The Republican War Within

Republicans are in the middle of a great transformative process. Some are calling it The Great Republican Civil War. The struggle for control of the Republican Party is epic and the stakes are very high.


If the extreme right wing of the party ultimately wins, then the party will likely decline into a wannabe which makes noise and scares off more supporters than it attracts.

If the moderates regain control, then the party will once again become a vibrant force to be reckoned with which desires to work with the opposition and move the country forward.

The right wing supporters are extremely adept at getting their message out in subtle and not so subtle ways. They know how to make lots of noise that attracts media attention, as well as making the more extreme statements that galvanize followers and repel many in the general public in very subtle ways not used in the past.

With no leadership at the top, the loud and irrational statements being made by many of the pretenders to the leadership throne are driving many away, feeling they have no place to go. They don’t really support the Democrats, but they can’t support the extreme views of their own party.

The last poll I saw said that only 19% of voters called themselves Republican. That is a sad commentary on how the Republican Party has conducted itself since losing the election in 2008. They should be rebuilding and planning a strategy to win in 2012. From what I’ve seen, there is no strategy and the plan to win is to bash President Obama on spending trillions of dollars (yes, it is scary). This was brought on by the previous Republic president and his administration. Obama is having to clean up the mess after that all-nighter and it isn’t pretty.

What the right-wingers aren’t prepared for is that by 2012, the economy will have likely improved, people will be back to work, the healthcare bill will be law in some form and will be showing people that it was the right decision and with President Obama’s (hopefully) thoughtful leadership, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan will be winding down with total withdrawal in sight.

If that scenario develops, right wing Republicans will have to defend their stonewalling of everything the President has tried to work with them on. They will then fall back on moral issues like family values (which only they seem to have a right to). With someone as public as President Obama in office, it is hard to see an immoral bone in his body. Besides, if he did cheat, Michelle would draw and quarter him on national television faster than the Roadrunner leaves the Coyote in the dust.

We saw what happens when you elect someone because he’s a “moral person”. You get a person with exemplary personal morals, but without examination of their proposed policies on real world issues, morals make little difference in the larger picture.

I would point out that the Bush Administration did nothing to help the millions of displaced persons in Darfur who were and are suffering horribly at the hands of the Sudanese dictator because they are of a different tribe than he is. They had years to deal with the situation and did nothing.

The Obama administration hasn’t done much either to this point, but with a lot on their plate, it is on the radar but not at the top of the list. I can’t make the decision on what goes at the top, since that’s the President’s job. I am hopeful this administration will address the problem and help those who cannot help themselves in Darfur.

But I digress …

It is sad that by definition, moderates and liberals stand for fair play and tolerence. The hardline right sees no problem in playing dirty at every turn to get their way.This puts moderates and liberals at a major disadvantage, since they want to give everyone a voice .. even those that disagree with them. Hardliners have no tolerance for dissent and see only their way as the right way ... which is the glue that unites them.

Moderates and liberals are going to have to seriously organize (although it is against their basic modus operandi)  to beat back this right wing tide and do it sooner than later. The more truth we see in the media, the more discredited the right wing messages will become.

In politics, you have to answer the opponent's charges as quickly and effectively as possible. The Obama team has been doing that, but they must keep it up and go on the offensive to show the American people exactly who these right wing fringe people really are. You can't ignore a lot of this stuff because it is silly and innacurate. People believe much of this propaganda if it isn't countered.

That said, in the long term, if the Republicans don’t quit eating their own, they may become a footnote in history sooner than later.