Not-So-Grand, Either

It seems to me that if you want to turn the GOP into the Grand New Party, they’re going to need some grand new people, preferably ones that aren’t also suckered by the same old ideas that Republicans have convinced themselves are intellectually sound and morally righteous (”cutting taxes increases revenue”, “corporations can be trusted to self-regulate”, “America has the best healthcare system in the world”, “government ‘bailouts’ to moneyed interests are morally superior to government ‘handouts’ to people living in poverty”, etc.).

One of the things that has helped the Republicans attract voters over the years is the sheer confidence they have in their own ideas compared to the wishy-washy pandering of the Democrats (did somebody say FISA?). But that confidence can be a two-edged sword when public opinion turns against you. You can either be resolute and stick to the positions that are increasingly unpopular or you can, as Grand New Party suggests, reinvent the party and try to claim credit for ideas that you’ve spent the last few decades criticizing Democrats for.

Or the entire GOP can just take a cue from John McCain and change their positions whenever it suits them.


posted by greg on July 16, 2008 @ 4:19 pm

2 comments »

  1. McCain is an obvious corporate shill,and a practiced liar,who can barely conceal his contempt for the people he claims to represent.Saddly the shocking FISA vote,has damaged the support for our only other possible presidential choice,Senator Obama.Maybe Obama should look to Dennis Kucinich as one example of consistent representation of democratic voters,and party ideals.As the voice of a nation which demands and end to the war,and seeks to impeach an unbalanced tyrant,Congressman Kucinich certainly deserves a cabinet post in an Obama administration.How about,Attorney General Kucinch?!!That would plausibly offset,Obama’s need to grant imunity to the powerfull,while disregarding the will of the people.McCains “straight talk” is bull,Obama’s disregard for Kucinich,one of the few representatives not afraid to voice the will of the people,reaks of the same odor.

    Comment by pogo — July 17, 2008 @ 9:06 am

  2. If you read one book this year, you should read Grand New Party. As a candidate for Congress (running in the AZ-04 Sept. 2 GOP primary), I think this book is a must for every Republican and lots of Democrats. Future generations will live under Son of Sam’s Club Republicanism.

    Comment by Republican Richard Hussein Grayson for Congress AZ-04 — July 18, 2008 @ 8:02 am

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