The Republican Party, reeling from its poor showing on Nov. 4, has unveiled a grassroots website, RepublicanForAReason.com, to solicit advice from its constituents and get things moving in the right direction again.
“As we regroup as a party after the presidential election, we must reflect on what we have done well and what we can improve upon as we move forward,” says RNC chair Mike Duncan.
The GOP has been blistered in news reports lately as stories of infighting, depression and general queasiness about the future and recent past of the party have aired.
A snappy video on the new website ("Building Our Future") features a dramatic rehash of the Reagan, Bush I, and Bush II years, complete with sounds bites from all three GOP heroes and dramatic images from nominating conventions, the Berlin Wall toppling, and, of course, the rubble of Ground Zero after 9/11.
The responses so far from the GOP faithful don’t appear to show much love for Sen. John McCain, and many urge a greater return to the party’s conservative roots. Cheryl from Maryland calls McCain the weakest candidate to win the nomination who has “no core conservative principles.” Glen in Tulsa thinks the only thing McCain "did right was get Palin on the ballot with him."
After viewing the bombastic video, it seems that the GOP would be better served to heed the advice of Joseph from La Vernia, Tex., who writes in to urge his party to stop looking to the past: “While we should rejoice our past, constantly saying we should be the party of Reagan just doesn't connect with the majority of voters these days.”
I don’t think the Republicans want to listen to Mark from Houston, who illustrates the drawbacks of an open forum on the Internet. His advice: “We should continue to promote the White Race as the superior Race. Capable of leading our country - which is a white country - to the greatest Imperial Force of All Time.”
The advice of Katherine from Pflugerville, Tex., seemed the closest to our view of the Republican Party at its most successful: “The Republican Party has to be the part of fiscal responsibility, small government, and national security. This is the base of our party, not the Evangelicals. Isolationism is not the answer, but we have to pick our battles carefully, and not stretch our military too thin. Social issues should be left up the states rather than being a part of discussions on a federal level.”
