They won’t admit it, but the Republican Party is on life support. Without a miracle intervention, we could be seeing the last days of the GOP as we know it.
The Republican Party is a fragmented group of conflicting factions: fiscal conservatives, the Tea Party, social conservatives, neocons, the religious right, southern segregationists and others. On paper, this motley crue probably looks like a grand idea to the Grand Ol’ Party. But putting everyone under one tent simply because they’re “conservative” has proven to be a volatile mix that’s about as successful as oil and water.
Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign is in disarray — partially because it’s being run poorly, but mostly because of his foolish attempt to appeal to conflicting factions within the party. Tea Party members bullied him into the selection of Paul Ryan as his running mate, despite the fact that Ryan directly clashes with Romney’s own social conservative record on universal health care and a woman’s right to choose. To that end, Romney is darting from one end of the party to the other, trying to be everything to everybody, but failing miserably at such an impossible task.
Now, party members are turning on each other.
Infighting within the Romney camp has unveiled deep dysfunctions and divisions behind the scenes. Prominent Republicans have publicly called out campaign staffers on everything from general ineptness to not utilizing vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan more effectively. Peggy Noonan called the Romney campaign “incompetent” and “a rolling calamity.” Even the de facto King of the Republican Party, Rush Limbaugh, has taken Romney and his staff to task for a myriad of mishaps.
But it was conservative talk show host Laura Ingraham whose words probably carried the most sting: “If you can’t beat Barack Obama with this record, then shut down the party. Shut it down, start new, with new people. Because this is a gimme election, or at least it should be…”
In many ways her words could not have been more true: If current polls hold true and the GOP loses its hold on Ohio, Virginia and Florida, thereby losing the election during one of the worst economic times in U.S. history, then there is no hope for the party.
Some of this Republican distress is out of desperation. Most of it is out of dysfunction. But the fact is, the Republican Party is broken and there are too many fragments to make it whole. If the GOP wants to survive, its best bet is to secede from itself and become 2 parties instead of 1. Maybe even 3 parties instead of 1. Still, a continuous series of self-inflicted wounds has confirmed that the Republican Party is its own worse enemy and on its deathbed.
Although there is a slim chance that it could pull through, it may soon be time to administer last rites to the Republican Party.
I was waiting for this story DJ and you made some good points. The Republicans are too many groups in one. Too many pulling this way and that way for there to be any unity. If they lose this election as expected, I can see some in fighting forcing them to split up. There will be hell to pay after November.