This is not a post about Steve Martin (pictured above). It is about a political strategy for
Republicans to follow in the coming years.
Where to begin?
Republicans lost the presidential election of 2012 because
the Democratic Party had a stronger message.
That message was simply a continuous reinforcing of the Democratic Party’s
main theme: Republicans are Bad People.
That is impactful. The
Democratic Party helped Americans understand that Republicans have sinister
intent and it resonated.
What was the Republican response? Something like, “We are not actually bad
people…”
That’s weak, and reminds one of the Christine O’Donnell
campaign. Republicans have to stop
this behavior.
How to do it? Employ
“Themes of the Republican Party” in the same fashion as the Democratic Party
employs its themes.
Keep in mind that the Democratic Party has six separate themes. Republicans need only these three:
--The Democratic Party has become a Political-Religious
Movement.
--The Democratic Party promotes Authoritarianism.
--The Democratic Party’s prime directive is Power
and Authority.
Here are examples of how the themes can be employed:
Last month, United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice came under
attack for promoting a false narrative in the furtherance of the Benghazi cover
up. While the Republican Party played up
the idea that Ms. Rice was being used as a tool by the Democratic Party, the
stronger point is that she is promoting Authoritarianism.
When Ms. Rice is eventually required to provide testimony
under oath, she should answer questions on who directed her to deliver the
anti-Islamic film narrative, which of the Benghazi classified briefings she received,
and who directed her to change her narrative to acknowledge the terrorist
attack. In analyzing the timeline and
the players involved, we will see a clear instance of Authoritarianism
in operation: A particular narrative is
promoted as being unimpeachable, and then “evolves” to conform to political
expediency. The people involved were
never wrong and never at fault.
Authoritarianism!
Americans should understand that Authoritarianism does not
serve their interests well.
Another example is the recent voting patterns of people in
Philadelphia and Chicago. In
Philadelphia, 59
voting divisions had no votes for Mitt Romney. The same is true for 37
voting precincts in Chicago. While Republicans suggest that voter fraud might be a factor, the stronger
point is that this is evidence of a Political-Religious Movement.
Here in Colorado, Douglas County leans strongly toward the
Republican Party. Even so, in the 2012
election, no Republican received more than 75% of the vote. When we see Americans voting 100% for a
particular candidate, we should be suspicious.
(If you asked 100 people to mark a particular block on a piece of paper,
a few of them would mistakenly mark the wrong block, simply because human
beings are not perfect. When you see
“perfect” results from an imperfect group of participants, you’ve got to wonder
what’s going on.)
What’s going on is that the Democratic Party has taken on
the characteristics of a Political-Religious Movement in certain parts of the
country, where people never dream of acting in a way counter to the interests
of the Party. This kind of “group-think”
mentality tends to erode basic freedoms, and typically doesn’t work out well
for those being governed.
A third example is the recent proclamation
of racism by Representative James Clyburn (D-SC). Congressman Clyburn finds Republicans are
racists and driven to use “racial code words.”
Interestingly, he finds that no Democrats are racists, and that the role
of the Democratic Party in the U.S. Civil War, the segregationist activities of
the South, and the sponsorship of the Ku Klux Klan is not of concern.
Republicans should use this event to showcase the power and
authority of the Democratic Party.
Congressman Clyburn is using race as a political weapon. He knows that many Americans will be drawn to
the Democratic Party to avoid being characterized as racists.
Do Americans understand that hatred for one another does not
serve their interests well? What did the
“Hatfields & McCoys”
teach us?
Here’s a final example that comes from The Denver Post this past weekend.
In an article reprinted from the 11/18/2012 edition of the Los Angeles Times, Paul VanDevelder delivers a rather
snarky piece titled, “One nation, (maybe-not-so) indivisible.” It is meant to mock those people involved in
gathering signatures for secession petitions in Colorado, Texas, Georgia, and
across the country.
With authoritarian panache, Mr. VanDevelder characterizes
the people in “red states” as being incapable of appreciating America’s national
monuments and parks. Rather, we idolize
the Osmonds and love Larry the Cable Guy.
He ends his article with a reference to the Civil War,
saying “A lot of historians have argued that we would have been a whole lot
better off going our separate ways in 1861.”
And then he delivers the money quote: “Sure, Abe Lincoln was
a Republican then, but today he’d be as blue as the ocean.”
Mr. VanDevelder lets us know that Abe Lincoln was not a
racist, and that today Mr. Lincoln would have nothing to do with those racist
Republicans.
Mr. VanDevelder publishes these words as fact! He knows without question that today’s
Republicans are racists.
That’s a real problem for Republicans. America is being transformed by the
Democratic Party. The Democratic Party
legitimized slavery in the 1860s, legitimized the KKK in the 1950s, legitimized
racial segregation in the 1960s, and is now legitimizing its conversion to a
Political-Religious Movement in the 21st century.
This should not be brushed aside. It matters!
We should NOT spend time asking people like Rep. Clyburn,
“Why are you attracted to organizations that consider me a racist?” Instead, we should be pointing out the
cultural transformation that is reshaping America.
And if (when) someone accuses you of being “mean spirited,” simply
reply (with thanks to Steve Martin), “Well, EXCUSE me!”
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