Making Lemonade: Being Republican in an Obama America

"I saw this Barack Obama guy on Oprah today.  He was very impressive."

This, from my Republican mother, so very very many months ago.  The narrative from there to here...well...you know the rest.

What was at play in this election was in many ways larger than any ad buys or gripes about robocalls.  This was bigger than debates, bigger than an infomercial.  This was even bigger than a bailout or new registration.

Americans like being a part of something bigger than themselves.  In 2008, this was Barack Obama.

So what now?  As a Republican, how do we look at the day after, when the Obama victory is declared a "victory for America" by so many? When Congress has even larger margins for the Democrats?  [When Al Franken is a US Senator?] What kind of lemonade can we make out of these lemons (if we choose to)? (more after the jump)

I realize that the challenge of finding a silver lining in crushing defeat may result in quite a bit of criticism from my Republican colleagues.  Perhaps optimism is misplaced on my part at a time like this.  Maybe it's false hopes.  Who knows. But these are the small glimmers of light - some serious, some not - that I see and am holding on to at a time when I've otherwise got incredible reservations about the thought that America may soon be confronted with a slew of policies I could not disagree with more.

1)The Potential Renewal of the GOP.  I wish we could have won last night, but we didn't.  And in the face of a continued downward spiral, perhaps nothing could have made Republicans look inward - and look forward - quite like the results of last night.   I am a young Republican, and I am concerned that the party I first felt matched my values has become mired in policy decisions and political action that depart from the things that I value.    

Last night was a rejection of the type of politics I also disagree with.  Can we win elections by calling people liberals and socialists and anti-American?  No.  Can we win elections by misconstruing oppo research and converting it into disingenuous cookie-cutter negative ads?  No.  Can we win elections by invoking the memory of Reagan and calling for a return to the 1980's?  No.  Can we win elections by ignoring the Big Middle?  No. 

Last night, I went to the DCCC website to keep track of the House races.  Their online tool for charting this data was fantastic.  I went to the NRCC website and was asked if I wanted to watch a video message from Ronald Reagan.   I think this speaks to what happened in this election tactically in a small, silly anecdote.

Republicans - likely many young Republicans, and many of the bright thinkers on this very site - will spend the next days and weeks and months (and years?) soul searching.  I am certainly looking forward to the rebuilding of the Republican Party.

2)The Rebirth of Good Rhetoric.  In this race, we frequently lobbed the criticism at Obama that he was merely a pretty speechmaker, an empty suit with eloquence.  In the coming months and years, we will know whether or not this was true.  But one of the things I am heartened to see return to politics is the idea that eloquence matters.  I'll be the first to admit that I've watched too much Aaron Sorkin and that my old high school debater biases are showing. But now, in a world where C-SPAN lets us watch banal discussion, where I arrived in Washington and was completely stripped of my desire to be a speechwriter because (at the risk of going a bit Peggy Noonan here) it looked like there wasn't a market for making something beautiful, where everything is canned, preprocessed and predictable, it was refreshing to hear a speech that was intended to inspire, not just a speech intended to hit all the right talking points.  Let's hope this trend catches on.  It's possible to have style and substance.  I'm looking forward to a Republican who can live up to the challenge on both ends.

3)The Hope of Entitlement Reform.  This may be the biggest pipe dream of them all.  Maybe it's just the delirium of being at work at 1 am.   Who knows.  But consider this - Obama's speech talked about sacrifice, and it's going to take an incredible amount of political will and capital to take on the task of reforming the entitlement programs in the United States.   Only Nixon could have gone to China.  Only Clinton could have done welfare reform.  Can only Obama reform the massive entitlement programs?  Is this complete lunacy?  Weirder things have happened.  This is my long-shot policy hope that is based in little more than a hope that such a large task may take a large, Obama-esque movement to make possible.

4)The Renewal of the Education Issue.  The issue of education is by far one of my top policy issues.  While I'm conflicted on the role that the President should actually have in education policy, the bully pulpit is a big deal - particularly when you're Barack Obama.  He's made statements that go against the desires of teachers unions.  He treads carefully because he supports versions of and principles of things like merit pay.  Democrats prioritize education.  Maybe its because they want the teacher union vote, maybe its pandering, maybe its because they see a federal role in it and the GOP does not.  But at this point, I view education as central to all of the major issues that face America in the coming years.  I refuse to see America become the world's "C' students.   If we can make this a priority, I am strongly in favor of it - whichever party is in charge.

5)The Death of Slash-and-Burn Vicious Politics.  Let me be clear before I make this point - I am not indicting the Republican Party as entirely based on these sorts of tactics.  Nor am I of the belief that the Democrats are blameless.  Both sides are guilty.  But there's a prevalent belief among some on our side that we can win solely by making the other side unappealing enough that we become the default choice.   Why talk about what's good about us when we can talk about how the other guy is terrible?

America is sick of hearing how terrible the other guy is.  From both parties.  Of all the things the Obama campaign did, they built their case around what Obama would do.  Were there negative ads about McCain?  Yes.  But there is a difference between a "negative ad" and an "attack ad".  Voters can tell the difference.  You know it when you see it.  And "attack ads" are out.

I am heartened by the anecdote of Obama, hushing crowds that were booing Sen. McCain, saying  "Don't boo, just vote."   Crowds at both Obama/Biden and McCain/Palin got fired up, got angry, and occasionally crossed the line.  The tone of the campaign got negative, and both sides were culpable.  But Obama has been a class act throughout this race, and I have hope that the tone of the debate in Washington and around the country will share that sort of class for years to come.

The election is over, Obama has won.  Let's look forward and do our best to make sure that America really is better off in four years - and that an American that is better off has every reason to return the Republican Party to power as a result.   It's a tough challenge, but if tonight is proof of anything, it's proof of this - anything is possible.