It appears the reports of the G.O.P.’s death were somewhat exaggerated

Posted by larsgarvey on 16.05.2010 · 19 Comments 

As much as we bemoan politicians for repacking their message during election seasons, shifting their campaign towards the center in an attempt to garner more votes, there is something to be said about this: America and Americans are at their best when we can find a middle ground, when we take the time to see how our disparate ideas could actually complement each other, how compromises could lead not to defeats, but to victories — true victories, not for parties, but for constituents. It may have been difficult to see at the time, and perhaps it is a flawed example in and of itself, but I’ve read and overheard enough to see that many Americans, Republicans and Democrats alike, look back pleasantly, nostalgically even, at the Clinton White House and the Republican-controlled Congress of the time. For anything to happen, middle ground had to be found. It was not always a walk in the park, many windows closed and others were never opened, but, for the most part, it worked. The ’90s weren’t exactly a dark time for the United States.

We’ve known since the controversial 2000 election just how evenly divided this nation is. When one party holds most of this nation’s reigns, half the country feels unheard and unrepresented. This happened during George W. Bush’s terms and it is happening again during Barack Obama’s presidency, as evidenced by the rise of the Tea Party, the conspiracy-laden rants of talking heads such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, and the overall vocabulary being used in political discussions. What’s been somewhat lost when dealing with the fringes of the far-right (or the far-left) is the possibility of a healthy, robust political debate between informed, intelligent Republicans and Democrats. Too often politicians are caricatured, exaggerated, and sensationalized — one only has to the remember the cartoons of Michelle Obama during the 2008 campaign or take a quick look through any publication’s political cartoons today to see what is happening. We spend so much time dealing with the extremes of the spectrum that the middle ground is not forfeited, but ignored.

This is why The Daily Beast‘s article “Long Live the GOP!” has actually inspired a little optimism in me. When Reihan Salam writes: “The Tea Party could pave the way for a more inclusive political movement that embraces the same fiscal conservatism while leaving aside more polarizing cultural messages, as seen in the Scott Brown campaign,” I can’t help but breathe a sigh of relief. I have little to no tolerance for the half-bright raconteurs of the Tea Party, but I can understand their desire to scream and be heard. This has nothing to do with my feelings for Republicans or Conservatives in general, or their desire to have a large-scale, transparent debate with the left. It seems silly that in a nation built on ideas that we should not want this level of inclusive discussion.

Having played in a few bands, it’s never failed to surprise me how much better a song I started on my own became when it was added to, changed, and augmented by others. To believe that one person or one side of the political spectrum has all the answers is ridiculous. But the ideas that are being brought to the table need to be ones that make people pause, think, take stock, and then decide — and this is sadly lacking with the nonsense coming out of the Tea Party and others at the moment. Where are Ronald Reagan’s disciples? Where is the Republican party’s answer to the charisma and speeches of Barack Obama? It’s obvious now that it is not the folksy Sarah Palin, the ridiculous and bizarre Michael Steele, Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal, or the Maverick-no-longer John McCain.

That’s my challenge to a G.O.P. looking to get off life support — don’t look to the far-right for inspiration, but towards the middle. There are so many fronts where a Republican could powerfully challenge a Democrat today, but there are few Republicans who seem willing to do so without placating the Tea Party, without Sarah Palin firing up the crowd before a speech, without succumbing to empty phrases like “The American people want [insert key campaign rallying call here]” (a suggestion I hope plenty of Democrats take to heart as well) or labeling political opponents “anti-American.” What we need are informed, intellectual discussions, and I hope the Republican party is up to the challenge.

Filed under Journalism · Tagged with GOP, Reihan Salam, Republican party, Tea Party, The Daily Beast, The Daily Show