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Warning: GOP Leadership Still Doesn't Get it
By Chip Hanlon | 08/17/09 | 06:58 PM EDT | 20 Comments
You can give him credit for answering the question directly, I suppose, but that's about it. Here's what I'm talking about:
I just came from a small meeting this afternoon with a very senior member of the GOP Congressional leadership, and I can tell you with certainty something which should dismay the rank-and-file Republican voter: they do not have a clue why they lost the majority in 2006. Here's how it went down:
In response to another attendee's question about where the GOP would head, this official flatly confirmed rumors I have been hearing for months, that Congressional GOP Leadership believes that the only reason they lost the majority in both houses was due to an unpopular war (Iraq) and an unpopular President (W). The ONLY reason.
Thus, I asked a follow-up to the other person's question, which led to a sharp, brief exchange that I'll do my best to capture the flavor of next.
Hanlon: "Elected Official, you said something in your last reply which troubled me. I hear from various sources that the House and Senate GOP Leadership have taken essentially no lessons away from the '06 and '08 elections, that they believe they've done nothing wrong and that the only reason they lost was due to the unpopularity of George W. Bush. That Iraq war certainly energized the Left and lost us independent votes, but I'd respectfully submit that does not explain the thing which troubles so many of us within our party, and that is our failure on spending. Don't you worry about how to re-energize your base on this topic?"
Elected Official: "I understand there has been a lot of griping from some Republicans out there about spending, but if you take away the Iraq War, which was funded by debt, we did a pretty good job on spending. And I will tell you this: every pollster out there will tell you that the only issue which moved voters was Iraq. You may be concerned with what you perceive to be our 'failings' on spending, but it was Iraq, and Iraq alone, which put us into the minority."
Hanlon: "Again with respect, Elected Official, then how do you explain the surging popularity of a fringe personality like Ron Paul? Don't you think that the bulk of his newfound support has to have come from frustrated Republicans who see in his fiscal message something that's missing from today's GOP?"
Elected Official: "Well, that might explain some of his support, sure, but..." and on again he went into the yada-yada of those polls he cited the first time.
"Griping." That is a direct quote.
And let me tell you: the tone of his reply was, 'listen kid, let me straigten you out here.' It was terse and it was unaccepting.
If he had looked up from his soup after replying, he would have seen the many looks in my direction from others in attendance around the table: a couple were giving me the 'atta boy' look while a half dozen others were literally shaking their heads at his reply. One openly mouthed, "unbelievable" to me.
That's the reaction from this group of Orange County GOP hitters, but I'm the one who's out of touch.
The understanding in his mind is clear: us silly little fiscal conservatives out here aren't going anywhere. So, I guess if you expect the NRSC to stop endorsing extreme moderates in GOP primaries or are hoping the House GOP will hear our pleas on spending restraint and abusive earmarks, you are going to be very disappointed.
And Obama's current unpopularity is only fueling this elected official's confusion; he kept referring to the generic ballot poll, the question which simply asks, "if the election were held today, would you vote for a Democrat or a Republican?" Apparently, that deficit was 12% a year ago versus dead even today.
Thus, this member of Leadership sees that poll as evidence he's on the right track. I see it and think, 'imagine where our party could arleady be if voters trusted that the GOP would return to its senses on fiscal restraint!'
Well, it turns out voters are right not to trust our paty's elected leadership, if this person was any indication. It is plainly obvious that if Republicans were magically handed the majority tomorrow, it would be business as usual on spending. No lessons learned.
"At least we don't spend as much as the Democrats," that was his message, which he actually stated at another point. Inspiring.
Like I said at the top of this article: give this elected official some credit for answering the question directly rather than dancing around it with some nonsense meant to placate me. Unfortunately, what he openly admitted is that Republican Leadership still has no idea why it finds itself in a deep minority.
It was one of the most disheartening meetings I've ever attended.
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Comments
Why don't you name the person?
