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The Zombie Party spends a Weekend at Bernies

Submitted by Jon Henke on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 18:14
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"The Right has aircraft carriers, the Left has pirate ships."

The Old Guard is building more aircraft carriers. Two new groups have been announced, one composed of "House and Senate Republican lawmakers", the other "a collection of the party's senior strategists".

Because nothing says Reform like a coalition of the politicians who got the Republican Party where it is today.

The National Council To Stay Relevant for a New America intends to "hold town halls" and "produce GOP ideas".   "Let's start an organization, then figure out why later" does not inspire confidence - normally, organizations are created because somebody already has an idea - nor does their announcement letter which is a buzword salad that manages to say absolutely nothing.

They also intend to "rebrand a struggling Republican Party", which is something I think Republicans fundamentally misunderstand.   Your "brand" is not "spin you hope people believe".  Branding only works when you're focusing attention on something authentic about a product.  Republicans can't sell the brand they want to sell (limited government, responsibility, values, good defense), because those things are not authentically true of the Republican Party. 

Rebranding the Party can't be done with new Buzz Words and a shiny coat of paint.  Republicans are going to have to actually reform the Party.

Look, I really don't intend to be such a downer and I sincerely hope these organizations can do something to genuinely reform the Republican Party.  If they do, they can count me as an ally.  But the rot is deep and it's hard to see how the Old Guard will be the agent of change.

The GOP has been a Zombie Party for a long time now, and the only thing that kept it moving was a certain skill at tactical political posturing and the fact that people didn't want to believe the legacy brand of the GOP was gone.  But now, even that appearance of Republican vitality is gone.

The conservative movement is carrying the dead body around, trying to convince everybody that the movement and the GOP are doing just fine and won't you please help us stay relevant?  The Zombie Party is spending a Weekend at Bernie's.  But it's quite clear by now that the Right isn't capable of accomplishing the ideals we want to accomplish with our current policies, politicians and infrastructure, and repackaging the status quo is not how the movement and the GOP will be renewed.

The next Republican revolution will come from outside current (political and movement) leadership.  The next political leaders of the Right will be the people who reform the Republican Party.

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Have you seen this chart from 538.com

Submitted by NextRightNando on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 18:31.

Have you seen this chart from 538.com, showing that Independents are now the leading "party"?

The situation seems primed for the emergence of a new party.

Let's hope you're correct

Submitted by Stephen Gordon on Thu, 04/30/2009 - 19:50.

"The next Republican revolution will come from outside current (political and movement) leadership.  The next political leaders of the Right will be the people who reform the Republican Party."

It seems that quite a few folks in the GOP don't wish for this to happen.

 

Henke, when did you become the spokesman for Piss & Vinegar?

Submitted by Michigan-Matt on Mon, 05/04/2009 - 15:38.

No offense, but you're smoking the dope MichaelPhelps left behind if you think the GOP's problems today were caused by something other than the failed leadership of the farRight, soc-con guys like TomDelay, DennisHastert and felon-DukeCunningham.  The real revolution and reform has already begun, Henke.  Wake up.

The problem is that Reagan conservatism and the real GOP got hijacked by that cabal of neolithic soc-cons in Congress --and now, with those very idiots running for the sidelines and cover, the GOP is left to clean up the mess.

How to best do that?  Return the GOP to it's real roots of progressive and moderate policy, practice pragmatic politics on a local level and recruit good, electable candidates to stand for office, and drop the soc-con neolithic idiots in the nearest dumpster.  Fast.  No more purity tests.  No more blood oaths signed in public.  The real reform you missed is that it is now "Big Tent" time again in the GOP and your team is going to be stuck outside, holding the flaps.

The real revolution inside the GOP has already happened and, as usual, the soc-cons are clueless.  MichaelSteele and MittRomney are going to be the new face of the GOP for the next few years and the Party will move toward the political center --leaving behind divisive issues the soc-cons loved to love... like gay marriage, stem cell funding, the UN and the entirely silly "culture war" nonsense that came straight from JerryFalwell's tiny, little 1980s mind.

You think Henke that the GOP is responsible for this sh*tpile left behind by the disreputable leadership of the Party by the soc-cons??  WTF?  No, it's the cynics and piss & vinegar soc-con salesmen who are to blame.

When you can admit that... you can have a place at the table once again.  Until then, the Party doesn't need your type.  We need moderate, independent voters who will show up on Election Day --not sit at home in a pouting snite over the GOP nominating McCain and somehow slighting poor MissPalin.

The GOP revolution is under way in state-after-state Party Chair battles and the neolithic soc-cons have lost the last 23-31 battles on that front... someone wake up Henke and let him in on the secret everyone else inside the GOP knows.  And give him the address for the Libertarian Party... that's where he belongs.  Or the Know Nothings.

What?!?!?

Submitted by Jon Henke on Wed, 05/06/2009 - 10:02.

I have no idea who you think you're responding to, but it damned sure isn't me.  What you wrote has little or no relation to what I wrote, where I stand or my analysis of the GOP.

good article, well done

Submitted by bfire52 on Wed, 07/15/2009 - 20:42.

good article, well done post