ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

The Republican Party's Little Problem

Updated on July 16, 2013
Plan B and the Tea Party Caucus are the least of House Speaker John Boehner's problems right now.
Plan B and the Tea Party Caucus are the least of House Speaker John Boehner's problems right now.

9 months after Election Day, Republicans are still having trouble re-branding. This is why...

Republicans have a problem, but its not one they like to talk much about these days. And that is just their problem. Namely, the Republican Party's problem is that they still haven't figured out why they lost to President Obama and the Democrats in 2012. It already seems like ancient history to some, but Republicans are still reeling over their defeat, and instead of asking why a majority of 5 million Americans might have conceivably voted against them, Republicans have been fighting something of a civil war within their own ranks. Some seem to think that any Republican less conservative than Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh is automatically unfit for public office and that Mitt Romney was not conservative enough. Others state that all they need to do is change their language and tone, instead of their message.The final group wants the Party to do some serious soul searching.

Of these different positions, only one of them is the right way to go. The most obviously flawed position is that, if the Republican Party had just run a true, dyed-in-the-wool conservative, than that candidate would be in the White House right now. From the look of most major polls, this argument seems unlikely. The consensus among this group of ultra conservatives is that Americans are really a center right people, and could be tempted to vote for a very conservative candidate. The reality is, of course, much more complex. Americans do tend to be fiscally conservative on economic issues. But when it comes to social issues, Republicans run a serious risk of alienating vast swaths of the population. For example, majorities now support marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples. Republicans do not. In point of fact, majorities of Americans now seem to associate the Republican Party with the terms "extreme," "out of touch," "greedy," and "defenders of the rich." Generally, these are not things a party wants to be associated with.

And then, there is the matter of women. During the last election, Republicans damaged their brand among women, especially with candidates like Todd Akin. The Republicans lost the chance to gain two seats in the Senate because of unwise words by Republican candidates concerning women, rape or abortion. Those who find themselves in the "Mitt wasn't conservative enough" camp might want to consider the following; Missouri is a fairly conservative state. After Todd Akin made his remarks about "legitimate rape," fairly conservative Missouri proceeded to reelect Senator Claire McCaskill, the Democrat. Indiana did the same thing. Had Akin run for President, he would not have won the Presidency either. His conservatism ended up defeating him, in a conservative state, because he was too conservative.

Or, if that doesn't fit the bill, how about this; Ever wonder why Rick Santorum lost the Republican nomination? If the people of the United States, or even the Republican Party, wanted a truly "conservative" candidate, then why isn't Rick Santorum the President right now? The answer is that the United States actually isn't as conservative as it once was. It would be a stretch to say that it is a center-left nation, of course. If anything, America is a center-center country, that leans left on some issues and right on others.

Other Republicans have taken a very different approach. "There's no need to change any of our positions," they say. "Just change the words, and use a different tone," they add. Why not? Just put the broken pieces in a brand new box, they seem to say, and Americans will buy it. There's no need to change anything but the words.

This, of course, is nonsense, and furthermore, is an insult to voters intelligence. It is also probably a pretty fair reason why many people so distrust politicians; Why should Americans trust politicians or political parties that use deceptive language, and hide behind innocent gestures while possibly planning an agenda that might be detrimental to those who vote for them? This kind of manipulation is just not a great thing to sell to the people who cast the votes. It is also useless. After voting against Republicans because of their message, most Americans are likely to be more aware that Republicans are using misleading language.

In light of this, what are Republicans to do? Well, they might do well to listen to the last camp. These Republicans would like their party to do some serious soul searching. And Republicans really could use some soul searching right now, because their current policies and positions seem out of whack with most Americans. They need to find a different message, not a different tone, and they need smarter conservatives, not more conservative conservatives. They need to rethink their opposition to gay marriage. They need to offer conservative, market based solutions to climate change, instead of outright denial. They need to offer a fiscally sound plan in Congress, one that the President and Democrats can seriously consider. They need to offer compromises, and they need to compromise.

All of the above paragraphs present the discussion that is currently dividing the Republican Party. But those aren't the Republicans problem. The Republican Party's problem is that it has to have the discussion in the first place.



working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)