Whether you like the teabaggers or not, it must be recognized that their movement has sent a substantial adrenaline shot into the hearts of many voters who favor limited government. Tired of both stale GOP dogma and President Obama & Co.’s big government spending spree, these citizens, ranging from moderates to very right-wingers, have protested—loudly and passionately—in favor of small government and lower taxes.
The leaders of the GOP seem to be deaf. They seem to believe that keeping up with their 2000-election era social-issues platform and mixing a dash of “compromise” in the form of liberal economics is what will win votes. Blaming Bush is already becoming passé, as now the blame of the current economic problems falls almost evenly on Dubya and Obama (rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/obama_administration/october_2009/49_blame_bush_for_economy_45_blame_obama); the Republican party leaders, however, seem to be trying to distance themselves from Bush by emphasizing being “moderate.” Their definition of moderate, however, involves the opposite of what the enormous grassroots effort is calling for: an end to wasteful spending.
Despite what the White House may think about the media juggernaut that is Fox News, the vast majority of news is still liberal. Because of this, the Republicans that get the most press coverage are quite possibly the ones with the weakest and most inflammatory viewpoints, such as Rush Limbaugh, Bill O’Reilly, and others like them. Furthermore, the liberal media—which, as I have said before, is the media minus Fox News and perhaps the Wall Street Journal—seems to think that people like Glenn Beck take themselves seriously. This leads me to believe they have never actually watched Fox News, as he consistently has admitted that his show is simply opinion.
However, his opinions have riled many voters up, and the White House is nervous. If they are to keep control of Congress, they must make sure that Republicans lose in 2010, and that the Independents do not decide to side with right-of-center candidates. It is a sign of weakness and of fear that the White House has devoted so much time to slamming and degrading Fox News; as if the other networks don’t buy into the same cash-cow that is populist scaremongering. Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the network, but with our current President (just as liberal networks such as MSNBC and CNN were important during George W. Bush’s presidency), it is important that opposing viewpoints are out there.
I get the feeling that the Democrats—House Speaker Nancy Pelosi especially—would love to have government-sponsored media (and perhaps government-sponsored everything) so that they can keep control of the government for years to come. The future of the Democrats is in as much of a dire state as the Republicans; they are sticking with viewpoints that are unfavorable, just as the Republicans did for eight years under Bush, and I fear (well, actually I’m glad, since I believe it will cost them future elections) they will make the same mistake and continue to hold onto radically leftist policies and ideas which Independents seem to not like.
The leaders of the conservative grassroots efforts have recognized this and come up with a new movement that is a departure from neo-conservatism and the “same ol’ same ol’”; it is a breath of fresh air that many voters identify with.
Will the Republican leaders understand this and allow candidates from the school of Ron Paul rather than Pat Robertson rise to the upper ranks of the party, or will they stubbornly stick with what lost them the election this past year? It is clear from the election in New York’s 23rd Congressional District that grassroots support and a candidate in favor of small government will come out much stronger than a “moderate” with the support of dusty neo-cons. The GOP must put aside their stubbornness and understand that if they are to avoid another two years of complete Democrat control by losing the 2010 elections, they need to revamp the party’s image—as the grassroots movement has already done quite successfully—and start getting some fresh, economically-minded faces in the spotlight.
—Kelly Shortridge ’12 is the Opinions Editor. This year, she and Opinions Editor Angela Aiuto ’11 are maintaining an alternating column called “Point, Counterpoint,” in which they engage one another in conversation.
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