The GOP patchwork
Wow, Garrison is nasty. He's not doing much to civilize political debate, is he?
Uh, while it's true that the national platform of the GOP is quite socially conservative (and largely out-of-line with mainstream America), one must remember that at the local, and state level, the GOP is still very much the "Party of Lincoln."
There are delegates from every state in the Union at the Convention. One should not lump Ohioans, Indianans, New Hampshireites(?), New Yorkers, and Mainers, in with the Alabamans, Virginians, and Carolinians. These Northern, old-style Yankee Republicans still exist, and still exert much influence in their respective states. Just look at my recent post at Theo's Gift on the governorships. All of New England is red -- it looks like a map from 1864.
Then there are the folks out west. McCain, Arnold, that governor in Colorado. Hell, even Hawaii's GOP (and female) governor. These men are all remnants of Reagan's conservatism. Sun Belt optimism instead of Bible Belt fire and brimstone. Open range libertarianism instead of Federal Nanny-State.
The current GOP and conservative philosophy is best viewed as a three-way union between Yankee Republicans, Westerners, and Southern Democrats-cum-Christian Conservatives. Of course, right now the whole movement is weighted heavily towards the South, but as a lifelong Republican (and Yankee), I consider it a duty to help pull the party up from those reformed rebs in the South and re-orient it on the coasts.
Anyway, the point here is that it's flat-out wrong to say the GOP has completely reversed from its days as slave-fighting, fiscally responsible, patriots. It's rather politically amazing that the current GOP can combine the descendants of Northern abolitionists, with the descendants of those who died to keep slaves.
Uh, while it's true that the national platform of the GOP is quite socially conservative (and largely out-of-line with mainstream America), one must remember that at the local, and state level, the GOP is still very much the "Party of Lincoln."
There are delegates from every state in the Union at the Convention. One should not lump Ohioans, Indianans, New Hampshireites(?), New Yorkers, and Mainers, in with the Alabamans, Virginians, and Carolinians. These Northern, old-style Yankee Republicans still exist, and still exert much influence in their respective states. Just look at my recent post at Theo's Gift on the governorships. All of New England is red -- it looks like a map from 1864.
Then there are the folks out west. McCain, Arnold, that governor in Colorado. Hell, even Hawaii's GOP (and female) governor. These men are all remnants of Reagan's conservatism. Sun Belt optimism instead of Bible Belt fire and brimstone. Open range libertarianism instead of Federal Nanny-State.
The current GOP and conservative philosophy is best viewed as a three-way union between Yankee Republicans, Westerners, and Southern Democrats-cum-Christian Conservatives. Of course, right now the whole movement is weighted heavily towards the South, but as a lifelong Republican (and Yankee), I consider it a duty to help pull the party up from those reformed rebs in the South and re-orient it on the coasts.
Anyway, the point here is that it's flat-out wrong to say the GOP has completely reversed from its days as slave-fighting, fiscally responsible, patriots. It's rather politically amazing that the current GOP can combine the descendants of Northern abolitionists, with the descendants of those who died to keep slaves.
3 Comments:
Hey, there's no need to attack Southerners, especially in a post that's ostensibly about the failure of stereotypes to do justice to the complexities of demographic make-ups in this country. There are plenty of Republicans in Alabama, Virginia and yes, even the Carolinas, that are no more deluded, selfish or bigoted than any Republican in the North or West. Just because their Christian Coalition brethren are more vocal (as they are in the national party), doesn't mean you can lump them all in together as ignorant Southerners. Hell, y'all are the ones that fought so desperately to keep us part of your union, so don't go disowning us now!
Touche, Petri Dish.
I think that what engenders Garrison's response, and what gives legtimacy to all those complaing about the current state of the GOP is that all of those groups certainly consider themselves Republicans, but they seem to have very little impact on the face or actions of the GOP. Log Cabin Republicans, swimming against the tide if ever I saw it, are a perfect example of this. The fact that the GOP has become so beholden to the religious right, so vitriolic in its rhetoric, and so far right (well it's far something, maybe not right) really can't be ignored.
Really the two party system sucks, because in a perfect world you wouldn't have to support this stuff. But the Republican party nominated these people, elected them, and let them write the party platform. You can't just ignore that.
Post a Comment
<< Home