Moving Forward
Captain Ed is a rarity. He is an amazingly good, kind man with a delightful sense of humor and a political insight that is borderline prescent. Some days I disagree with him but most days (like today) I not only agree with him, but I want to forward his post on to every single elected official in Washington DC and St. Paul. Today he has the seminal post on what the Republican Party needs to do, both Nationally and in Minnesota, in order to move forward for the 2008 Elections. He starts in a critique of Peggy Noonan's entry in todays Wall Street Journal.
"Peggy Noonan, one of my favorite columnists and always a great read, today turns her substantial rhetorical guns on what she sees as the biggest threat to the Republican Party -- George Bush. Accusing him of following his father in squandering a great political inheritance, Noonan calls for a Republican repudiation of Bush and his family:
What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--"At this point the break became final." That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.
The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.
For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.
But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad."
I'm a little surprised by Noonan with this piece. I see nothing all that unusual with the way the Bush administration has attacked its critics over immigration. If she was to honestly look at the last six years, she will see that this is the normal mode of operation for the White House -- to always stay on the attack. In fact, they've followed the James Carville model from their first days in the White House. "
Ed is right of course. When the Bush White House does stand up for itself, it does so with a vengence. However, Ed does take the opportunity to lay out how the GOP can regain their core voters, the ones who have refused to donate to the RNC because of the Bush Legacy.
"Republicans used to stand for smaller government, federalism, and strong national defense. Not all of that conflicts with the Bush legacy, but enough of it does that we need to start publicly demanding a return to those core concepts. Rather than repudiating Bush over his insulting attacks on the base, the better path is to generate a positive agenda that demonstrates our dissatisfaction with the previous six years -- and give Republicans something to vote for, rather than something to vote against."
Ed is not the only person saying this. This is something that a lot of Minnesota grass roots activists have been telling the State Party. "We need a compelling story....to give voters are reason to vot FOR us". During the 2006 campaign all we got out of party leadership was "well you don't want to see Governor Hatch do you?" or "we can't give the Democrats leadership in the House - they'll try to raise your taxes!" While those statements are basically true, they don't inspire voters or volunteers at all. Give us something to work FOR! It is that basic.
The Republican Base is upset at the leftward tilt the Republicans in DC has taken and they have begun to fight back. This immigration bill is just the latest front. A smart Republican leader (or candidate) will see this anger for what it is and learn from it. It remains to be seen if the Republican leadership is as smart as Captain Ed.
"Peggy Noonan, one of my favorite columnists and always a great read, today turns her substantial rhetorical guns on what she sees as the biggest threat to the Republican Party -- George Bush. Accusing him of following his father in squandering a great political inheritance, Noonan calls for a Republican repudiation of Bush and his family:
What political conservatives and on-the-ground Republicans must understand at this point is that they are not breaking with the White House on immigration. They are not resisting, fighting and thereby setting down a historical marker--"At this point the break became final." That's not what's happening. What conservatives and Republicans must recognize is that the White House has broken with them. What President Bush is doing, and has been doing for some time, is sundering a great political coalition. This is sad, and it holds implications not only for one political party but for the American future.
The White House doesn't need its traditional supporters anymore, because its problems are way beyond being solved by the base. And the people in the administration don't even much like the base. Desperate straits have left them liberated, and they are acting out their disdain. Leading Democrats often think their base is slightly mad but at least their heart is in the right place. This White House thinks its base is stupid and that its heart is in the wrong place.
For almost three years, arguably longer, conservative Bush supporters have felt like sufferers of battered wife syndrome. You don't like endless gushing spending, the kind that assumes a high and unstoppable affluence will always exist, and the tax receipts will always flow in? Too bad! You don't like expanding governmental authority and power? Too bad. You think the war was wrong or is wrong? Too bad.
But on immigration it has changed from "Too bad" to "You're bad."
I'm a little surprised by Noonan with this piece. I see nothing all that unusual with the way the Bush administration has attacked its critics over immigration. If she was to honestly look at the last six years, she will see that this is the normal mode of operation for the White House -- to always stay on the attack. In fact, they've followed the James Carville model from their first days in the White House. "
Ed is right of course. When the Bush White House does stand up for itself, it does so with a vengence. However, Ed does take the opportunity to lay out how the GOP can regain their core voters, the ones who have refused to donate to the RNC because of the Bush Legacy.
"Republicans used to stand for smaller government, federalism, and strong national defense. Not all of that conflicts with the Bush legacy, but enough of it does that we need to start publicly demanding a return to those core concepts. Rather than repudiating Bush over his insulting attacks on the base, the better path is to generate a positive agenda that demonstrates our dissatisfaction with the previous six years -- and give Republicans something to vote for, rather than something to vote against."
Ed is not the only person saying this. This is something that a lot of Minnesota grass roots activists have been telling the State Party. "We need a compelling story....to give voters are reason to vot FOR us". During the 2006 campaign all we got out of party leadership was "well you don't want to see Governor Hatch do you?" or "we can't give the Democrats leadership in the House - they'll try to raise your taxes!" While those statements are basically true, they don't inspire voters or volunteers at all. Give us something to work FOR! It is that basic.
The Republican Base is upset at the leftward tilt the Republicans in DC has taken and they have begun to fight back. This immigration bill is just the latest front. A smart Republican leader (or candidate) will see this anger for what it is and learn from it. It remains to be seen if the Republican leadership is as smart as Captain Ed.
Labels: 2008, Activism, Illegal Immigration
posted by The Lady Logician at
3:36 PM
2 Comments:
Isn't Captain Ed the one with the uninsured and deathly ill family members who doesn't see any problems with private health care in this country, because prayer does the trick every time?
Ok, he doesn't do the prayer thing. He just begs, right?
By
Anonymous, at 8:26 PM
My poor uneducated anonymous friend.....He is not uninsured, like you assume, but thanks for playing anyway....
LL
By
The Lady Logician, at 8:42 PM
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