Is the Grand Old Party slipping out of touch with political reality? Former presidential candidate Gov. Mike Huckabee seems to think so.
Huckabee, a conservative heavyweight, warned the masses last week that the GOP is at risk of becoming as “irrelevant as the Whigs.”
The term “Whigs” represents a U.S. political group in the late 19th century that opposed the policies of then President Andrew Jackson; it is not a reference to advanced technology for hair restoration.
As an ordained Southern Baptist minister, Huckabee’s voice represents the morality within the GOP.
Huckabee feels that the GOP would only further decline in influence should it alienate social conservatives — largely considered the most energetic and loyal faction of the party.
“They’ll basically be a party of gray-haired old men sitting around the country club puffing cigars, sipping brandy and wondering whatever happened to the country. That will be the end of the party,” warned Huckabee.
Is this statement a prediction or an assessment?
Over the past few weeks, the Republican Party has been enthusiastically promoting a new campaign to reshape its image across America. The goal of the initiative is subtly titled, The National Council for a New America.
With all this party rectification, where is the voice of discipline? Morals alone will not get the GOP through this tough political moment in time.
Enter longtime Republican Party Whip Richard “Dick” Cheney. Dick emerged from the elevator within his Death Star to set the record straight last Sunday on “Face the Nation.”
Cheney told Bob Schieffer of CBS News that he preferred Rush Limbaugh’s brand of conservatism to that of former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s. “Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I’d go with Rush Limbaugh, I think,” said Cheney. It shouldn’t be a shock to anyone that Cheney would favor a radio talk show host over a decorated four-star general and past Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Cheney’s declaration basically states that Rush’s conservative ethics reflect the true GOP nature — rather than Colin’s conservative morals. I wonder who Cheney thinks is more patriotic.
For social conservatives, what is considered moral, notions of morality — and their own perceptions of what is proper — act as an important agent in this alienation and ideas of irrelevancy.
What I am referring to is the issue of gay marriage.
The difficult political situation the GOP is currently facing is that, by paying fealty to its social conservative allies, it is also hurting the party by allying themselves to positions that are totally out of sync with the next generation of voters — our generation.
Many voters age 30 and younger — although polls indicate are actually more conservative on abortion — don’t care for the abortion-as-Holocaust rhetoric commonplace among social conservative hardliners.
Some Cal State Long Beach students were reminded of that last month when an anti-abortion group, The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, barraged our breezy Friendship Walk with images of senseless fetal slaughter, all of which were used under the context of selling abortion as genocide.
Many of us are especially opposed to anti-gay bigotry used by social conservatives to reject same-sex marriage. There are currently five states that sanction same-sex marriage and Iowa — of all places — is one.
Huckabee concluded his prophetic warning by stating that it is too early for the GOP to look for a leader. Looking for a leader is not the issue. Coming to terms with the party’s aged ideological current leadership is the true problem.
To the extent the GOP talks about these issues through the mouths of men like Rush and Cheney, they preserve their base in the short term at the expense of long-term viability.
Hanif Zarrabi is a Middle Eastern History graduate student and a columnist for the Daily Forty-Niner.
These young people who support gay marriage so vigorously as you contend, despite the fact that Obama go so many young voters as the media continued to say, are still not the majority of voters. Older people are. And these young voters who vote a certain way tend to change the way they vote as the decades go by. When they’re finally at the age of a reliable voting block. Jackie Gleason’s statement about if you’re young and not a liberal you have no heart, while if you’re old and not conservative you don’t have a brain comes to mind. If social conservatives were such a drag on the party, the only social issue of the past few election cycles (state initiatives on gay marriage) would have failed miserably. But conservatives won everywhere on that one. Why don’t you start looking at the real reasons the Republicans lost. An economy that tanked right before the election and an unpopular president. Abortion and gay marriage were almost never mentioned in the entire campaign.
