Many years ago I attended a meeting where an economist was the keynote speaker. His opening line was, "I'm not a member of a major political party. I'm a Republican."
Never has that line cut deeper than this week. After all of the campaigning, the SuperPAC money, the advertisements, the blustery predictions, etc., the Rs have gone in reverse.
Their presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, seemed like he was qualified enough to be president. Certainly qualified enough to defeat an economically-weakened Barack Obama. So how did this happen? Let a lifetime independent voter tell you.
If you listen to the Rs, they've got all sorts of reasons why they lost the presidency plus some senate seats. The only correct reason is that the Rs don't have a big enough tent. It's comprised of a declining base - whites, males, married females, social conservatives, and, um, that's about it.
Look at America. It's becoming less white, less dependent female, less socially conservative. Rs have to start appealing to those constituencies, or at least stop pissing them off.
But what are the conservative pundits framing as their next strategy? To go even farther right! They seem to believe that if they simply do a better job promoting their anti-secular, anti-immigration, anti-environment ideals, that we 'moderates' will be more likely to join them.
So, the Rs analysis of the problem is correct, but their solution is exactly wrong. They think we independent voters don't understand them? The problem is we understand them perfectly, and we don't like it. Newsflash to Rs: We aren't going to like more of what we already don't like.
The crazy thing is, the Rs really weren't/aren't so far away from taking power. Most independent voters are like America - socially liberal, but still fiscally conservative. If the Rs would spend more time on the fiscally conservative message, and a lot less on the social issues, they'd be fine.
[This is a good time to note and give kudos to the states of Colorado and Washington for legalizing marijuana. Talk about your trending social liberalism. By the way folks, it's no big deal - they already have legalized alcohol, a more abusive and dangerous drug. More about this in a future blog.]
There is plenty to dislike about the other non-major political party, a/k/a Democrats. As an independent, I think they're wrong on union support, wrong on expanded government, wrong on tax policy. I matured (such as it is) in the 80s, during the Reagan revolution, and I actually believe in supply-side economics.
To a political independent like me, however, the other stuff matters more now. It's encouraging to see WOITH politicians like Michele Bachmann, Steve King, and especially Bob Vander Plaats struggle so much (and in the latter case, outright lose) this election cycle. Their message of hate, masquerading as social conservatism, has become the millstone around their necks.
If they and the rest of the Rs want to appeal to today's independent voter, they need to go farther left, not farther right.
