The GOP calls out...the GOP

chlehqls · 11-11-2012, 08:40 PM

Quote:

Rush Limbaugh couldn’t have been more right.

Months before the election, the conservative radio host made a prediction: “If Obama wins, the Republican Party is going to try to maneuver things so conservatives get blamed.”

And that’s exactly what’s happening.

(Also on POLITICO: Full coverage of the war over the future of the GOP)

On the night of Nov. 6, shortly after President Barack Obama won reelection, Steve Schmidt went on NBC News and called on GOP leaders to “stand up” against the extreme elements in the party that the Republican strategist believes are leading it down the wrong path, even singling out Limbaugh by name. Days later on MSNBC, Joe Scarborough criticized Republicans for taking cues from unnamed pundits “who make tens of millions of dollars engaging in niche marketing” that the host complained provides a misleading picture of the nation’s electorate. Columnist David Frum last week slammed the “conservative entertainment complex” that had “fleeced, exploited and lied to” Republicans, ensuing doom on Election Day.

“These people have made politics a theater for identity politics for a segment of America, rather than a way to solve collective problems,” Frum told POLITICO, referring to conservative media commentators. “What is happening now, and it’s disturbing, is that this complex has sold the idea that conservatives are the real majority in America. That claim has been exposed as false. But they are turning on the country and leading their viewers toward alienation and rejection.”

These were the opening salvos in a larger and escalating civil war playing out now between moderate and far-right-wing pundits. After a disastrous performance in the 2012 elections, the Republican party has come face-to-face with the new demographic reality: “The white establishment is now the minority,” as Fox News host Bill O’Reilly said on election night. Republican support among old, white men can no longer offset their lack of support among women, the young, African-Americans, Asians and the fast-growing Hispanic populations — all key groups in Obama’s victory, some observers say.

But which path to take for the GOP toward broader appeal — doubling down on a core economic and family values conservative message that transcends identity politics or polishing the party’s image by recruiting more women and minority candidates and adopting more moderate positions, particularly on immigration reform — has exposed a sharp rift in the conservative media.

As moderates see it, the “conservative entertainment complex” of talk radio, Fox News, and right-wing blogs has an outsized and potentially fatal influence over the party, alienating Latinos with crass solutions to illegal immigration (“self-deportation”) and insulting women with disrespectful remarks about abortion and birth control.

“For too many swing voters, conservatism has come to mean crazy statements, intolerence and loony candidates — and too often, the elected leadership is afraid of a talk radio industry where the hosts define who is and is not a conservative,” said Schmidt.

“When people in politics had real connections with voters … 15 minutes of Rush Limbaugh — a little porn never hurt anybody,” Frum said. “But when he becomes the king-maker of the party, then you have a problem.”

Frum, Schmidt, and other Republican moderates see this rhetoric as poisonous and, more importantly, false.

“The federal government spends seven times as much money on people over 65 as it does on people under 19. The Republican base are the people who get the most from the federal government,” Frum said. “You can’t think if you reject facts. You can’t refer to minority groups as mendicants or moochers simply because they want the economy to function. We need to insult fewer people.”

“When Gen. Petraeus took over Iraq, he said his goal was to wake up every morning with fewer enemies and more friends. Our goal should be to wake up with more friends and less opponents,” Schmidt said. “Political parties should not be in the business of picking fights with the gay community, we should not be picking fights with Latinos. We should talk about how the free enterprise system works. We should make a value statement about conservatism, that our path is the best way to advance your family and community.”

Podhoretz described “a middle path between Steve Schmidt and Rush Limbaugh.”

“If you look at all the data, close to half of the U.S. considers itself pro-life. It’s nonsensical to argue that positions that stand at a parity with their opposing views should be eliminated from the national stage — it’s a perverse idea, and it won’t happen,” he argued. “That’s not the way things are. This is a representative system, and those voices will be heard, not silenced.”

But, he added, “The ultimate truth about this election is that if you do things that convince voters you are deliberately insulting them, then they are not going to like you. Middle ground means holding firm to basic principles while finding a way to talk about them that will not only appeal to more people but will actually convey the justice, moral power, strength and elevating quality of these ideas.”

Former Gov. Mike Huckabee, who now hosts his own radio show, echoed the sentiment.

“The real conservative policy is attractive to minorities,” Huckabee told POLITICO. “Our problem isn’t the product, it’s the box we put it in. Our message should not be ‘tailored’ to a specific demographic group, but presented to empower the individual American, whatever the color, gender or ethnicity.”

Source.

Got to say, this certainly has me looking toward the future with relative brightness and warmth. The fact of the matter is, there exists a current rift of the GOP establishment between the moderates and the extremists. If there were ever the moment for the moderates to seize the opportunity to reign in their party once more, these few years would be it.

They KNOW that they have problems with their stances (at least the sane ones) and are willing to "evolve" on those issues for the advancement of their party. This election being handed to Obama was an absolute embarrassment to the GOP who fully expected to not only keep a majority in the House, but the Senate AND take the White House. Whether or not the moderates actually stand up for the greater good remains to be seen, but this rift can only be good for the DREAM/CIR movement.

I fully expect this rift and "civil war" to continue as we draw down the years of Pres. Obama's second presidency.

Smooth · 11-11-2012, 11:58 PM

Good article. Carlos Gutierrez, an ex-official of the Bush administration and a Romney campaign adviser, said this morning on Al Punto (a Spanish news show) that he is fed up that the GOP is using harsh rhetoric on immigration. He wants a New Republican Party that wants comprehensive immigration reform. And, I think he said the same thing on CNN:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...ar,immigration

chlehqls · 11-12-2012, 12:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Smooth

Good article. Carlos Gutierrez, an ex-official of the Bush administration and a Romney campaign adviser, said this morning on Al Punto (a Spanish news show) that he is fed up that the GOP is using harsh rhetoric on immigration. He wants a New Republican Party that wants comprehensive immigration reform. And, I think he said the same thing on CNN:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/1...ar,immigration

Bam. That was the key word that I've been wanting to hear. This back and forth blame game is honestly being a huge mess for the current GOP right now.

I am cautiously optimistic a lot of the so called, "Moderates" break off from the current loony ones and try to save their party.

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The GOP calls out...the GOP