The Republican Party is dead. That’s been the theme of many left-leaning reporters (I guess that’s redundant) and political pundits for some time now. The Republican Party’s obituary was an especially favorite topic in the wake of the election of Barack Obama in 2008, and then his re-election in 2012.
The Republicans were just the party of rich old white guys. Changing demographics alone would kill off the party. And the issues were trending against the nation’s conservative party as the American public was polling more and more open to such things as gay marriage, legalizing marijuana, raising the minimum wage, you name it.
And the party of the circular firing squad couldn’t even elect a Speaker without tearing itself apart.
Tea Party leaders were targeting so-called “establishment Republicans” as sellouts, and worse. The Democrats could sit back and watch Republicans self-destruct, then pick up the pieces.
I would submit that the above-mentioned, at first glance chaos, are really growth pains. Growth pains of a party which is actually very much alive, and thriving.
One of the most objective measures of how a political party is doing, is how it does at election time; who holds what offices. Now the Democrats obviously hold the Presidency, but it’s rare that the same party can hold onto that office after a two-term Presidential stint. George H.W. Bush did, after two terms of Ronald Reagan, but Barack Obama is no Ronald Reagan. And you have to go all the way back to FDR, to find another example. And I would argue that Barack Obama is no FDR either, even though they were/are both liberals (err, progressives.) So Republicans should have a reasonably good chance of winning the Presidency in 2016, unless we screw it up.
After the Presidency, it’s all smooth sailing for Republicans. Republicans now hold a 54 to 46 advantage in the United States Senate. Republicans have the largest majority in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1928: 246 Republicans and only 188 Democrats. (One seat is vacant after New York Representative Michael Grimm resigned to face an indictment for tax evasion. A special election will be held to determine that seat.)
And at the state level, happy times are here again too (oh wait, that’s supposed to be a Democrat tune.) There are 31 Republican governors and only 19 Democrats. And of the 99 state legislatures, there are 69 held by Republicans, and only 30 held by Democrats. (This one may take a little explanation. 49 of the states are bicameral, like the U.S. Congress, and have in effect a House and a Senate. 2 x 49 is 98. However Nebraska, is unicameral, having only one house. So that 1, plus the 98 is 99. Got it?)
Anyway, in my opinion, Republicans have a golden opportunity to make some real progress in improving the lot of the American people. In 2/3s of the states, Republicans are in the driver’s seat, and there should be no excuses for not getting some things done.
At the federal level, we obviously still have to deal with Barack Obama, but even more importantly, we have to get our act together. So-called establishment Republicans and the Tea Party element of the party, should put aside their differences, and remember who the real opposition is – big government, big bureaucracy, high taxes, liberal policies, Common Core, the heroin epidemic in America, Islamic fundamentalist terrorism, Chinese aggression, Putin.
The differences among Republicans are usually about tactics, not substance.
Republicans agree on 98% of the issues. Let’s not let disagreement on the 2% overshadow everything, and result in the bad guys prevailing.
