Republicans Ask: Just How Bad Is It?

Politico: Young GOP Leaders See Permanent Defeat If Republican Party Does Not Change

(The Politico) 
Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, 48, made a similar case.

“I’m not one who buys the idea that it’s just an aberration,” Huntsman said, speaking at a press conference during the RGA meetings.

Like Pawlenty, Huntsman said Republicans had to come to terms with a country increasingly different from the one that, until this year, had favored Republicans in seven out of the past 10 presidential elections.

"We’re fundamentally staring down a demographic shift that we’ve never seen before in America,” he observed.

Huntsman singled out the environment as one issue that was doing severe damage to the party, especially among younger voters, supported Obama by overwhelmingly numbers.

"We as Republicans can’t shy away from speaking the word 'environment,' and we shouldn’t shy away from speaking the words 'climate change,'" Huntsman told reporters. "When you’ve got a body of science that already is rendering certain judgments about what is happening in our world, for us to shy away, say it doesn’t matter as an issue, I think is foolhardy, it’s short-sighted and it’s bound to do us damage in the longer-term."

In some sense, the proponents of each viewpoint are espousing the role demanded by their individual prospects. As prospective 2012 presidential candidates and relatively young governors, Pawlenty and Huntsman want to be seen as figures who can lead the comeback, while Duncan, who is pursuing another term as party chairman, is best served to downplay the losses that took place on his watch this cycle.

Other younger Republicans, though, share the position that the GOP's problems are substantial.

At a “lessons-learned” conference in South Carolina over the weekend comprised of GOP state chairman and other prominent party activists, there was widespread sentiment that Republicans had a serious problem on their hands.

“I think one of the biggest things we’re facing is a lack of credibility,” observed Pete Ricketts, the 44-year-old former COO of Ameritrade who fell two points short of knocking off Nebraska Sen. Ben Nelson in 2006. “The American people don’t trust us, they don’t believe what we’re going to say.”

Ricketts, now a Republican national committeeman from Nebraska, recalled conversations he’d have with Democratic friends in the days leading up to the election that he said underscore the enormity of the party’s poor brand name.

“They would say, ‘Look, the Republican Party is supposed to be about fiscal responsibility and you oversaw a huge increase in spending; you’re supposed to be really good at managing the economy, yet we’ve got this financial meltdown; you’re supposed to be good at defense, but the first few years of the war were not managed well.”

Robin Smith, 45, chairs the Republican Party in Tennessee, one of the few states where the party made gains this year, capturing the state House and state Senate for the first ime since Reconstruction with a conservative message that plays well in the South.

But Smith was frank about what it may take for the GOP to be rejuvenated elsewhere.

“I think the Republican Party now is at a point in its life in maturity where we’re going to have to have regional messages,” she said, speaking in between sessions at the conference near Myrtle Beach.

In many regions, though, the party is struggling. With Chris Shays losing his bid for an 11th term in Connecticut, the party is now entirely shut out of the House's New England delegation for the first time since the founding of the party.

The party should not compromise its core “DNA” of small government and lower taxes, Smith added, but ought to allow for some deviation where politically necessary.

“We can’t just hang our hat on one social message,” she said.

Back at the governor’s conference, GOP pollster Frank Luntz, 46, warned that not only were the party’s problems real and profound, but they were urgent, too.

Noting that redistricting-the decennial process where the party that controls the state can redraw voting districts to consolidate their own power-was coming up after the 2010 census, Luntz made the case that the GOP is in “deep trouble.”

Republicans, though, now control just 21 governorships, and Democrats rule over nearly twice as many state legislatures, and every one in the east north of Virginia except for Pennsylvania.

“Republicans got destroyed in 1964, they had three election cycles to catch up," he said. "We got destroyed in 1974, we have three election cycles to catch up. They’ve been destroyed in 2006 and 2008-they have only one election cycle left.”

