There's that word again. Ever since Obama said it, the Republicans have been jumping on it. And while I agree that empathy is not a necessary quality of a judge, it is certainly vital to a president. Every successful president of my lifetime (Reagan, Clinton, Bush and Obama) had it. Clinton said, "I feel your pain." Bush made a point of being a "compassionate conservative." And Obama never makes a speech without saying, "I know how hard it is."
Same goes for humility. Bush made a point that he wanted America to be a "humble nation" with a "humble foreign policy." He applied this to all aspects of his life. You would never in a million years hear Bush, a man of *considerable* faith, say a word against Islam-- let alone go around "Muslim-baiting" his opponent. He knew that if he were arrogant, and saw himself as better than a Muslim, it would turn people away from a message that, honestly, speaks for itself in the way one acts, not what one says.
That's why white, Christian Republicans need to take another look at the political drawing board. Don't be so god damn cynical. You don't need to change your policies to appeal to blacks and Latinos. You just need to change your POLITICS.
If you want what you believe to be the ideals of America to endure, you've got to be okay with them enduring in a minority white country. And if you don't think they could, then while I do not name-call, you are, by definition, a racist person. Black people today have a considerable deal more in common with the Republican Party today than they have in a long time. They're moving out of the cities and into affluent, traditionally-white suburban communities. The proof of the American Dream lives in black America. Not only that, but they are Christians who tend to be much more socially conservative than the Democratic base.
So why can't the GOP reach them? Because there are a lot of extremists in your party and you haven't done a good enough job of distancing them. There are still too many Republicans who believe black people are "addicted to entitlements" and have no problem saying that. Bush was very good at distancing himself from those people, while Romney's people have fueled that kind of discourse.
So how does the GOP win in 2016? With compassion, humility and respect-- values that are universal and do not conflict with GOP policies, only GOP politics. I know they might be tough pills to swallow right now, but they'll sure be easier than that humble pie.
Good prospect for the move. Even has the necessity of humor, in the thread.
Col Freeper - 2
frankenMonkey - 2
everyone else - 1
Mod - 12
nti - no votes
am playing it safe this time. That Mod carries a big saw!
Mister Romney had and demonstrated all the qualities you asked for, therefore, THOSE qualities are not what cost Romney the election, and meanwhile
GOP Federal House races kept the GOP majority
and in the states, the governorships and state legislators became redder more often than bluer, with the same GOP message
that message does not denigrate Islam, but neither does it pretend that it is not Muslim leaders, organizations, here and in many nations where reform of religious attitudes are needed, NOT here in western cultures
neither does that message denigrate “Hispanics”, which have very notable representatives in the GOP; nor does it denigrate “immigrants in general one bit; BUT neither does it condone that illegal immigration is O.K. and ought to be excused - accepting it is a moral insult to ALL legal immigrants
neither does it denigrate blacks; and unlike Liberals it does not pretend that deeper dependency on the Liberals government plamtation society is any solution to black economic empowerment
neither does it denigrate “education” or “students”; nor does it sherk the responsibility to point at that the Liberals policy solutions with regard to education are neither about education or the students, they ares simply payoffs to and deeper empowerment of the education industrial complex and their perks and privileges, while education remains held hostage to them
Conservatives have more than enough empathy and compassion, for everyone except Liberals, Progressives and Marxists and their ideological attempts to buy political allegiance to them, feigning empathy and compassion for everyone and everything but the essential Liberty and freedom from a tyrannical government that Liberty requires, always building new castes of entitled residents of the expanding government plantation society
What Carbonite does is the storing of MASSIVE amounts of data.
So the thought crossed my mind as to how totally vulnerable EVERY data source hooked up to a modem in computerville is. And that includes election results.
IATZ. “Can’t we all just get along” liberal posts pathetic vanity ‘advice to conservatives’ on FR; predictable result.
Tired of hitting Troll holes BIGGER than J-Lo's ASS???
Then call the RKBA Fast... Pavers UP!!!
Looks like meat's back on the menu boys!!!
The guy was a retired CBS News corresponent living in central Florida.
I enjoyed reading his posts. What happened?
-PJ
I would like to rip your soul from your body and drag you screaming into the fires of hell. Unfortunately, I can’t do that because you’re already zot.
“If there is a war on women, the Kennedys are the Spec Ops troops.”
LOL!
Probably more accurate to say, “...the Kennedys are the First In Team.”
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