Butz aside (I don’t know much about him), I can safely say I don’t give a crap about who has been a reliably Republican voting group. I’m sick of identity politics. The GOP only got the “cultural conservatives” by default when the New Left drove the moderates away from the Democrats. Politically, they aren’t “conservatives.” They are generally in favor of whatever government interventions in the market are beneficial to *them*.
The GOP could offer poor black families vouchers to get out of the hell hole schools the teachers unions make them attend. You could win over that entire demographic in a generation. And yet we just give up, and keep cannibalizing the same demographics on social issues rather than on actual political issues.
Forget demographics, just make the best possible case you can for your policies, try to convince as many people as possible.
You’re sick of identity politics, and then you suggest a policy measure designed to cater to one particular racial group? I don’t get it.
Farmers/ranchers are business owners. If the GOP loses the business community, especially small business, the GOP can pretty much look forward to the same political future as the Whig Party.
The problem for the GOP on ag policies is that they still don’t understand how ag works in this country and they refuse to do what is necessary to transition the country away from ag subsidies. The DNC looks utterly competent on ag subsidies by comparison - much like the growth of government in every other way, the GOP has increased government spending faster on ag subsidies faster than the DNC - because the GOP doesn’t take the time to understand the first friggin’ thing about the policies they propose.
Well, here’s the truth, hard and fast: if the GOP wants to cut government spending, and they want to eliminate ag subsidies (both good goals that are consistent with supposed GOP philosophies), then the US consumer had better get ready to pay more for their food. It is the Earl Butz subsidies that have corn running at less than $4/bu right now, when if the price were held just constant for inflation since 1973, corn would be over $14/bu. It is the vast ag subsidies that continue over-production and keep ag commodity prices artificially low.
So, what does this author want? The GOP that claims lower taxes and lower government spending, or the GOP that micro-manages the economy by interfering in basic business decisions, like who will plant how much of what crop as they’re chasing the latest ag program?
BTW — there is no, zero, zippo, nada chance of winning over blacks with GOP policies in one generation or 100 generations. None. The GOP was responsible for the career of Colin Powell, and who did he vote for, when push came to shove?
Right. So when you can show me a black voting demographic who isn’t making their vote on racist criteria, I’ll believe that any GOP policy might win their votes.