[clovisbuford]

Posted by jamshied at 09:50 AM : Nov 18, 2008
err you had to post in all CAPS so i couldnt read that , no need to shout , you are no more important than anyone else that posts here and that is annoying .. a little nettiquette would be handy .. thanks

[clovisbuford]

"raflin0010, I agree the main problem with the democrats is their anti-FAMILY values! Posted by stlouisman3 " err working americans being able to feed their families , send their kids to college,go to the church of their choice ,whether they are muslim, jewish, christian ,bhuddist etc, not fighting a 12 billion dollar a month war on our grandkids credit card is Pro -family.Not holding up torture as an american value is pro family ,Having a health care system where 45 MILLION americans that dont currently have health insurance have that opportunity is Pro family .not doubling our deficit in 8 short yrs like BUsh and republicans have done is pro family . someone needs to get a clue .. caue they obviouls think when it comes to republicans ..denial is a river in egypt.

[biblethumpar]

GOP, Toe Tapping their Wider Stances on Family Values!!

YOU BETCHA!!!!

[mytoosense]

This is the political culture that Obama comes from in Illinois . And he''''s gonna ''''fix'''' Washington politics for us?
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Posted by keystonebull

I love Chicago. It''s one of the coolest cities I''ve ever visited. It''s taller, cleaner and friendlier than New York City.

Obama should be proud to call Chicago, Home.

My opinion is jaded though, I live in Detroit.

[mytoosense]

Give Obama two years and the congressional elections will reverse many of the gains being claimed now.
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Posted by stlouisman3

Hopefully by then we will have universal health care, a solution to the social security mess, an improved economy, a working alternative energy program, troops out of the sand box, Gitmo closed, and a majority of Americans happy enough with these results to build on the Democrat''s majority.

The advantage the Democrats have is, they actually want to help the average American.

Most Americans have come to realize the Republicans only provide lip service to average American issues whenever an election rolls around.

[cheteunice]

raflin0010, I agree the main problem with the democrats is their anti-FAMILY values!

[cheteunice]

It seems that the media and the Democrats are anxious to bury the Republicans, if the economy had not tanked when it did the outcome would have been much different. Give Obama two years and the congressional elections will reverse many of the gains being claimed now.

[jamshied]

SOME REPUBLICAN''S ARGUMENT THAT THEY RECOVERED FROM 1960S AND 1970S DECLINE, ARE NOT VALID ARGUMENTS.

I THINK MINNESOTA GOVERNOR, PROBABLY, KNOWS WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT.

YOU CANNOT APPLY 20th CENTURY SOLUTIONS TO THE 21st CENTURY PROBLEMS, ENVIRONMENT AND DEMOGRAPHICS.

THE VOTERS TODAY , ESPECIALLY YOUNGER ONES, ARE FAR MORE EDUCATED AND HAVE BETTER GRASP OF WHAT IS GOING ON. THANKS TO THE INTERNET THAT PROVIDES ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ON YOUR FINGER TIPS. YOU CAN SEARCH A SUBJECT AND GET VARIOUS VIEWS AND MAKE KIND OF YOUR OWN ANALYSIS. IN THIS DAY AND AGE THE POLITICIAN ARE MORE AND MORE ARE BEING EXPOSED.

ANOTHER THING IS THAT CERTAIN REPUBLICANS PHILOSOPHIES ARE JUST OUT DATED. THOSE ARE THE SO-CALLED CONSERVATIVE IDEALOGIES THAT ARE RELIGION BASED. FORTUNATELY US CONSTITUTION PROHIBITS INTERFERENCE OF RELIGION WITH GOVERNMENT, BUT UNFORTUNATELY REPUBLICANS KEEP INSISTING ON INJECTING THEIR RELIGIOUS IDEALOGY INTO GOVERNMENT BY WAY OF LEGISLATION. WE HAVE SEEN HOW REPUBLICANS KEPT FIGHTING FERVENTLY FOR school prayers AND THEY ARE STILL NOT FINISHED WITH ABORTION ISSUE AND STEM CELL RESEARCH.
YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE YOUR VERSION OF RELIGIOUS MORALITY AND BELIEF. YOU HAVE FREEDOM TO PRACTICE THEM IN YOUR PRIVATE LIFE, PREACH THEM IN YOUR HOUSE OF WORSHIP BUT YOU CANNOT LEGISLATE THEM ANYMORE.

