National Review thinks the GOP may be screwed for a long, long time

[DeadCanDance]

The conservative National Review.

The Grim Truth

Republicans face a calamitous political situation; but they can act to avoid it

A mishandled war, coupled with intellectual exhaustion on the domestic front, has soured the public on them. It is not just the politicians but conservative voters themselves who are out of touch with the public, stuck in the glory days of the 1980s and not thinking nearly enough about how to make their principles relevant to the concerns of today.

RAMESH PONNURU & RICHARD LOWRY

Pessimism can be self-fulfilling, especially in politics. There’s a reason every candidate who has even a slight shot at victory tries to project a serene optimism about its inevitability. Volunteers, donors, voters: No one likes a loser. And there’s so much pessimism about the Republican party’s prospects in 2008 that it’s understandable that some party officials and conservative pundits feel an urge to tilt the other way.

But for all the understandable natural resistance to pessimism, it has its uses. Fear can be nature’s way to get us to realize that we’re in danger and to take appropriate action. Consider Iraq. If more supporters of the war had been willing to admit that the war was going badly in 2005–6, we might have undertaken the surge and switched our strategy earlier. Only after the Bush administration made that concession was it able to begin making progress on the ground.

Republicans shouldn’t lurch into a paralyzing hopelessness about 2008: They retain the power to change the national political environment in their favor. But neither should they content themselves with false reassurances that the environment is better than it looks. The plain truth is that the party faces a cataclysm, a rout that would give Democrats control of the White House and enhanced majorities in the House and the Senate. That defeat would, in turn, guarantee the confirmation of a couple of young, liberal Supreme Court nominees, putting the goal of moving the Court in a more constitutionalist direction out of reach for another generation. It would probably also mean a national health-insurance program that would irrevocably expand government involvement in the economy and American life, and itself make voters less likely to turn toward conservatism in the future.

This outcome is avoidable only if Republicans understand the sources of their unpopularity. Conservatives tend to blame their travails on Republican politicians’ missteps and especially on their inability to communicate. But the public’s unhappiness with Republicans goes much deeper than any such explanation. A mishandled war, coupled with intellectual exhaustion on the domestic front, has soured the public on them. It is not just the politicians but conservative voters themselves who are out of touch with the public, stuck in the glory days of the 1980s and not thinking nearly enough about how to make their principles relevant to the concerns of today. Unforeseen events could yet change the political environment radically. As it stands, Republicans are sleepwalking into catastrophe.


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http://nrd.nationalreview.com/article/?q=YmYzNzBlNTkxZjAzYjgxOGQ2Y2I5YjExN2U5ZjQ5MzQ

 

[JimH52]

The conservative National Review.

Congrats to gw and DICK!

 

[William Joyce]

Anyone who subscribes to NR know what their plan is?

One reason Republicans are losing power is because their base, whites, is losing numbers. But nobody is willing to talk about that.

 

[Detmurds]

Anyone who subscribes to NR know what their plan is?

One reason Republicans are losing power is because their base, whites, is losing numbers. But nobody is willing to talk about that.

That is so silly to say,...it is because so many no longer believe in God,...that is my opinion!

 

[William Joyce]

That is so silly to say,...it is because so many no longer believe in God,...that is my opinion!

Not sure about your police work there...

Minorities in polls express very high rates of belief in God, probably higher than whites. But they vote Democrat.

 

[JeffWartman]

Of course the GOP is screwed.

To support the GOP, it means you support big government. At this point a vote for the GOP is a vote for increased government spending, increased government intervention, and a nanny state that makes your decisions for you.

 

[William Joyce]

Of course the GOP is screwed.

To support the GOP, it means you support big government. At this point a vote for the GOP is a vote for increased government spending, increased government intervention, and a nanny state that makes your decisions for you.

It is hard to know which big party is worse on this. That's why one pundit just calls Democrats and Republicans "both wings of the Government Party."