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Is there a sea change afoot among the conservative intelligentsia?
As the Republican Party wrestles with how to reinvent itself to appeal more broadly to an increasingly diverse electorate after its two-straight presidential losses, a handful of conservative thinkers are calling upon the GOP to cast off some of its most well-worn proposals and elements of the party’s identity.
Former Clinton White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson modified their budget reduction plan. Politico's Jim VandeHei discusses.
These intellectual leaders are arguing that the GOP must embraces changes in policy. That’s significantly different than what the official organs of the Republican Party have said, which is that the party needn’t change its core policies and positions so much as frame them in a way that’s more appealing to more voters.
Take, for example, a post on Monday by Jim Pethokoukis of the American Enterprise Institute, who argued that Republicans should abandon their pursuit of a flat tax, a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution or the gold standard – three ideas that have long found advocates on the right.
“Today, the top marginal tax rate is 40 percent, and inflation is 2 percent. Health-care spending and the debt have both risen by nearly 80 percent as a share of output. The average American is 37 years old,” wrote Pethokoukis on National Review Online. “Economics and demography require a reworking of the conservative policy portfolio. But center-right politicians in Washington keep offering same-old, same-old stale solutions.”
Recommended: Obama warns looming sequester would devastate economy
That’s a sentiment similar to the one voiced by Ramesh Ponnuru on National Review in an op-ed Sunday for the New York Times. Republicans, Ponnuru wrote, should be more willing to move beyond the policy prescriptions offered three decades ago by President Ronald Reagan.
"They slavishly adhere to the economic program that Reagan developed to meet the challenges of the late 1970s and early 1980s, ignoring the fact that he largely overcame those challenges, and now we have new ones," wrote Ponnuru.
Michael Gerson and Peter Wehner, both veterans of the most recent Bush administration, argued in a new piece for Commentary magazine that the GOP should learn from the centrist examples of President Bill Clinton, and former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, whose election signaled a new era for the UK’s Labour Party. They argued that Republicans’ sweeping victories in the 2010 midterm elections were an “aberration” rather than a catalyzing moment for the GOP.
Gerson and Wehner prescribed a four-step process for the GOP: Republicans, they wrote, must first renew their focus “on the economic concerns of working-and middle-class Americans;” second, “welcome rising immigrant groups;” third, “express and demonstrate a commitment to the common good;” fourth, “engage vital social issues forthrightly but in a manner that is aspirational rather than alienating;” and fifth, “harness their policy views to the findings of science.”
They wrote that many of the existing Republican presidential frontrunners in 2016 are equipped to deliver that message.
But: “Their challenge is both to refine and relaunch the Republican message, to propose policies that symbolize values and cultural understanding, to reconnect with a middle America that looks different than it once did, and to confront old attitudes, not from time to time, but every day.”
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I predicted last summer that there was not enough old white men or racists in this country to elect Romney. I was right, and that demographic is shrinking every day. The GOP is going to have to do a lot more if they wish to regain relevance.
The GOP cannot keep alientating entire segments of the population and expect to win presidential elections. Latinos, union members and now public employees. The tent keeps getting smaller. And the rise of the Tea Party only exacerbated the issue by splitting the party.
K- man9. You forgot to say that they should continue what they are doing. It is a good thing. Keep up the good work Stupid Party.
If the Republicans run the same type of hard right candidate in 2016 for President, they will lose.
Forced Vaginal Probes.
Legitimate Rapes.
Self Deportation.
Destroy SS so that the wealthiest .05% can get ONE MORE TAX break.
Truly the party of crazies......
Dionysus...
Just some more icing... Lily Ledbetter and of course, VAWA resistance.
They could use a good old fashion intervention.
I dont think that the Stupid Party should change a thing. The Stupid Party should continue to talk about lowering Taxes for the Rich and raising Taxes on the Middle Class. They should continue to try to take away womens Rights. They should continue to talk about getting rid of Medicare and Social Security. I think that they shoul continue to push for Vaginal Probes. I think that they should continue to run People like, Akin, Mourdock, Odonell, Pizza Man. McCain. Palin, Bachman, Crazy Rand Paul, Crooked,Lying Rubio, ETC. I think that it is Great that they continue to belittle there own Party. Stupid Party, keep up the good work.
