An attempted solution for the Grand old Party

Now that I started blogging, I can't seem to stop. It has a perverse joy to it, like yelling into an empty canyon or arguing with a liberal who's too nervous to interrupt you. I wish I could enjoy Obama's record low popularity, but the Republican party's poll numbers are even lower. Although there's not really much we can do right now but lick our wounds and disrupt town hall meetings, I have a few suggestions to revive the Republican Party as we used to know it.

1) Stop talking about Gay marriage.

I know, I know, Homosexuality is an immoral sin and unnatural. But the cat's out of the bag. This is America, and our real ability to protest ends as soon as people equate a topic with natural rights and constitutional protection. As more and more states have legalized unholy unions, Republican politicians have repeatedly led the fight to preserve our values. The downside of this attention is that many people have begun equating the Republican party with homophobia, which is almost as bad as racism these days. In short, we risk becoming obsolete as popular values change. Unfortunately, I believe Homosexual marriage is inevitable in America within ten years. Republicans can either go down fighting this as polls change to favor it, or we can focus on fights we can actually win.

Solution: Mobilize the base to fight Homosexuality locally through religious and grassroots organizations. Republicans can use this method to identify and unite the cultural conservatives without alienating the progressives who might otherwise vote correctly. Remember, the whole problem stays on ice as long as we keep it a 'state' issue. It also leaves Republican politicians clean on the national level, and would promote a renewal of the previous generation's ties to the religious majority.

2) Morality is only as good as the mouth it comes from.

This is going to be hard for politicians, but they have to stop having affairs and stealing money. The true strength of the Republican party is the connection to a fundamentalist base willing to fight for their beliefs. No one will lift a finger to help an adulterous thief or a philandering homosexual. Every new scandal dissociates the public from the party leadership, creating understandable media stories about corruption. Republican politicians like Mitt Romney, who can actually claim to have led a moral life, are perfect. The GOP needs to reclaim the position of morality, but more empty words will only annoy the public.

Solution: Bring some closers out of the minors. Michael Steele needs to be locating and supporting local politicians to run for national offices. Every entrenched democrat in the senate has the advantages associated with tenure, but also has any number of weak spots. Long-term officeholders like Barney Frank seem like they're untouchable in their districts, but enough attack ads (which honestly describe their outright lies) combined with nationally-organized http://open.salon.com/blog/billmeradeia local activism will unseat anyone. By locating and identifying areas where Republicans are already stationed and advancing them up with full support, the RNC can reconnect their senators and congressmen with a local base. Among leaders this would also ensure party loyalty, for the candidate and people who voted for him. Once again, it would only work with a completely upright fundamentalist who could connect with a state-wide or national religious base and claim the moral ground over corrupt democrats.

3) Continue to oppose the Socialism of American Industry.

This one is pretty much a no-brainer. Talk to people, call congress, and whatever. Everything short of violence. If you disagree, stop reading my posts. Obama has opened a floodgate of Neo-Communist Nationalization, and at no point in history has that worked in the long-run. With the veto-proof majority in the Senate, we may not be able to prevent an epic disaster . But if the Republican party follows steps one and two and fight people like Bill Meradeia, we might have the numbers to stop it by the next election cycle. At least we can position ourselves so that when everything goes bad, we can say "Told you so."