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Subscribe to RSSBen Smith: “Ten days after at least some Republicans were surprised to see Mitt Romney lose the presidency, the candidate is gone without a trace. There appears to be no Romney Republicanism to propagate. No Romney strategy to emulate. No Romney technology to ape. No generation shaped by his failed effort. And no Romney infrastructure to inherit, though he may still be asked to write and bundle quite a few checks.”
“Republican governors are torn between essentially staying the course in the wake of Mitt Romney’s loss and a more proactive strategy aimed at radically shaking up their party in an effort to reach out to young and minority voters,” Politico writes.
Yet, the AP’s Hunt reports, “From longtime GOP luminaries to the party’s rising stars, almost everyone asked about the Republicans’ Nov. 6 election drubbing seems to agree that a wholesale update is necessary for a party that appears to be running years behind Democrats in adapting to rapidly changing campaigns and an evolving electorate.”
(Really? Mitt and Ann Romney were spotted at the new Twilight movie in California, TMZ reports.)
Is this the answer? Florida Sen. Marco Rubio made a trip to Iowa. The AP’s Elliott: “Ostensibly, Rubio’s visit to this early nominating state was for Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad’s birthday party. But the political implications of Rubio’s visit were clear from the start as the Republican Party looks ahead to 2016’s presidential contest… But his birthday wishes for Branstad were more like a roadmap for his party looking for a new direction and an argument for a Rubio presidential campaign.”
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The GOP is still living in the late 1800s and haven't realized that times have changed. They can't be or support robber barons forever. Their years of raping the land and intimidating the people have ended. They'll have to change their tune or disappear to be replaced by a more up-to-date and reasonable party.
I think the Republican party needs a time out from politics for a couple of generations. This is similar to what they had after the Great Depression, Congress was controlled mostly by Democrats who produced the greatest economic growth engine the world had know up to that point. America build infrastructure to let us move people and products all over the country in days rather than weeks. We had problems internationally with the Cold War and the OPEC oil embargo, but here we were growing and adding to our freedoms.
With oil embargo, we hit a rough patch and the Republicans came in with their "everyone for themselves" philosophy. They borrows tons of money in America's name and reduced the national income to build war machines and give themselves and their financiers tax cuts.
Now the Democrats have to clean up the mess.
Keep the Republicans in time out for a few generations and let's see where we can go with an educated and knowledgeable public who has something to vote for rather than against.
Goodbye Mitt. I hope you can take all the haters with you into time out.
Democrats have a united vision for a Hegelian police state. Republicans are divided between Capitalists and Christians. Until the GOP decides if the Founding Fathers or Jesus' Disciples are the beginnings of America, the GOP will not grow beyond 49% of the vote.
The World Wars traumatized western man. Our cultural shift after WW2 was based on a simple-minded idea -- intellectual certainty leads to violence (religion, politics), therefore, to be peaceful, men must no longer think. Men must celebrate non-thinking, because thinking leads to certainty. Mindless altruism must control all debate and all government policy. Self-sacrifice must be the highest moral objective. The welfare state as an ever-less-competent version of government must rule. Well, Democrats lead the way.
When the national debt hits 25 trillion (just 2 or 3 years) all you people might rethink your vote. I never drew food stamps even though I could have. NOW I,m going to draw every damn thing I can. If you can't beat em, join em
We'll hold your SS and medicare for you jim...oh wait a minute that's going to be part of that 25 trillion in debt...never mind jim..we can't afford you
Republicans still don't get it...its not their messenger its their message of race based anti everything minority or women...they are for old white people only...
They compound their problem by thinking if they trot out a couple of brown skinned people it will make their 18th century message more pleasing to latinos...this is of course if you assume brown skinned voters will only vote for a brown skin no matter their message..hey republicans maybe THATS your problem with voters of all stripes...you just don't seem to get it
i hope the republican party has learned something from this last election. now,before anyone starts throwing words around, I'm a republican. i am also disappointed in both candidates,and obama win. the republicans have no compromise in their head at a all! the democrats "its the democratic way or the highway!" harry Reid is one whom should be thrown out of the senate,not good for Nevada and not this country. we need new blood in Washington with a eye sight on the future and how too fix this mess we are in. the usa "used" to be the biggest power in the world. now,we have a president whom apologies too everyone. i am not for either side at this point,but i have always been for this country and will do so until its my time. what happened to common sense?
How unfortunate that the GOP cannot see through to the real issues of diversity and inclusiveness. It is not about nominating Rubio just because he is Hispanic. The party has to embrace policies that are not so toxic to Hispanics and other people of color and people in the middle class. Nominating Rubio to get the "Latino" vote is like putting forward Clarence Thomas [or Herman Cain] to attract the African American vote. Neither of those persons are interested in or speak to the policy concerns or values that resonate with African Americans, to the extent that one can say there are "Black" issues.
Immigration reform, an end to persecution of Latinos, affordable health care access and support for education and jobs will help Latinos but are not exclusively "Latino" issues. They are fairness, social justice and economic issues. The mindset that anyone who is not part of the wealthy elite, the top 2%, is an irresponsible leech dependent upon government handouts was something not only Romney campaigned on, but most of the GOP [including Paul Ryan and Eric Cantor] advanced. Until the GOP can grasp the difference, and change their strategy, they will continue to believe that the "winning" strategy is to offer up "tokens" that spout the same regressive rhetoric that Latinos, people of color and working class people have roundly rejected. They lost nearly every demographic and the one that they won is rapidly shrinking.
Planning the next election. . . as they make excuses for this election. Good thinking - shoot yourself in the foot early - it may heal in time to cry about the next election..
..What makes people think they are going to change anything ?? Does John Boehner have the same attitude - the same arrogance. They'll come up with new sound-bites... Some of the last ones were good. . . . .
BUT RIGHT BACK TO THE SAME TACTICS. . . There will be no republican Party in the next Decade - replaced by a third party.............but will politics change ???