It might help if the GOP were to abandon its homophobia, xenophobia, racism, misogyny and Christofascism.
A case in point is Mississippi which just formally ratified the 13th Amendment last week, only 148 years too late.
If your going to tell the story then tell it correctly. They ratified it in 1995 and filed the paperwork notifying Washington last week. I'm sure it was 5000+ pages of the usual BS that Washington throws down.
Gee....all the way back in 1995.....
Still waiting for broadband in Mississippi.
If the GOP fix their 'stupid' problem.....how will the comedians cope with half their material being taken away....lol.
"Conservative thinkers" is an oxymoron.
Vote every republican out of every office every chance you get!
Whips--I was concerned about that @four years ago, as that was my plan. But we had a Republican representative (Wayne Gilcrist) in congress who was one of those, you know, "Compromisers," and I sort of liked him. Fortunately, the Tea baggers objected to that, so it was a straight party-line vote for me.
Is the concept of a balanced budget not appealing to voters?
And if the Republicans are wanting a flat-tax; who in Washington is for the status quo?
Yes, the Democrats won the election by marketing their brand to a specific sex, sexual preferences, and ethnicities. Having bought market share, the Democrats will be hard to out message; regardless of any plans for the whole.
The Republicans marketed their brand to specific targets...Rich, Old, White, Scared.
If they could just do that one thing - work for the common good - it would go a long way toward making GOP candidates look like a reasonable option. If they could work for the common good, they would be for doing all the necessary infrastructure work the US needs. They would be for hiring the veterans that return from our middle east wars. They would be against the stupid sequester that they forced with their manufactured emergency and that will seriously harm the US economy. They would be for a reasonable immigration policy that helps the economy and brings more revenue to the treasury. They would be against wasteful defense spending that purchases tanks that the army doesn't want and ends up parking in the desert. Please GOP, just do some good for the people, and you will rightfully increase your popularity.
WP_Joe
I don't know what state you're from, but here in CT our politics are almost as blue as CA, NY, & MA. Forgetting that we're in the red as well for the moment, you should be aware that our Democratic representation fights hard to preserve federal money for our jet engines, helicopters, subs, and other DOD items.
Who knew? But it does get awkward around here when bashing Republicans; as they only exist here at local and state levels.
MJ said "you should be aware that our Democratic representation fights hard to preserve federal money for our jet engines, helicopters, subs, and other DOD items."
That's fine/great if the military request them, but in too many cases representatives push for military spending for items the military does not need and won't use. That has to stop.
Trouble is, if a Republican dare utter the word "compromise" they will guarnteed to be "primaried". Moving to the center for the Tea Party is treason. Better to hang seprately than get something done together. That would be a "compromise" of "values".
Actually, the first thing the Republican Party and the RNC needs to do, is get rid of Reince Priebus as party chair.
The Republicans should just double all of the entitlements and freebies the democrats are giving away to buy votes.......they're giving you 1 Obamaphone??....here's 2!! They're giving you 2 years of extended unemployment??....here's 4!! ...and we can raise taxes to 80% to pay for it all....who cares!! as long as the vote is bought!!
It is hard to win an election when the other side is paying people to vote for them.
It is not the message - it is the fact that people are voting for their own pocket books
Taxes Explained in Beer:
Suppose that every day, ten men go out for beer and the bill for all ten comes to $100. If they paid their bill the way we pay our taxes, it would go something like this…
So, that’s what they decided to do.
The ten men drank in the bar every day and seemed quite happy with the arrangement, until one day, the owner threw them a curve ball.
“Since you are all such good customers,” he said, “I’m going to reduce the cost of your daily beer by $20″. Drinks for the ten men would now cost just $80.
The group still wanted to pay their bill the way we pay our taxes. So the first four men were unaffected. They would still drink for free. But what about the other six men ? How could they divide the $20 windfall so that everyone would get his fair share?
The bar owner suggested that it would be fair to reduce each man’s bill by a higher percentage the poorer he was, to follow the principle of the tax system they had been using, and he proceeded to work out the amounts he suggested that each should now pay.
