The political pundits are all discussing why Mitt
Romney can’t seem to win. George Will on This
Week this morning moderated by George
Stephanopoulos, says it is because of his “Romneyness.”
Another said it was because of his “Mittness.” They mean that Romney just
cannot connect with the supporters of Republican candidates. There is likely a
certain amount of truth in that; some folk just don’t seem to be able to
connect with others.
I think Romney’s problem is more systemic than that.
I believe that Romney’s problem is not so much with himself but with the party
itself which is splintered in all directions. You have heard me write about
that the Republican Party has moved from traditional conservatism since Reagan.
That I believe is truth. The question is where it has moved? The answer to that
is that it has moved in several directions all at once. They are like the man
who jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions.
There are those who believe debt is the big problem
and total ignore that the majority of our debt today was created by Reagan and
G.W. Bush. But we always blame the Democrats as the spenders whether it is true
or not.
There are those upset with big business and bankers,
which is the heart of the Republican Party and has effectively taken control of
it if not the mind of the voters, they have manipulated them. They just keep
blaming Obama for the problems they created and Obama was not able to fix with
a Republican congress, and a strong business lobbyists system.
Then there are the Tea Party folk who want to run pell
mell back to the 18th century, ignoring that the country is entirely
different than it was then. They have a mantra of small or best yet, no
government, yet if you take away anyone of the government programs which
benefit them they will scream bloody murder.
Then there is the radical religious right with a
great desire to outlaw practices in the country with which they disagree:
abortion, stem cell research, birth control, etc., all of which stand in stark
contrast to conservative values of non government interference with individual
choices. They, in essence, want big government but one that enforces their particular
values.
Romney has a real problem in that he is the closest
to traditional conservatism which the Republican Party has moved away from
those values into many different ones.
Today’s voters just seem against things and for very
little. And the world looks at us for the leadership we should have and
demonstrate and find it lacking.
I disagree with several of the summaries.
ReplyDelete"There are those upset with big business and bankers, which is the heart of the Republican Party and has effectively taken control of it if not the mind of the voters"
I know many many Republicans, and none of them have anything to do with big business and bankers. In fact, even at the top level, remember the TARP bailouts? Handouts to big business and bankers. Most Republicans in Congress voted against this, while most Democrats voted for it. At the two "Tea Party" rallies I attended, there was very strong sentiment against these handouts.
"They just keep blaming Obama for the problems they created and Obama was not able to fix with a Republican congress, and a strong business lobbyists system."
Obama did not create the problems, but he made them a lot worse. This includes increasing the national debt by 50% and unemployment by 20%. The Republican Congress had nothing to do with this: for the first two years of the Obama presidency, Obama's party controlled Congress.