Message to GOP: You Have Got To Be Kidding Me

I have been reading some of the post-mortems on the election, and it really is rather humorous. All sorts of people are trying to pick apart the reasons John McCain lost and why Obama won. Of particular note are the columns from the conservative press lamenting about what lies ahead for the future (if any) of the GOP.

The reason I find this humorous is that so many of the opinions are full of half-baked theories about what American voters think and what American voters want. They’ve completely missed it. These political commentators have become so used to political rhetoric that they now actually think in rhetoric—like a student learning to speak a foreign language. So far, I have read that (1) the GOP needs to abandon social conservatism; (2) the GOP needs to embrace social conservatism; (3) the GOP needs to move to the center; (4) the GOP needs to recapture the right; (5) Sarah Palin cost the McCain campaign; and (6) if not for Sarah Palin, McCain would have gone down even harder. No . . . really, guys . . . you can’t be that mystified.

Well, I have a suggestion: how about putting up a candidate who believes in something . . . like maybe . . . the GOP platform? Now, don’t get me wrong. I respect John McCain’s sacrifices for this country, and think he is generally a good and honorable man. But, um, so what? What did he really stand for, other than a vote against Obama? He sounded amazingly like “me, too, only less so.” In fact, I don’t know a single Republican who voted for him in the primary. How’d that guy get in there?

Obama fanatics notwithstanding, neither candidate showed the slightest spark of life. Obama was smooth and a good orator—at least, in front of a Teleprompter. But he was a suit with a lot of nice-sounding platitudes, and a sizable collection of dirty laundry. McCain was unexciting, unattractive, and uninspiring. In fact, the question the GOP really ought to be asking itself is: how did McCain do as well as he did, given all the advantages Obama had in terms of personal attractiveness, media coverage, political strategy, and a disastrous economy? Let me repeat that: a disastrous economy.

The GOP should be celebrating in the streets! While the Obamanistas are patting themselves on the back, they might stop to ponder why their golden child won by only 8 million popular votes running against a 72 year-old man who is as exciting as tapioca pudding. If I were in Obama’s camp, I would be worried. The worst economic collapse in 80 years, and he cannot absolutely rout the incumbent party? I know the credit crisis is not primarily Bush’s fault, but the chief exec goes down with the ship. Face it: under the circumstances, Obama squeaked by.

Now imagine, if you will, if the GOP put up a candidate who had a little charisma, and who was willing to articulate the GOP policies that all the rest of us know are sound: cut tax rates, reduce the size of government, cut federal spending, and allow Americans the freedom to pursue happiness in their own way, instead of having the government make all our choices for us and do everything but wipe our sniveling noses. If the GOP gave us a candidate like that, all these pundits could stop worrying about polling criteria regarding religion, race, sex, or what-have-you. Here’s the main problem, guys: voters vote for people. And McCain was a dud.

Over and over, I am reminded of the aphorism: a leader is not someone who finds out where the crowd is going, then runs out in front. Yet that is exactly what both political parties gave us this year. Doesn’t ANYONE have any principles, have the integrity to actually live by them, and the spine to proudly espouse them? When are we going to see a candidate who leads instead of panders?

Which brings me to Sarah Palin. Now, there was a candidate who had a personality, not a script. And that is precisely why she inspired such adoration among one crowd, and vitriol among another. Does it not strike anyone else why Sarah Palin attracted more attention and crowds than McCain? To listen to the election coverage, you would have thought Palin was the candidate, not McCain. And the reason Biden’s equally (or arguably more) stupid statements did not get as much coverage as Sarah Palin’s gaffes is that Biden is about as appealing as the end of Christmas vacation. Really. In all fairness, Americans should have expected a 30-plus year veteran of the Senate to be more informed on matters relating to the federal government than a 44 year old first-term Governor from Alaska, but no one had enough interest in Biden to even tell him if his fly was unzipped.

The GOP should learn a lesson from Sarah Palin: she connected with people because she was genuine. And her personal charisma made her a media magnet. It’s not her fault she was thrown to the wolves. In fact, her composure under fire was admirable—she showed more guts and grit than the rest of the candidates and, for my money, that shows leadership ability. I’m not saying I thought she was the ideal candidate; I would have preferred someone more seasoned and prepared. But she was undoubtedly the best candidate, warts and all. Sarah Palin knows what she believes in, and she is willing to stand up for it. It’s too bad all her energy and enthusiasm were squandered on a losing proposition.

So now I hear the GOP are lamenting the quandary they find themselves in: “Gee, Sarah Palin energized the traditional right, but we do not want to touch her now because she was crucified by the press.” Well, if the GOP has no stomach for battle, why bother? Unless the GOP grows the cajones to stand behind what they believe is right, whether or not the public is wise enough to see it, then the rest of us have no use for them.

If all the GOP is offering us is a sip of cool water on our way to hell, then neither party is doing America any good. Maybe we voters are the definition of insanity. Every four years we go through this election, and we get the same lousy result. New president, same stupid government. It’s just too bad that people with integrity and dignity have too much integrity and dignity to run for president.

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