The Caricaturization of the Republican Party

In the interest of full disclosure, I will start this article by saying that I am a flaming liberal. I am, however, also a political enthusiast of the highest caliber, so it has been a double pleasure for me to watch, over the past several years, as the Republican Party goes through a process I have dubbed "The Caricaturization of the Republican Party."

One could easily start documenting the downfall of the modern Republican Party with George W. Bush, but his mishaps and follies have been so thoroughly documented and driven into the ground that I won’t even begin to believe I can explain anything to you that you don’t already know. I’d much rather look at the recent months and the steps (or lack thereof) that the Republican Party has taken to regain the approval they once had.

Of course, we have to start with the presidential election. I’m confident in saying that John McCain was by far the best candidate that the GOP could have run. He’s semi-moderate, has a history of working with the Democratic Party, and is a decorated war hero. I’ll even go so far as the say that I don’t think he would have been a good president if he had won. Blasphemy, I know.

The camel’s back started breaking with the vice presidential nomination of Governor Sarah Palin – one of the most polarizing political figures in recent memory. Many pundits on both sides of the isle called the nomination a "Hail Mary" to try and secure the female vote, which traditionally goes to the Democratic candidate. Though Republicans originally praised Palin’s nomination as a step in the right direction for the party, a series of bumbling interviews and laughable statements quickly proved that Palin was not who the GOP needed. Gov. Palin quickly became a late night punch line and a figure that split much of the party.

After the election was over, the GOP had a chance to right the boat a bit by picking their new national chair, who would direct the party’s actions over the next year. Michael Steele of Maryland, the first African American Chair of the GOP, won the position over Katon Dawson of South Carolina. Objectively, I thought that Dawson would be a better fit for the Party at the time, but wasn’t overly shocked that Steele was victorious.

Since his victory, Steele has furthered the bumbling social conservatism that has plagued the party by, among other things, exclaiming, "Are you crazy?" when asked if he would support some form of civil union system for homosexuals, and offering Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal some "slum love." His handling of his position has caused Katon Dawson, among many others, to try and piece together a vote of no confidence, which would de-seat Steele roughly two months after winning the seat.

But I didn’t write this to give you a timeline of stupid things the Republican Party has done, I wrote this to prove my first point about why the Republican Party’s approval ratings have bottomed out.

It’s the complete lack of strong leadership in the party as a whole. When your chairman is publicly backing down to the likes of a bigoted xenophobe who has put his foot in his mouth on countless occasions (hint: I’m talking about Rush Limbaugh) as the voice of your party, something is amiss.

The Republican Party’s age range is shifting further and further to the right March 25th - April 7th 17

Believe it or not, I have Republican friends. Every one of them hates Rush Limbaugh and the cartoonish way that he represents an entire group of people, most of whom do not believe that feminism was created by and for ugly women or that Michael J. Fox plays up his Parkinson’s Disease for the camera. But it is this portrayal of their beliefs that many people see and hear every day.

Step two to reviving the Republican Party: Pull WAY back on the hate-and-distrust "social conservatism" that Palin, Steele, and Limbaugh have made the face of the Republican Party.

That’s all fine and good, but what of the future of the party? Obviously, we can’t alter the past, so what can the GOP do in the years to come? The trick is to find the best candidate possible for the 2012 elections. This nominee needs to be socially moderate, but still fiscally conservative enough to win over the majority of registered Republicans. If I were in the Republican’s shoes, I would jump on the Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R -Minn.) train now. He’s more-or-less socially moderate, well-spoken, decent-looking, and doesn’t put his foot in his mouth very often. Whether or not anyone will be able to take Obama’s seat from him will largely depend on Obama’s performance in the upcoming four years, but I have my money on Pawlenty being the strongest contender.

McCain fit this bill perfectly (minus the good-looking part), but his adoption of Palin really hamstrung him on the national level. There’s only so much damage your VP can do before you’re dead in the water.

Step three to reviving the Republican Party: Find someone who will appeal to the middle of the Republican Party, not the edges. This applies from the White House to state legislatures.

Honestly, I’m not losing much sleep over the Republicans slowly hanging themselves. I hope they don’t follow any of the steps I mentioned here. The more the leaders of the party follow the path they’re on, the more the average Republican will become alienated from their party.

And that’s just fine with me.

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