It's probably a little unfair to play mix-and-match statements. It creates the perception that two unrelated statements represent a conversation that never actually happened. But, in this case, we know the conversation is going on
somewhere. It represents a family quarrel within the Republican party, an argument over whether or not it's a good idea to be as crazy and extreme as most of them seem to want to be. Will cooler heads prevail or will the rightest of the right wing continue to set the agenda and, as a result, continue to lose elections? At the moment, the choice seems to be between connecting with the electorate and losing the base or connecting with the base and losing the electorate. Does the Republican party want to win elections again or is it more important to preserve their wingnut purity?
Statement #1 is from Colin Powell, from an article at
National Journal:
The Republican Party is in big trouble and needs to find a way to move back to the middle of the country, former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Monday.
Powell said the GOP is "getting smaller and smaller" and "that's not good for the nation." He also said he hopes that emerging GOP leaders, such as House Minority Whip Cantor, will not keep repeating mantras of the far right.
"The Republican Party is in deep trouble," Powell told corporate security executives at a conference in Washington sponsored by Fortify Software Inc. The party must realize that the country has changed, he said. "Americans do want to pay taxes for services," he said. "Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less."
He also criticized Rush Limbaugh. "I think what Rush does as an entertainer diminishes the party and intrudes or inserts into our public life a kind of nastiness that we would be better to do without." Limbaugh freaked out over that, but who cares? The base likes the guy, but he's not winning them elections. People can start giving a crap what Limbaugh says when Limbaugh starts mattering. I know the big fad among Republicans is apologizing to Rush, but don't expect Powell to jump on that bandwagon.
The second statement in our mix-and-match pretend conversation is Dick Cheney, from an interview by a N. Dakota radio host, reported by
Politico:
"I think it would be a mistake for us to moderate," Cheney said. "This is about fundamental beliefs and values and ideas... what the role of government should be in our society, and our commitment to the Constitution and constitutional principles. You know, when you add all those things up, the idea that we ought to moderate basically means we ought to fundamentally change our philosophy. I for one am not prepared to do that, and I think most of us aren't. Most Republicans have a pretty good idea of values, and aren't eager to have someone come along and say, 'Well, the only way you can win is if you start to act more like a Democrat.'"
What to do, what to do? Do they take Powell's advice, join the mainstream, and actually get elected and get things done or do they follow Cheney's advice, go for ideological purity, keep losing elections, and go the way of the Whigs?... [
CLICK TO READ FULL POST]
