What To Do Now : The GOP Must Decide - #7

Now this article is nostly on the mark as far as I'm concerned. The Grand Old Party has abandoned it's basic principles for access to power - that is the liberal agenda of more money in hand means more power to stay in power, principles be damned.

He leaves out some stuff that is important in any campaign and that is the media influence on the general pubic. As a rule, the general public is very short sighted in that they have never seen the big picture. They are concerned with their personal life and anyone that promises them an easier ride they will jump on the passing wagon. They have a very low horizon.

And another thing, where does the hate come from for George Bush? Compared to Bill Clinton he is a saint. But yet most people find fault. Why is that? There is no bases in fact - hmmmm - do ya think the press has anything to do with how people think? And is the press liberal? Does the press hate anything and everything that is even remotely conservative? da!

You decide!

How the GOP Got Here
Understanding and recriminating.
An NRO Symposium

National Review Online asked some regulars to address: “What happened to the Republican party Tuesday? Who’s to blame?”

John J. Pitney Jr.

John McCain made mistakes. But even if he had run a brilliant campaign, the result probably would not have been much different. With a worsening economy, a protracted war, and an unpopular incumbent at the end of an eight-year tenure, it would have been extremely difficult for any Republican to win.

Political scientist Alan Abramowitz has an election-forecasting model that takes such conditions into account. Several months ago, before the start of the fall campaign, his model predicted that Obama would win the two-party popular vote with 54 percent to McCain's 46 percent.

But Republicans are hardly blameless. Fourteen years ago, they took control of Congress on the strength of their ideas. Over time, though, they put the retention of power ahead of the advancement of principle.

They squeezed campaign contributions from interest groups while they neglected the grassroots donors who believed in conservative ideals.

They abandoned belief money in order to get access money, and they ended up with neither.

If they want to reconnect with their supporters, they should spend less time at the Capitol Hill Club and more time at Sam’s Club.

— John J. Pitney Jr. is Roy P. Crocker Professor of American Politics at Claremont McKenna College.