Meet the new GOP, same as the old GOP

Judd Legum at HuffingtonPost:

1. Steele compared stem cell research to Nazi experiments during the Holocaust.

2. Steele bused in homeless African Americans from Philadelphia to distribute literature in inner-city Baltimore that featured a "Sample Democratic Ballot" with votes for Steele and former Gov. Bob Ehrlich, along with photos of prominent black Democrats.

3. Steele once described that "R" next to his name as a "scarlet letter," complaining that being a Republican was hurting his electoral chances.

4. Steele was endorsed by Mike Tyson during his run for Senate. When Tyson, who used to be married to Steele's half sister, pleaded no contest to assault in Montgomery County in 1998, Steele was on hand to support him.

5. Steele defended former Gov. Bob Ehrlich's decision to hold a $100,000 fundraiser at a country club that did not allow non-white members, saying that the club's membership's policies were "not an issue" because "I don't play golf."

The GOP retains significant loyalties.  John McCain got 46% of the vote, after all.  Their problem is demographic.  Their portion of the electorate is shrinking while the Democratic portion is increasing.  It will not be possible for the GOP to be a viable national party until it can reach out beyond its base of white, particularly southern, males. 

This, unfortunately for them, is something they are not willing to do, and, even if they wanted to, don't really know how to pull it off.  When they try, it comes off as clunky and ham-handed, like electing Michael Steele chair of the RNC, running a goof-ball like Alan Keyes against Barack Obama in Illinois, and getting every black person in the Republican Party on the stage at the National Convention so that the TV audience will think they're all "inclusive."

If actions such as these are any indication, it looks like it may take some time for them to right themselves.  In the mean time, they will remain competitive--they may do well in the mid-terms in 2010--but their support will keep eroding ever so slightly with each election cycle.  If they don't make that shift toward reaching out beyond their base, in a believable way, the GOP will be reduced to a mere regional party.

 

Comments

[Hypatia]

From what I’ve seen of Steele on television, he presents himself well, with a calm and affable demeanor which is just what the doctor ordered for the GOP right now and he seems a good choice as a spokesman for the party. For that reason I was hoping he would not win, but oh well.

The vote was close, so Steele has work to do within the RNC, but I think this is a small step forward for the Republicans, assuming Steele is good at his job.

[Hypatia]

From what I’ve seen of Steele on television, he presents himself well, with a calm and affable demeanor which is just what the doctor ordered for the GOP right now and he seems a good choice as a spokesman for the party. For that reason, I was hoping he would not win, but oh well. The vote was close, so Steele has work to do within the RNC, but I think this is a small step forward for the Republicans, assuming Steele is good at the less public aspects of his job.

[John Petty]

You have to admit, though, that it's not a good sign when the RNC Chair once advertised himself (falsely) as a Democrat.

[Frank Glenn]

The minute I heard of his appointment, I remembered all those times in the last couple of years that Fox and other GOP message multiplier-liars trotted him out to prove that a GOP black guy could be as big a bigot and Supply-side parrot as their white guys. Imagine Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama in sepia and you've got his picture accurately. The only place I ever saw him remotely civilized was on Bill Maher a couple of times.

[Hypatia]

Sorry for posting my comment twice, BTW.

"You have to admit, though, that it's not a good sign when the RNC Chair once advertised himself (falsely) as a Democrat."

I guess that's what the GOP thinks of as bipartisan.

[John Petty]

The GOP will have to spend several years in the wilderness before they right themselves--not a good idea to be the "white party" when the percentage of white people keeps declining.

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