By Arthur Solomon
On January 20, President Obama will officially be sworn in for his second term. (Because January 20 is a Sunday, a second public ceremony will be held on January 21.)
Despite voters overwhelmingly rejecting GOP policies, Republican congressional leaders and their conservative cohorts are acting as if November 6, 2012, never happened.
Led by Sens. John McCain, Lindsey Graham and Kelly Ayotte (the newsiest member of the 3 Amigos, retiring Sen. Joe Lieberman dissented from their views), their GOP cronies accelerated their attack on U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice for not divulging classified information regarding the Benghazi situation.
On the so-called Fiscal Cliff, Sen. Mitch McConnell continued his opposition to any increase in tax rates for the wealthy until he had no option. Now he is continuing his “let’s pretend we won the election” tactics regarding other financial issues. After Obama’s first inauguration, Mitch said that he would do everything to make certain that Obama was a one-term president. His actions seem now set on making certain that Obama will not be a three-term president. Perhaps McConnell should bone up on the Constitution.
In early January, the Republicans introduced bills covering “personhood,” repealing the Affordable Care Act, defunding Planned Parenthood and to deny citizenship to someone born in the U.S. if their parents came here illegally. The unpopularity of these legislative positions was a big factor in Obama’s reelection and disproved the bromide that elephants have good memories.
And on Saturday, just one day before the president officially takes the oath of office and two days prior to Martin Luther King Day, conservative pro-gun groups will join ranks to celebrate Gun Appreciation Day
As a service to the once Grand Old Party, here are reminders why its advocates must stop wishing it wasn’t so, and accept the realities of the America as it is to remain vital.
- Unlike their parents and grand parents, younger Cuban-Americans in Florida voted (like most young Americans) for the Democratic incumbent.
- In general, despite GOP politicians, pundits and even hard news neutral organizations continually saying that “the young voter’s enthusiasm for President Obama has disappeared, they were proved wrong. Obama won the young vote by 60 to 40 percent.
- Polls strongly showed that a great majority of Americans reject the GOP stance on immigration and want a route to citizenship for illegal immigrants.
- Despite the attacks on Obama’s handling of the economy, polls showed that most Americans blame George W. Bush for our economic morass and that Obama deserved another term to correct it.
- Polls also showed that a great majority of Americans feel the wealthy are not paying enough taxes, including about half of those who voted for Romney. Polls also showed that voters believed Romney proposed polices favorable to the wealthy.
- The Catholic vote went to President Obama, polls showed.
- Polls showed that voters favor legal abortion and rejected the position of religious leaders and GOP candidates.
In addition, the voting showed that:
- The re-election of President Obama signified a rejection of Republican policies.
- Spending by Super Pac’s did not sway many voters.
- Negative political ads may no longer be effective.
- Despite two years of pundits saying that the Republicans are strong favorites to take control of the Senate, the Democrats added two seats.
- The Democrats added eight seats in the House and also had more aggregate House votes than the Republicans. They also had gains in State Legislatures.
- After two years of listening to Tea Party rants, as the results for president and Congress show, extremism was rejected.
- The Christian right political power took a thrashing and might be in serious decline as more Americans think for themselves.
- Romney’s advantage over Obama with white voters came primarily from the South. (Draw your own conclusion.)
Despite the voting, exits polls and polling done after November 6, the GOP, whose tax policies were roundly rejected, refuse to stop catering to their wealthy benefactors at the expense of those not economically fortunate. As Paul Krugman wrote in his November 30 New York Times column, “The same people who bet big on Mr. Romney, and lost, are now trying to win by stealth – in the name of fiscal responsibility – the ground they failed to gain in an open election.”
Election results did give the GOP control of every state legislature in the old Confederacy, but the southern strategy didn’t work in the Civil War and doesn’t work now, as Obama won Florida and Virginia again.
Demographics don’t change overnight and the GOP still has a chance of winning in 2014 and 2016. But the Republicans must accept that “Gimme that old time religion and politics” will surely disappear in a generation or so and the current brand of Republicanism must also vanish in order for the party to remain relevant.
The great comedian George Carlin once said, “The reason I talk to myself is that I'm the only one whose answers I accept.” So it seems with the Republicans.
In order to remain relevant, what the Republicans need to do is to push aside the Rushes, Becks, Roves, Matalins, Ryans, Palins, Backmann’s, Wests, Akins, Mourdocks, Santorums, Norquists, and, sadly to say, the latest incarnation of John McCain.
Also to be cast off are junk science pundits like Peggy Noonan, who predicted a GOP victory based on the number of lawn signs she saw; Newt Gingrich, who like the Phoenix continues to rise from the dead; secessionists, birthers and the other Neanderthal thinkers of their party. The GOP needs to do what the Democrats did that resulted in the election two times each of Bill Clinton and Barak Obama: appeal to the entire American society, not just the fringe elements. (Noonan, incidentally, is like some other conservative pundits. In non-election years they write reasoned seemingly nonpartisan columns, but as an election becomes closer, they join their extreme right wing colleagues.)
Republicans also have to accept the reality that women and minorities play an important role in politics. In the new 113th Congress, all but one of the 20 major House committees are chaired by a white male; the lone woman is also white.
The GOP also has to accept as fact that well-off, educated voters in important swing burbs, who were once considered Republicans or independents, are now more frequently siding with Democrats in presidential elections, making it difficult for a Republican to reach the Electoral College majority.
Republicans should accept as a fact that they just weren’t defeated. They were clobbered. In its December 14-16 edition, USA TODAY reported that a poll of 1170 non-voters said that if they had cast ballots, Obama would have received 44% to Romney’s 26%.
Despite the flight from reality and claims of many prominent GOP politicians and pundits that the 2012 election changed nothing, the facts show that what the election proved was that a majority of Americans believe that the GOP’s Right Way is the Wrong Way.
The GOP’s actions so far in 2013 also shows that a long held assumption might be proved true: history repeats. And that’s the political non-spin truth, despite the GOP’s inept spin tactics that are certain to continue throughout Obama’s second term.
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Arthur Solomon was a senior VP/senior counselor at Burson-Marsteller, handling national and international sports and non-sports programs, including the Olympic and Asian Games organizing committees and sponsors. He can be reached at [email protected] |