The Grand Old (Disfunctional) Party

New York Times -- Darkness at Dusk

David Brooks, conservative commentator on "The Newshour with Jim Lehrer," writes an Op-Ed piece for the "Times" outlining the impending battle for the direction of the Republican Party between Traditionalists and Reformers. He describes the Traditionalists as those that continue to beat the drum of standard conservative issues like downsizing big gov't, cutting taxes, and restricting immigration ( ex. Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity). Brooks describes the Reformers as a more inclusive group, a group that strays from simply touting the idea of smaller gov't. They seek to "address inequality and middle-class economic anxiety. They tend to take global warming seriously." He says that Reformers also see the futility of continuing to "insult the sensibilities of the educated class and the entire East and West Coasts."

Brooks predicts that Traditionalists will win out in the short term and that there will be a shift-right to even more conservative candidates and rhetoric. He says that the GOP will rally behind their new poster child, Sarah Palin, but yet suffer more defeats before Reformist organizers and donors emerge to lead the party.

I agree with Brooks's prediction that it may take another string of election losses for the Republican Party to abandon some of their hard-line ideals. This is, of course, dependant on how well Democratic leadership is able to foster bi-partisanship and dig the nation out of an economic hole over the next two years.

Unlike Brooks, though, I predict that Palin's honeymoon in the GOP spotlight will quickly fade. Her lack of discipline, foreign policy knowledge, and laughable media performances during the presidential run-up will come back to haunt her. And despite the fact that her socially conservative stances will continue to garner massive support from Christian groups, she will continue to alienate intellectuals inside her own party and anyone who doesn't see the issues of abortion and same-sex marriage as a priority.

My hope is that with the drubbing of the GOP in 2008 that Republicans will become a less militant, more inclusive party; that they will start focusing on issues like fiscal responsibility, the environment, economic innovation, and economic equality, and less on socially conservative ideology. Then, maybe we can raise the bar of debate in this country and achieve a new sense of balance that we haven't had in decades.