I didn't identify myself as someone who might write a blog post (because I wasn't planning to when I went in) and, to be honest, I feel a little uncomfortable because I don't quite know the etiquette here. Was it an on-the-record meeting or off? It wasn't stated specifically. I was so appalled I felt I had to write about it, but I'm choosing not to name the person because those remarks were likely stated without believing they'd show up on a blog like this. Tough call, but if it ultimately gets my un-invited from future get-togethers I don't much care. Really, it was just such a stunning remark. SOOOOO out of touch.
Chip, man I feel your pain on this and I have been preaching it from the highest rooftop for MONTHS. We all need to be prepared to look elsewhere for leadership. Most of the GOP doesn't get it now and they never will. They are progressivism "light" with all the foibles and flaws of the leftist democrat party, just not the speed. They need to be abandoned. Does that mean we start a third party? Maybe. Why not? Steele is clearly asleep at the wheel too. He talks a big game, and tries to steal thunder from the grassroots, but at the end of the day, he's still the same buffoon who claimed that Limbaugh doesn't represent the GOP and thinks gun control is OK.
GOP... time to clean house. You can do it, or we will handle it for you.
WE DON'T NEED YOU, YOU NEED US. And right now, you aren't bringing much to the table. In fact, in the advent of a third party made of true conservative american constitutionalist patriots, any conservative I can think of right now who is earning his paycheck would probably jump ship, leaving you with nothing bur RINOs. Hey, look on the bright side, maybe Arlen Specter could come back...
"Griping"???!!! We are griping? We need new leadership. If this official really believes that the war in Iraq was the sole reason for the past two election cycles, he is living in a bubble.
Throw the bums out or kiss the future of the GOP goodbye.
Frankly I left the Republican Party years ago. No I have not changed my registration, yet. But I am a young conservative male born and raised in OC. And I can tell you this, it is attitudes like that one that remind me why the GOP is dying. I will say that at 28 I am for more socially libertarian than any GOP elected official. And frankly, they would still have my vote if they could stop spending non-stop. But when the GOP is the side of spending and personal liberty bashing, I simply wont be a participant. I am out. I will go vote Lilbertarian and be proud of that vote.
Let the leadership know that frankly, the young members of the party won't be there to keep you in office.
Iraq did have a lot to do with 2006 and Bush had a lot to do with 2008 ending up the way they did. So at least in that respect he's not wrong. What's more, both of those problems have long-term impact on the GOP's well-being, because young voters were particularly influenced by Iraq and Dubya's myriad screw-ups. If we're not careful, we'll have a whole generation of Americans voting against Bush into the 2050's, and that's not good. Numbers don't lie on this count.
But the fact that those things are true doesn't mean the GOP has nothing to gain by setting itself out as the party of fiscal responsibility in both word and deed. And the fact that this elected official either doesn't grasp or doesn't appreciate the importance of that statement is what's most disappointing about this story. Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid are on the doomsday clock of $80 trillion in unfunded liabilities. Us young whippersnappers may hate war and hate Bush, but we'll hate darn near every politician of any party who looks at our financial situation and does nothing. If the GOP can vote to balance budgets, get spending under control by any means necessary, and make positive steps towards cutting down on our federal debt, there's not much to lose and a whole lot to gain.
That elected official is clueless and a moron. It is so frustrating to those of us who are fiscal conservatives and who really out their working in the activist trenches with various groups, to hear this drivel from someone who is obviously insulated from what Americans really think.I am a State Legislative Chair for a major Republican organization and I would definitly not support someone with this attitude!
As Reagan would say Chip...."there you go again"...bashing Ron Paul again. I know it makes you crazy that he is so right on fiscal and economic matters. I think that high ranking DC hack just disabused you and all of us how he really feels. We can go pound sand. Spending doesn't matter. You can keep searching all over for your next Reagan, but it obviously ain't coming from our current crop of GOP leaders in DC.
