The Republicans Have to Look at the Future
The most frequently cited occupation by donors to the McCain campaign was "retired." This is an interesting statistic when one considers the future of American politics.
I am personally not a fan of either the Democratic or the Republican party as I think that the current party system as it stands is clearly broken and does not truly represent the American public (most Americans are far closer to the middle than either of the parties).
If are however stuck with these two parties as the primary makeup of our government, then it is imperative that both be almost equal in strength as a system of checks and balances.
Twenty of the last twenty eight years (when I started really paying attention to politics) have been under a Republican president. Now the statistics are showing that the financial base of the Republicans is out of the work force and aging.
What immediately comes to mind when I hear this is that the people who are supporting the Republican Party predominantly are nothing like me, (I am not retired any time soon and looking at my retirement plan I may never be) and are also going to find their numbers diminishing over time unless new, younger supporters can be found.
There seems to be an evolution happening as the younger generations seem to suddenly be taking an interest in politics. One of the biggest changes is a completely different worldview that more and more seems to differ from the Republican Party.
Compound that with the fact that African American voters and many Latino voters seem to vote Democratic consistently the Republican Party looks like a ship that is slowly sinking.
I am not sure where I first heard this saying, but it is a key to the future of both parties: “He (or she), who controls the youth, controls the future.” If the Republican Party cannot find a way to start attracting more of the youth, minorities, and those still in the workforce, there will be a huge price to pay for their party and for the American public.
I for one am not convinced that a government that is on the extreme left (or the extreme right) for that matter is good for anyone.
To compound the problem, there is what many perceive as the weakening of the Christian Right Wing over the last two years. In my opinion and observations that group is not weakened, that group just simply doesn’t have a horse in this race. Senator John McCain, who eight years ago was publically attacking that group is not their first vote to represent them, but their votes in the primaries were divided between other candidates and somehow this guy came out on top. Now there is this unsure attitude about Senator McCain and that group will probably still vote for him simply because they do not want a Left Wing president. However, they are not truly excited about him.
I said all of that to say that there is the beginning of an alienation of a large chunk of the base of the Republican Party which also threatens to shrink the support base.
As the Democrats work diligently on the internet and with the youth of our country, if the Republicans don’t start retooling their message and their base, it may not happen this election, but over the long term we are looking at a one party future that does not include the Republicans (although I am sure that something else would turn up to take it’s place and may even be better).
A Side Note
I for one consider myself a normal middleclass American with two children and a dog. My wife and I work and commute long distances to our jobs. We save struggle etc. I served my time in the Marine Corps and love my country. I am a Christian man and believe in God. I am also of mixed racial origin. (African American, Caucasian, and Latino)
All that being said, I have to be clear that the more I explore what the parties are doing and compare it to my views, needs, concerns, desires, and beliefs, neither is cutting it at all. Each party has a few good points and several things that just defy anything that could even call itself common sense.
The way I see it, it is like there is a bunch of people playing a giant board game and my family and I are the (expendable) pieces. This is why the idea of doing what is popular with your party or the supporters of your party as opposed to what is right is such a sticking point for me.
I have felt powerless for years and have felt like the two or three people who vote for the other weirdoes that run as independents every four years. This is why I am blogging and discussing this.
The problem is that we the public are swayed more by who has a better sales pitch this time or the party we consider ourselves affiliated with instead of realizing that we are dealing with the lives and futures of billions of people around the world.
This vote and our say are of grave importance and should be treated as such.
Comments
This election is fast turning. The Democrats have bull headedly stuck to their no new energy plan and their base is adamantly against wind farms and solar and nuclear and and hydro and oil exploration and building more refineries. They have been wrong about foreign policy, wrong about the troop surge, wrong about taxes, etc., The media darling has been enjoying a free ride via the adoring media, but they are being called out on their adoration and are loosing viewership and readership by the droves. Also, while John McCain is struggling to motivate his base, he is a centrist far more than Mr. Obama and has demonstrated this through his reaching across the aisle to work with Democrats while Obama has voted party line 96% of the time.
The youth being mobilized is an issue. As my hero, Dennis Prager says, "When I was eighteen, I had no idea how to vote because I was completely ignorant of the issues." Such is the case with the youth today. They have no historical reference for the consequence of voting wrong and the problem is worse today than it was when me and Dennis were that age because the schools aren't teaching the kids an accurate picture of history these days. Be that as it may, as these kids get married and have kids of their own, they tend to move right when they start being concerned with their own kids' futures.
People were peeved at the Republican dominated congress because 1 they got nothing done and 2 they spent like drunken sailors on 24hr leave. While they are claiming to have gotten the message, the Dems are hurting the American public, not only with new taxes, but with blocking any action that would reduce fuel costs. These are two issues the milk toast voter can easily get their heads around and likely will result in another turn over of both houses of the legislature, and I'm guessing will be enough to throw the race to McCain. If the Dems are going to change their ways in time for the election, they'd better start soon.