Each of the six was better off than before. And the first four continued to drink for free. But, once outside the bar, the men began to compare their savings.
“I only got a dollar out of the $20 saving,” declared the sixth man. He pointed to the tenth man,”but he got $10!”
“Yeah, that’s right,” exclaimed the fifth man. “I only saved a dollar too. It’s unfair that he got ten times more benefit than me!”
“That’s true!” shouted the seventh man. “Why should he get $10 back, when I got only $2? The wealthy get all the breaks!”
“Wait a minute,” yelled the first four men in unison, “we didn’t get anything at all. This new tax system exploits the poor!”
The nine men surrounded the tenth and beat him up.
The next night the tenth man didn’t show up for drinks so the nine sat down and had their beers without him. But when it came time to pay the bill, they discovered something important. They didn’t have enough money between all of them for even half of the bill!
And that, boys and girls, journalists and government ministers, is how our tax system works. The people who already pay the highest taxes will naturally get the most benefit from a tax reduction. Tax them too much, attack them for being wealthy, and they just may not show up anymore. In fact, they might start drinking overseas, where the atmosphere is somewhat friendlier.
That is one lousy (and mathmatically incorrect) parable. As each of the people (women drink beer, too) would still be getting his/her $20 discount, and only nine beers would be purchased, there would be enough to pay their expected bill.
John Alcorn
9 beers at $8, reflecting the 20% discount, comes to $72. The wealthy man's $49 is no longer there.
You redo the math.
Sorry, mis-read the problem. If they have five people splitting $8.00, it can easily re-allocated among those who previously paid. As this is an algebraic problem, I'm not going to try to solve it at 6:30, after a Manhattan, but it can easily be done, and all will still save money. It's just that no one would save over 50%.
Well, the GOP tried to invent voter polls to suit their campaign strategy, since they knew all else was doomed. Now they've thrown this dufus Rubio against the wall to see if he'll stick (a new savior?), and shipped him off to Israel hoping they'll like him better than the black guy. Please don't change a thing - stick to your radio polices that will guarantee more democratic victories.
...get your government check this week?
HOPELESS, get a new line you schmuck, I know of many Righties who claim to hate "Big Government" yet just love there handouts they receive from Uncle Sam.
He can't; just like the GOP in general can't seem to find anything new to say... Bye bye, GOP.
I have a hunch most of the liberals around here pay more in taxes in a year than HOPELESS makes.
oooooo....seems I hit a sore spot with the lazy, entitlement loving, parasite crowd..........
"seems I hit a sore spot with the lazy, entitlement loving, parasite crowd........"
I have a suggestion for you --- if you don't think you have enough money, stop your endless whining, get off your sorry ass and do something about it other than blame others. I have a hunch the lazy one is you. All you want to do whine and bitch.
I love all of you waiting on this site to have the government help you out, get off your lazy butts and do it your self!!!!
HELLO, oh you must mean all the corporate farmers who receive billions in tax subsidies or perhaps Big Oil who gets billions from the American taxpayer every year. Or what about your last GOP Presidential candidate who stashes his millions in offshore accounts and pays a fraction in percentages to what a working stiff makes.
You seem to confuse being poor with being lazy and being wealthy as a sign of hard work. Evidently you've never watched migrant farm workers toiling away in the hot sun for a pittance of a paycheck.
No I meant what I said people need to start helping them selves work they way out of the hole. The only reason I am successful was to work my way out of those fields. I see to many that just whine and cry instead of just sacrificing and working there way out.
When you talk about the government giving money to the farmers sure you non working food stamp using Dems need cheap food. Same with the oil you need cheap gas
Hello, Hello. Obviously you worked your way out of the fields in some area that did not require proper English. At first glance, I spotted a run-on sentence immediately, then went back and found at least 7 mis-spellings and/or wrong punctuation. But I took only one year of college English--someone with a major in that field would probably find more.
and "conservative intelligentsia" Seriously?
oxymoron
To be a party that really cares about America the GOP would have to make a 180 degree turn on so many of its positions that it would no longer be the GOP.
