- Sep 2, 2008
- 33,178
- 3,055
- 48
Well hello there everybody, long time no see. *Cue Boos* 
I figured I'd get right back in the swing of things by posting a recent article that I wrote (just to see some reactions) and see what you all think.
The State of the Republican Party
By Modbert
“No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow”
- The Hatta (Alice in Wonderland)
The Republican Party is currently in one of their worst times in their long history. The party is considered by most to be leaderless, and their disapproval ratings by their own members continue to rise. Recently, the discovered affairs of potential 2012 Republican candidates John Ensign, and Mark Sanford have not helped things. Neither has the resignation by Sarah Palin from her governorship in Alaska where many have already branded her as a “quitter” which will not help her chances if she were to run in 2012. However, their problems as a party do not start there. Neither did their problems as a party start because of one George W Bush whose approval ratings hit an all time low while in office. No, many of the problems for the Republican Party started January 20, 1989 otherwise known as Ronald Reagan’s last day in office.
Whether you like Ronald Reagan and his policies or not, his time as President in the 80’s changed not only the Republican party but politics in general. He was considered by most Republicans to be their greatest President since Lincoln. His popularity had only intensified with Republicans as years went by as they searched for the next Reagan. The problem for the Republican Party was they couldn’t find the next Reagan as they went through candidates like George H.W. Bush (Dubya’s father), Bob Dole, and of course Dubya. During these years, times and the ideals of the people in the Republican Party changed. There was more of an emphasis on Family Values, and the party became more focused on social policies (Abortion, Capital Punishment, right to bear arms, teaching of Creationism in schools, etc).
Then the Presidential election in 2008 occurred where once again the search for the next Ronald Reagan was well underway for the Republican Party. At one point, a Republican debate was held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California where all ten candidates at the time were trying to show that they would at least be most like Reagan (Reagan’s legacy was praised on average once every four minutes). Eventually, John McCain came out on top of the primary over what some consider the party’s refusal to choose a Mormon (Mitt Romney) or Baptist (Mike Huckabee) and went on to lose to Barack Obama in the election. One of the main problems was the Republican Party was attempting to chase their own sort of White Rabbit so to speak.
The Republican Party wanted a charismatic candidate that was against expanding Government, against raising taxes, tough on crime, and is strong on family values which are what they considered Ronald Reagan. However, Reagan raised taxes almost every year in office after 1981 and four times between 1982-1984 alone. Reagan created in 1988 the federal Cabinet-level Department of Veteran Affairs which expanded government further. Under the Reagan Administration, the Iran-Contra incident occurred which was a crime within itself, and his deference to the Religious Right was the reason for his silence on AIDS throughout the majority of his presidency. In short, Republicans were, and are now chasing a myth of sort. The presidency of George W. Bush did not help matters, neither did Bush’s actions during his presidency. However, the American people also remembered that much of what Bush did as president could of not had occurred without the Republican Congress which is why in the fall of 2006, the Republicans lost the majority.
So for now, Republicans continue their search for the next Reagan while their party is being run by a minority in this country (the religious right) whose views on what need to be done are becoming increasingly unpopular (especially with the younger generations). The Republican Party continues to wander through the wilderness leaderless, two days slow so to speak to the changes that are occurring now in the United States. The next ten years will determine whether their survival will continue or not. However, if there is one thing for certain, it is that they cannot be counted out quite yet.
I figured I'd get right back in the swing of things by posting a recent article that I wrote (just to see some reactions) and see what you all think.
The State of the Republican Party
By Modbert
“No wonder you're late. Why, this watch is exactly two days slow”
- The Hatta (Alice in Wonderland)
The Republican Party is currently in one of their worst times in their long history. The party is considered by most to be leaderless, and their disapproval ratings by their own members continue to rise. Recently, the discovered affairs of potential 2012 Republican candidates John Ensign, and Mark Sanford have not helped things. Neither has the resignation by Sarah Palin from her governorship in Alaska where many have already branded her as a “quitter” which will not help her chances if she were to run in 2012. However, their problems as a party do not start there. Neither did their problems as a party start because of one George W Bush whose approval ratings hit an all time low while in office. No, many of the problems for the Republican Party started January 20, 1989 otherwise known as Ronald Reagan’s last day in office.
Whether you like Ronald Reagan and his policies or not, his time as President in the 80’s changed not only the Republican party but politics in general. He was considered by most Republicans to be their greatest President since Lincoln. His popularity had only intensified with Republicans as years went by as they searched for the next Reagan. The problem for the Republican Party was they couldn’t find the next Reagan as they went through candidates like George H.W. Bush (Dubya’s father), Bob Dole, and of course Dubya. During these years, times and the ideals of the people in the Republican Party changed. There was more of an emphasis on Family Values, and the party became more focused on social policies (Abortion, Capital Punishment, right to bear arms, teaching of Creationism in schools, etc).
Then the Presidential election in 2008 occurred where once again the search for the next Ronald Reagan was well underway for the Republican Party. At one point, a Republican debate was held at the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, California where all ten candidates at the time were trying to show that they would at least be most like Reagan (Reagan’s legacy was praised on average once every four minutes). Eventually, John McCain came out on top of the primary over what some consider the party’s refusal to choose a Mormon (Mitt Romney) or Baptist (Mike Huckabee) and went on to lose to Barack Obama in the election. One of the main problems was the Republican Party was attempting to chase their own sort of White Rabbit so to speak.
The Republican Party wanted a charismatic candidate that was against expanding Government, against raising taxes, tough on crime, and is strong on family values which are what they considered Ronald Reagan. However, Reagan raised taxes almost every year in office after 1981 and four times between 1982-1984 alone. Reagan created in 1988 the federal Cabinet-level Department of Veteran Affairs which expanded government further. Under the Reagan Administration, the Iran-Contra incident occurred which was a crime within itself, and his deference to the Religious Right was the reason for his silence on AIDS throughout the majority of his presidency. In short, Republicans were, and are now chasing a myth of sort. The presidency of George W. Bush did not help matters, neither did Bush’s actions during his presidency. However, the American people also remembered that much of what Bush did as president could of not had occurred without the Republican Congress which is why in the fall of 2006, the Republicans lost the majority.
So for now, Republicans continue their search for the next Reagan while their party is being run by a minority in this country (the religious right) whose views on what need to be done are becoming increasingly unpopular (especially with the younger generations). The Republican Party continues to wander through the wilderness leaderless, two days slow so to speak to the changes that are occurring now in the United States. The next ten years will determine whether their survival will continue or not. However, if there is one thing for certain, it is that they cannot be counted out quite yet.
