That party used to be the Republican Party, but it is no longer, not at least among its leaders. It is the leadership that determines the party agenda, while shaping and promoting a public message. For some time now, the GOP's leaders have been either ineffectual, missing in action, or else openly scornful of the party rank-and-file.
Consequently, Democrats have been able to control the agenda, create their own narratives, and define the terms of debate. They are assisted by a "news media" that effectively serves as the Democrats' communications division and by a powerful coalition of public sector unions, liberal organizations and wealthy funding organizations. The response from Republicans has been... underwhelming, and that is being kind.
At the same time, the Conservative movement similarly lacks a coherent, unifying leader capable of speaking past the Democrats and the Obama-worshiping media and directly to the people. Rick Santorum, arguably the most conservative candidate still in the race, has not yet demonstrated an ability to broaden his political appeal. Nor has Newt Gingrich, the GOP's most effective and dynamic speaker and a font of ideas; he continues to tread water in the polls, and in increasingly deep water at that. The personal baggage he carries does not help him stay afloat, either.
Mitt Romney, the clear choice of the GOP's elite leadership is simply not a conservative, and his repeated attempts to feign being one always ring hollow. When trying to speak the language of conservatism, Mitt sounds very much like an American tourist trying to order lunch from a Berlitz phrasebook on his first day in Paris.
But none of these candidates have been able to focus consistently on the issues most important to American voters - the perilous state of our economy, our bloated, overreaching government, the national debt, a declining standard of living, and poor employment prospects for millions of people. Instead, they allow themselves to be distracted and led into traps set by the Democrat-media complex, traps designed to lead them into the blind alleys of divisive personal issues and to put them forever on the defensive.
None of this bodes well for the fall. Until Conservatives have a clear leader and one who resolves to take back the GOP from the alternatively bumbling and invertebrate party hacks who are happily leading the party into permanent minority status, Democrats will dominate and win national elections.
Up until the assassination of McKinley and the take over of the Republican Party by Teddy Roosevelt, Republicans were “progressive” and blacks voted for Republicans almost exclusively. The ONLY historic analysis that will benefit conservatives will include this fact- that the Republican Party’s original humanistic impulse has been subverted.
In a society whose values are formed by electronic media, a non-humanistic, anti-empathic infantile narcissistic camouflaged sadism is not going to play well on prime time. Why there is not Republican clamor for the heads of the Federal Reserve and their oligarch handlers is beyond me. They have destroyed the lives and incomes and retirements of hard working ethical people. Where is the empathy for that injustice? Where are the bonds of community that would turn thousands of conservatives out onto the streets in a movement that would dwarf “Occupy”.
I don’t know what it would take to get conservatives off their asses, but “enlightened self interest” doesn’t seem to be cutting it. Conservatives better start to learn how to fight for the “little guy”. Conservatives have been on the ropes for 3-4 generations, since the ‘60’s caught them asleep at the wheel in the game of media literacy, which, BTW, is the only game in town in the modern electronic “global village”. Time to generate some empathy for those who suffer, empathy that demonstrates results, not because it is politically savvy, but because of a sense of Christian compassion.