All Hail The Party of Ideas
On January 20, 2006, Karl Rove gave a speech before the Republican National Committee. He told the crowd:
For years Republican pundits and talking heads have been telling us that the Republican party is the party of ideas and the Democrats, who haven't had any new ideas since the 60s, can do little more than try to preserve the status quo. In some limited contexts, this is true. The GOP certainly has come up with some new ideas over the years, like privatizing social security. Unfortunately, that particular idea, like so many others dreamed up by GOP think tanks, was an extraordinarily bad one. In defending one of the most successful government programs of all time, the Democrats were, in a sense, defending the status quo.
But its one thing to base your electoral strategy on the defense of existing policies; it's quite another to base your strategy on the defense of an existing power structure. Rove is trying to motivate the Republican base by appealing solely to their desire not to see Republican leaders investigated. That's about as far from anything that can reasonably be called an "idea" as a party can possibly get.
Our success springs from our ideas. A quarter-centuryJust what does that agenda consist of? Well today Jim Rutenberg of the New York Times gives us a preview. The article carries the headline "Rove Is Using Threat of Loss to Stir G.O.P." Rutenberg writes:
ago, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat,
wrote, "of a sudden, the GOP has become a party of
ideas." It was true then - and remains true today. We are
the party of ideas - and "ideas have consequences."
Ideas - a party's governing philosophy, should be at the
heart of our political debates - because they are a deciding
factor in elections. That was certainly the case in 2002
and 2004 - and it will be true in 2006. The Republican
Party has an agenda to run and win on.
[Rove's] once-grand plans for creating a broadened andCan we please dispense with the whole "party of ideas" nonsense now? To the extent the GOP has an electoral strategy this Fall, it appears to consist of warning voters that if the Democrats take over, it will result in a number of Congressional investigations into Bush administration activities. That's quite possibly the most pathetic thing I've ever heard.
permanent Republican majority have given way to a goal
of clinging to control of the House and Senate.
The prospect of Democrats capturing either, however,
may be one of the best weapons Mr. Rove has as he turns
to what he has traditionally done best: motivating his
party's conservative base to turn out on Election Day. . . .
White House and Republican officials, trying to turn
vulnerability to advantage, say conservatives could be
united and re-energized by the possibility that
Democrats could put Mr. Bush and his policies on
political trial by winning control of even one chamber of
Congress.
Senate Republicans sent out a fund-raising letter this
week seeking to use that possibility to fire up the base.
For years Republican pundits and talking heads have been telling us that the Republican party is the party of ideas and the Democrats, who haven't had any new ideas since the 60s, can do little more than try to preserve the status quo. In some limited contexts, this is true. The GOP certainly has come up with some new ideas over the years, like privatizing social security. Unfortunately, that particular idea, like so many others dreamed up by GOP think tanks, was an extraordinarily bad one. In defending one of the most successful government programs of all time, the Democrats were, in a sense, defending the status quo.
But its one thing to base your electoral strategy on the defense of existing policies; it's quite another to base your strategy on the defense of an existing power structure. Rove is trying to motivate the Republican base by appealing solely to their desire not to see Republican leaders investigated. That's about as far from anything that can reasonably be called an "idea" as a party can possibly get.
posted by A.L. at 11:36 PM
7 Comments:
Yesterday we told you about Sen. Dole's GOP senate fundraising letter which begged for campaign money and suggested that allowing Democrats to launch investigations of President Bush would be even worse than letting them lose the War on Terror.
http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/008366.php
The "party of ideas" has lots of 'em.
*steal elections
*fake terrorist attacks
*use terrorist attacks to justify destroying citizen's rights and the US Constitution
*spy on peaceful citizens that do not agree with the administrations policies and actions
*start a war of conquest based on lies
*out a CIA operative that specializes in WDM -- this covers the lies for the Iraq war and will enable the lies for attacking Iran
*use Depleted Uranium weapons, a war crime that will poison innocent people around the globe for many generations
*kill a quarter million civilians in Iraq
*give to prosperous oil and drug companies
*destroy Social Security
*destroy access to healthcare
*appoint the "decider" Dictator
Sure, those of us who can think for ourselves see through this tripe, but what about the others? There are always (well, as of late) voters who will not investigate for themselves into the issues of the day, and instead rely on the Fox News' of the world to tell them what they should think about a particular issue and thus how they should vote.
This tired, yet still optimistic, American is excited about the possibility of turning things around, including investigating the overflowing tank of abuses, yet I still remember, all too vividly, November 8, 2004, when my countrymen let me down. I am not so optimistic that our populace will wake up this time--hope for the best, expect the worst.
"...I still remember, all too vividly, November 8, 2004, when my countrymen let me down."
I remember the Supreme Court letting me down in 2000 like I've never been let down before, but 2004 didn't bother me so much. For one, I was (and am) a Howard Dean supporter, and I was forced to my nose while voting for John Kerry. But more importantly, I knew that this day would come. I knew that eventually, there would be a restoration, and all the wrongs of the Bush Administration would come back to haunt them. Darkest before the dawn, and all that. Painful as it is, Bush's second term is vital to recapturing the Congress and the White House, and maintaining Democratic rule for the next several decades.
It's funny because you're optomistic.
The Republicans will just do what they've always done in recent times when confronted with a possible election defeat: demonize gays. Congress is going to debate adding an anti-gay amendment to constitution next month & a number of states will be voting on adding it to their laws in November. Congressional Republicans just have to distance themselves from Bush & bash gays and the odds are in their favor.
What can the Dems do? Either alienate a part of their base or a part of a barely "tolerant" electorate. That's barring yet another *major* Bush mess-up, which is entirely possible.
Yup, the party of idea. To bad they all involve corruption, prostitution, war, elimination of the Bill of Rights, destruction of our environment, and turning our Constitution into a "damn piece of paper."
Big ideas....
GREAT CRIMES DEMAND EVEN MORE CRIMINALITY!
"Rove is trying to motivate the Republican base by appealing solely to their desire not to see Republican leaders investigated."
So Rove's strategy is, "Vote Republican and we will turn a blind eye to high crimes and corruption."
When the approval ratings of both houses of Congress is lower than the presidents this strategy may not bode too well for maintaining control of Congress.
Perhaps the Democrats could make it their slogan "Vote Republican and a blind eye will be turned to high crimes and corruption."
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