Yesterday, I was talking about why I like David Cameron. He saw that his party was losing popularity and appeal, and that changes were necessary to reform his party. In order to do this, he chose to have the party adapt policies or stances that would attract new segments of the British population. The idea to change the parties stances seems to have gone over the heads of party leaders in the United States. Republicans and Democrats are hellbent on creating a partisan society. It's all about allegiances to the party and not about making the right decisions on getting things done. This stems widely from the fact that both parties have taken opposite stances on pretty much everything, and the only thing they have ended up agreeing on is their love for America. The problem is this partisanship makes it so they can't help America.
I wanted to focus on the Republican Party because I think they could be the more likable party if they decided to make some reforms. This is because I hate a lot of the social initiatives like healthcare, welfare, and other government institutions that the Democrats have created. I believe decisions should be made on what's right. I believe whatever helps America should be what is done. I also think that America has gone soft. It's not that we have too many people, but rather we've just become a fat cat nation. I'm not just talking about weight, we have become too complacent in our status as the leading nation in the world, so now we're struggling to get the wheels moving again. We need to become more competitive as a nation. I attribute a lot of this to the fact that we've gone against basic biological principles, namely Darwin's survival of the fittest. The strong should survive and the weak should die out. If you're saving the weak, it's not the strong that are paying the price, it's everyone. I could go on and on, but the main point is that the Republican Party's policies go more along these lines than the Democrats.
My main problem with the Republican Party is their leadership. Their leadership is more focused on creating partisanship through fear mongering than they are trying to do what's right. The policies are what dictate a party's appeal, and the policies of the Republican Party are archaic. To alienate certain demographics is just asinine. Their stance against many civil rights movements as well as religious and moral overtures in shaping these policies more than turns me off to policies they have right like the economy and taxes. Morals do have their place in politics, but religion should not be used to shape it. We should not be using religion to form opinions on abortion. We should not use religion to create prejudices against people. That's not the American way. They have no way in politics. They may shape your personal decisions on certain issues, but they have no place on the national stage. They need to ease off on imbuing religion into politics. They need to make wholesale changes to reach wider demographics not to get more people to vote for them but also to better America.
If the Republican truly care about America like the Tories care about Britain, they will be willing to compromise some of their policies because of their love for their country. They should be wanting to better America because as great as America is, there are things that need to be fixed. I find it hard to believe that the Republicans truly love America if they are so willing to divide it. The welfare of the nation should always be the number one priority. It always amazes me how individuals consider their own beliefs before those that will improve welfare of the nation. It's about time someone started to put more belief in America, the American People, and the American Idea.
Completely agree! Interesting post. By consolidating the Religious Right as the largest, most vocal base of the party, the Republicans planted the seeds for their collapse many years ago. It's time for them to abandon the backwards social policies. If the Republican leaders adopted a more libertarian platform that reduces government influence in both civil rights/social issues AND economic issues, I'd consider myself a Republican immediately. I'm done with the Democrats pandering to the poor by promising unsustainable entitlements and making people feel dependent on the handouts of a complex bureaucracy, but I also can't stand the Republican explicit appeal to extreme tradition and nationalism, bigotry, and this brainless Palin "common sense." Shep for Prez. :P - Kyle J
ReplyDeleteEven if you just apply game theory and the polling game, it's easy to see that the Republicans are losing constituents. If you had two parties taking a stance in a uniformly distributed section between 0 and 1, I would say one party has been at .25 and the other at .75 traditionally. Voters go to the party that is closer their beliefs, so it's usually a 50-50 split. However, the Republicans are moving away from the center and losing voters and support.
ReplyDeleteI see the constitution. I see what the founding fathers wanted of our country. I read what Washington said; he despised political associations. He is probably the most influential person in my distaste for party politics. He was our first president. He is very much entrenched in the history of our nation. It saddens me that almost all of our political system is driven by the party system. I hate to see America so divided.