The next Reagan can't be found within the Leadership, you're right. That's why we need someone to rise up from within our ranks. Overthrowing this entire crop is critical, but Obama's probably going to hand them enough seats in 2010 to allow them to all keep their posts. Ugh.
Start with Kevin McCarthy and David Dreier - their antipathy for conservatives and their values is evident. Also - they recruited Arnold all over again to run for Governor, you're right that they don't learn. These people are too sheltered and they look at Tom McClintock and shudder... McClintock relates to the rest of us. Thanks for the post
Pretty sure you're off base in mentioning Dreier and McCarthy in the same sentence, man... very unfair to McCarthy.
I am forever amazed at the actions of the local Republican Party Organizations in Washington State. They also don’t get it and to make matters worse the Mainstreamers are running around saying that they and they alone have to right course for the Republican Party and that is a swing to the hard left!
Unless some of the local County organizations wake up, the 2010 elections will be over and the GOP will again lose across the boards!
Most GOP members of Congress get the message regarding fiscal restraint. Why?
Because most Republicans opposed the bailouts, "stimulus," bloated budget and omnibus bill, cap-and-trade, and the current healthcare legislation. They could fight even harder to streamline government, and enhance liberty.
My devotion this morning included this gem, Ecclesiastes 4:16 "Better a poor but wise youth than an old but foolish king who no longer knows how to take warning." That's why I'm supporting Rubio over Crist in FL and Penry over McInnis in CO.
What can we do? Who will help us? Where do we find the voice of wisdom and reason? Who will be the Conservative Leader we need? I guess we need to get on our knees and pray cause perhaps only God can give us the answers we are looking look. It's time people, it's time to put your trust back in God to provide for us what we need. Psalm 146
Certainly, we all can agree that wreckless spending goes against conservative values. Much of Republican fiscal policy in the time-frame you are referring to probably falls into this category.
The idea that this cost us the majority in 2006 and 2008 is, well, shaky at best. Do you have any real data to back this up? Arguments perhaps? Citing Ron Paul is hardly relevant. Of the many factors that explain his emergence, this is clearly one of them, but drawing a direct causal relationship is, well, sloppy.
I challenge you to show me a single Democrat in Congress that has/will ever come within 100 miles of even bringing up Republican spending as an argument, let alone making it an integral part of their campaign strategy. If you want factors other than Iraq and W (denying that these were wildly significant is beyond ridiculous) how about things like voter registration trends and the Obama machine?
If the goal here is to rebuild the party, let's stay away from theories that are entirely based on emotion-stained bias. People are inclined to place undue emphasis on the issues they care about (spending, in this case).
Show us the numbers.
Oh, sweet, fancy Moses... I'm only seeing this now. Are you for real? You must work for GOP Leadership because you're wrong on so many counts. First, of course Democrats ran last year against Bush as better fiscal stewards--weren't you listening? It was a lie, of course, but he gave them the chance to do it (just like FDR ran as the fiscal conservative against Hoover, if you can believe that one). Second, explain why the base stayed home if not for frustation with the party over fiscal matters. You clearly are not involved in politics, pal--involved with either the activist or donor communities, because they are pissed. And rightfully so. You HAVE to be from inside D.C. to suffer from such a flawed perception.
By the way, I guess it's an odd coincidence that "Show us the numbers" was exactly what McConnell said. Oh, whoops... did I give something away there? Bastards...
It's exchanges like this that just re-enforce my decision to go DTS.
This just reaffirms what I have seen since the end of the Bush Administration and the Presidential Election. The Party is selling out its constituents because it believes that the transition to socialism is inevitable and they want to be on the right side of the balance of power when that happens.
Bush proved that the RNC establishment will toss the Constitution and the founding fathers overboard to maintain their power. The people are lost unless they start immediately to use the process to vote these scum out of office or recall them or impeach them..before there is no process left.
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