Unfortunately, it seems to have embraced the worst of American politics and swallowed the Koch brothers formulated Tea Party completely.
Returning to the Gold Standard? Flat Tax? They were never serious in the first place. They've become the Party of the Status Quo - i.e. the "haves" in a growing majority of "have nots."
One thing absolutely guaranteed about the status quo, it will change.
What I want to know is, if the Republican Party were to get rid of all of their "Stale" policies, what would they have left for a party platform??? Every single idea these bums have is tired and worn out. The defination of a "Conservative" is one who refuses to ever try a new idea. So if you think this world is just a perfect place, not in need of any improvements, by all mean, follow the GOP party line.
As proven by libtards, if you stand for nothing then you'll stand for anything. The people they talked to were not "intellectual leaders' but idiot Demonrats disguised as RINO's. I love how ignorant the posts are from libtards here. Amazing you have got away with your slavery of ignorant minorities as long as you have all in the name of power. Your racist policies get more exposed everyday as your failed president causes this country to sink further and further. You won't have your ignorant minorities out for the 2014 elections because Obama won't be running, so expect a repeat of the 2010 elections. Same with the 2016 ones. You are a one trick pony who used up that trick.
Gotta love it. Another Righty predicting the outcome of elections. I seem to recall you clowns were going to "win in a landslide" and other laughable claims. Your party of Nazis is in the process of imploding and I'm loving every minute of it.
Evidently the GOP has decided almost overnight that they love Latinos and won't be deporting 11 million people. I want to tell you how deeply touched I am by this sudden display of compassion and humanity. Hell, even Sean Hannity loves undocumenteds now. Could you bums be any more transparent and pathetic???
Former (Southern) democrat. You kind are the reason that the Republican Party is losing elections, except in the Deep South. What will you types do when you don't have Obama to kick around anymore? I'll bet you will slither back under the rocks you came out from in 2008.
Former Demo--I think Jamie hit the nail on the head. I was bred, born, raised, and registered (northern) republican. When Democrat Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act, you'all started taking up the party I was raised in, and I voted Democrat for several year before crossing the aisle to admit that this is the way I feel, and the Democrats represented more of the values I'd grown up with.
If Republicans truly harness their policy views to the findings of science, they will lose half of their base in the Deep South, who will either stay home at voting time or jump to a third party. Poor babies. They face a real dilemma.
Someone got Marco Rubio on camera and asked him "How old is the Earth?" and he hemmed and hawed and came up with some lame-assed response that it was a controversial matter. He took two days to come out and give the answer which he knew to be the truth all along 4.6 billion years not the less than 10,000 years that the Creationists at the far right end of his party insist.
Until they lose the anti-science religious zealots, climate change deniers, and school choice voucherists they are going to be stuck with stale.
BEAR, it's laughable, isn't it how these fools are always running scared. They would rather appear to deny long settled scientific opinion rather than offend their base of bible thumping, Tea party loons who have made careers out of denying facts, the truth be damned.
These are the same head cases who insist on refusing to acknowledge the dangers of global climate change. Perhaps when the last remenants of the Polar Ice Cap come floating down 5th Ave in Manhattan they'll get religion when it's too late.
Really can't see any of these prescriptions being taken seriously, much less being implemented, by the Repub party. Their philosophy, their values, their exclusionary, us-vs-them, taker-vs-maker mindset (aka, "we're NOT all in this together"), and their knee-jerk opposition to anything that doesn't coincide with their narrow, rigid world view just won't permit it. We're looking at, minimum, a few more years of entertaining, transparently absurd claims from them as they try to figure out why the American voting majority doesn't like them or what they stand for, and how they can somehow present it all in a way that would make it palatable to a majority. Most folks are onto them now, onto what they stand for, and they're just flailing harder and squeaking louder as they slowly sink in their own quicksand. I couldn't be happier about it. They're getting exactly what they have earned and richly deserve.
If the Republicans run the same type of hard right candidate in 2016 for President, they will lose.
They the Republicans have to come back to the 21st Century, and they need to forget about the hard right folks in which none who are always playing stupid can win a National Election for President.