Colin Blow!

With the latest polls pointing out that only 21% of Americans identifying themselves as Republicans, I have to say that tactics have to change in order to revitalize the party. Nobody, Republican or Democrat "wants to pay more taxes" as Mr. Powell says and perhaps he misspoke, perhaps not. I just got done reading a commentary on CNN given 5 reasons why the GOP will come back and it all boils down to checks and balances that the U.S. system requires and the fact that Republicans are now in a position for creative thinking and ideas. It is the latter statement more than anything that I think should be the focus of a comeback strategy because all the talk of hoping and waiting for the Democrats to fall on their sword only serves to further polarize the party into two factions, with the ever-shrinking minority identifying themselves as "true conservatives" and excluding the moderates. Come up with new ways to come together and rally around core principles and be able to make at least some concessions instead of the "I hope they fail" rhetoric and the people will see that the big machine does need to be checked and braked from time to time. I think this is what Mr. Powell was trying to get at. It is true that the country has changed and the far-right needs to change along with it if the party is to survive. The days of Reagan are long gone and it's time to move forward is what the gist of his message is.

I don't think that Mr. Powell misspoke. I think that he said what he believes. I feel that the position of Mr. Powell is "moderate". Moderates are without core beliefs. Moderates are on the fence about issues that people on the right and the left have already staked out. Moderates are people who are not educated enough to determine what they do and don't believe. Moderates have no opinion, because they are non confrontational. The problem lies in the fact that these "moderate" thinkers often won't speak up, even if it involves their own best interest.

Moderates are the people most feared by both parties, because they cannot be dealt with on an intellectual level (for Conservatives), or an emotional level (for Liberals). Moderates just don't know.

I think that the argument to go after the "moderate" votes is a lost cause. Look how well it worked for McCain. McCain wasn't strongly for or against anything, so there was no clear line drawn. It wouldn't matter if you were a Conservative, or a Liberal; when someone stands for nothing you can neither agree or disagree with them. Conservatives want to know where their candidate stands.

Obama, on the other hand, purposely campaigned on nothing. The trick was to make Obama appear as if he stood only for things you agreed with. He pulled it off and that is how he was elected.

It's hard now to find an Obama voter that actually thinks that nationalizing banks, and large sectors of the economy are good for the country. Nobody really knew where Obama stood on the most important issues, his election was run to pander only to emotional voters. This is exactly how the Democrats are claiming that the American people want socialism. "See we won", they say. Is that an actual answer? We Won.

Democrats won the election, but they did so by tricking the majority of their voters. That is where the disconnect lies.

The Republican party is in trouble because they have no direction right now. They helped to create some of the problems that we have now. These problems came about NOT because of Conservative principles, NOT because they were "too Conservative". The problems arose because of a lack of Conservatism. Conservatives understand this, and the Republican party does not. Colin Powell knows this, but he campaigned for Obama.

COLIN: The GOP is "getting smaller and smaller" and "that's not good for the nation," Powell said, according to the National Journal. He also said he hopes that emerging GOP leaders, such as House Minority Whip Cantor, will not keep repeating mantras of the far right.

“The Republican Party is in deep trouble," he said, according to the Journal. “The party must realize that the country has changed. Americans do want to pay taxes for services. Americans are looking for more government in their life, not less."

ME:
Colin recognizes quite a few things here, and I actually agree with him. He is stating the obvious whether we like it or not. Americans in general have become complacent to the point where a larger government is certainly necessary. And yes, people will pay to get out of doing the things they should do themselves.

So, how do we get Americans to rely less on government? We must remember that this system requires a STRONG two-party system. Colin is saying that the GOP needs resume its responsibilities -- and do it in a more winsome way. I agree. If the GOP doesn't step up, the entire nation will suffer.

Now why has the country changed? Over time we have forgotten that there was a presupposition: the American system requires that its citizens maintain morality and live by Christian/Biblical values. Of course the system fails when we stray from its foundational requirements!

I agree with you that the country is headed downhill because of a lack of morality, and Christian values.

Yes the Republican party is getting smaller, but not because it is leaning too far to the right. The party is shrinking because it is becoming more "moderate". If someone is to join a party, they need to be able to understand what the party stands for... Republicans now are running around (in essence) saying, "We're pretty much like Democrats, only not as extreme". Well if Republicans are pretty much like Democrats now; then why have a Republican party?

It's apparent to me that Colin Powell DOES NOT believe in the values on which this country was founded. If he did he would not have supported Obama.