[mytoosense]

Didn''t The Republicans brag, after Bush''s second election victory, that the Republicans would be in charge forever. Didn''t they also predict the slow death of the Democratic Party?

Karl Rove has a spot in the history books under the heading "Loser".

[bks59]

The republicans have to go back to the reagan years. The bush''''s took control and completely destroyed the party.Corrupt, murdering theives do not make good leaders.


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Posted by armydog2 at 07:18 AM : Nov 18, 2008


Right! and under Reagan the US deficit grew, HW raised to taxes to cover regans'' debacle, clinton restored some financial stability and shrub has put us near bankruptcy.

Yeah republicans and reagan!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[bks59]

gov. pawlenty did not recieved more than 50% of the popular vote, either time running for govenor, less than 50% of the voters elected this guy to office, yet he speaks as if a majority of MN citizens elected him.

perfect repubasnob.

[earache4]

Don''t despair GOPricks, the wicked witch of Wasilla will save you!!

[armydog2]

The republicans have to go back to the reagan years. The bush''s took control and completely destroyed the party.Corrupt, murdering theives do not make good leaders.

[gekejo1]

Obama_Dkhed- You are the Dkhed, not Obama and the people intelligent enough to vote for him. Keep up the good work with your comments since it only cements how stupid your redneck a** is- LOL!

[flexsf]

Don''t forget about your disgusting base of bigots! I hope they''re all dead soon so I can live my intimate life without a bunch of holy-rollers voting my rights away. If I ever have the opportunity, I''ll support a similar measure to vote against their rights! Until then, I hate the Republican party too!

[tayled95]

"Republicans Ask: Just How Bad Is It?"

Well... lets see....

The People of the United States make the following decisions in undeniable majorities:

Democrats increase their lead in the House.

Democrats increase their lead in the Senate.

A new Democratic, liberal, half-black president is chosen.

Sounds to me like....

Rush Limbaugh, Hannity, Coulter and the other fascists are wrong and failed.
The Religious Reich is wrong and failed.
Republicans are wrong and failed.
Neocons are wrong and failed.
Hate is wrong and failed.

Poor bitter neocons, whining about their failure, day after day after day.

That about wraps it up. See you in four years - losers.

[estabwary]

I think they are fine, don''t change a thing.

Be who you are. LOL.

[CNH]

Ever since the 1960''s, the GOP consistently has been, and will always be, the party of exclusion, the party that attempts to diminish those who look different than themselves, pray to a different deity, or follow a different lifestyle. They are the party that uses fear and hatred as a weapon to intimidate any who do not share their points of view. The GOP offers 20th century solutions to 21st century problems.

[torva-2009]

I just hope that the GOP keeps swimming in that river of DENIAL...that way they will never again trouble us with another presidency or GOPer-stamped congress again.

Wild!

[treknutz]

Perhaps the U.S. should pull out of Chicago
Posted by keystonebull

Hey KeyStonedBullcrap,

You magnificently ignorant jerk. You are so bent on blaming the ills of the US on Obama you somehow can''t get it through your thick skull Dubya got us into this mess. Quit whinning, Obama won the election and you have to deal with it. By your rants I can only guess that you are scared to death he will unite the majority and fix this Bush caused debacle. You are the complete picture of what a sore loser is and can''t say anything positive about anything because you are having a temper tantrum and your widdle feewings are hurt.....poor BABY!

Oh by the way, I''m so sorry your favorite TV show was cancelled...King of the Hill! You illiterate PUTZ!