Thank you for assuring us. Let me assure you this: We “jubilant liberals” will hit new levels of jubilance should the grand old party roll out Mike Huckabee and his vice presidential candidate Chuck Norris, in 2012. We will gladly stare in the face of anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution in the year 2009. You might be better served getting on the Bobby Jindal train, or whomever else you think people “connect” with. Your point regarding the viewership of Huckabee’s tv and radio shows are sophomoric at best. If ratings had any influence in that regard, then Sean Hannity, Oprah Winfrey and Rush would seem to have a great shot when you consider your logic. Furthermore, we “jubilant liberals” will eat, drink and be merry regardless of who sits in the White House. Our self-esteem is not dependent upon who won the election. True Story.
Thank you for assuring us. Let me assure you this: We “jubilant liberals” will hit new levels of jubilance should the grand old party roll out Mike Huckabee and his vice presidential candidate Chuck Norris, in 2012. We will gladly stare in the face of anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution in the year 2009. You might be better served getting on the Bobby Jindal train, or whomever else you think people “connect” with. Your point regarding the viewership of Huckabee’s tv and radio shows are sophomoric at best. If ratings had any influence in that regard, then Sean Hannity, Oprah Winfrey and Rush would seem to have a great shot when you consider your logic. Furthermore, we “jubilant liberals” will eat, drink and be merry regardless of who sits in the White House. Our self-esteem is not dependent upon who won the election. True Story.
Thank you for assuring us. Let me assure you this: We “jubilant liberals” will hit new levels of jubilance should the grand old party roll out Mike Huckabee and his vice presidential candidate Chuck Norris in 2012. We will gladly stare in the face of anyone who doesn’t believe in evolution in the year 2009. You might be better served getting on the Bobby Jindal train, or whomever else you think people “connect” with. Your point regarding the viewership of Huckabee’s tv and radio shows are sophomoric at best. If ratings had any influence in that regard, then Sean Hannity, Oprah Winfrey and Rush would seem to have a great shot when you consider your logic. Furthermore, we “jubilant liberals” will eat, drink and be merry regardless of who sits in the White House. Unlike you, our self-esteem is not dependent upon who won the election. True Story.
Thank you for assuring us. Let me assure you this: We “jubilant liberals” will hit new levels of jubilance should the grand old party roll out Mike Huckabee and his vice presidential candidate Chuck Norris in 2012. We will gladly stare in the face of anyone who doesn’t believe in evoloution in the year 2009. You might be better served getting on the Bobby Jindal train, or whomever else you think people “connect” with. Your point regarding the viewership of Huckabee’s tv and radio shows are sophomoric at best. If ratings had any influence in that regard, then Sean Hannity, Oprah Winfrey and Rush would seem to have a great shot when you consider your logic. Furthermore, we “jubilant liberals” will eat, drink and be merry regardless of who sits in the White House. Unlike you, our self-esteem is not dependent upon who won the election. True Story.
Let me assure you jubilant liberals. The more Obama and the progressive movement pushes liberalism and irresponsible fiscal policies down the throats of ordinary folks, the more you are leaving the door wide open for a folksy, intelligent, compassionate and articulate Mike Huckabee to walk right thru — Huckabee’s economic and social traditional values touch more hearts and souls than you could imagine. He “connects” — and if you don’t believe that, then just ignore the aggregate 4 million viewers that have made “Huckabee” the top-rated cable weekend show; and ignore the “Huckabee Report” — the fastest growing news report which, in just three short months, is now broadcast three times daily on more than 500 radio affiliates; and ignore his speaking engagements at least twice or three times weekly (this week right in the heart of “conservative” Manhatten in New York City). So drink and be merry, enjoy yourselves, folks, because you don’t even see the enemy when he is starring you right in your face.
It seemed that liberllism was the way of the future during the 1960’s. Conservatism was doomed. What happened? Those delusional hippies grew up, got wiser, and became conservatives – opening the door for Ronald Reagan and 28 years of economic and moral conservatism.
By the time he was 26, Dick Cheney had asked for and received, five war deferments. Colin Powell served our country as a soldier in the armed forces for 35 years. Rush Limbaugh has been a mouth-breather for nearly 30 years.