An Elephant Never Forgets

Now that the dust has settled and our friends in the United States have their election results, we can all begin to digest the world’s most watched presidential campaign.

Perhaps the most substantial revelation to come out of Tuesday’s election result is not that the Democrats are on top, but rather the Republicans are in dire straits.

It has become all too apparent that the Republican strategy of appealing to the white, southern, and religious (that means Christian) voter is in need of an overhaul.

Before I continue it is important to point out that while I would claim to be a Democrat (if I was a US citizen of course) I am not here to wail away on Republican policy or relish their desperate situation. The fact is, a political party is only as strong as its opponents force them to be. And so an invigorated, strong and level headed Republican party is, I believe, essential to overall American political success in the future.

I do not fault the Republicans for spending the better part of the past 5 decades courting, what minority populations the world over dub, “the man”. Yes the Republicans have, at least since the Nixon-Era, relied heavily on the rural and religious white vote but that was not originally the handicap it has become.

In years past Republican politics and political ideals were rooted in what Bill O’Reilly, virulent egocentric and detestable as he is, correctly labelled “traditional America”. In turn those white and religious Americans have come to shape Republican policy.

It is really a chicken & egg kind of scenario but the fact remains liberals shouldn't vilify southern religious white voters and their political ilk simply because they represent a political "other". At its core, the GOP's relationship with "traditional America" is an act of survival. The party will pool in populations that support it, and in turn it will develop policies that return the favour. Are we that shocked that the most conservative of the two parties panders to the most conservative demographic?

The issue for the Republican Party has become the steadily shifting demographic landscape of the United States. Since the “Nixonian” days “traditional America” has been on the decline. Not because they are wasting away, nor that they have become politically inactive, but rather that appealing to them and them alone is now a politically impotent soapbox on which to stand.

We could discuss the flagrant error in trying to convince the American public that Obama has failed to live up to the challenge of the US economic decline. But most level headed people understand that no single administration can obliterate an inherited debt of trillions, let alone restructure an entire economy in the face of the biggest recession since the 30’s in a four year period.

Moreover to suggest that “trickle-down” fiscal policy would put the economy back on-track faster than Obama’s strategies is implausible at best… ever waited for coffee to percolate when you’re desperate for a caffeine fix? But I digress.

The Republicans are standing on the precipice of greatness, but to get there they must take a deep breath and jump into the choppy waters of minority groups, and atheists.

GOP Senator Lindsay Graham

Many in their ranks are already embracing this reality. Republican Senator Lindsay Graham told Jonathan Martin of Politico just prior to Tuesday’s vote that “if we lose this election there is only one explanation - demographics”

He went on to say “If I hear anybody say it was because Romney wasn't conservative enough I'm going to go nuts… We’re not losing 95 percent of African-Americans and two-thirds of Hispanics and voters under 30 because we’re not being hard-ass enough”

The fact is, if American conservatism is going to survive it needs to evolve. It won’t be easy, especially when one considers that the marriage between the Republican Party and “traditional America” has degenerated into one defined by an abhorrence of left wing politics rather than a dynamic and imaginative conservatism which stands alone without relying on its political “other” for identity.

Governor Sarah Palin

In February of 2010 Sarah Palin addressed the national Tea Party Convention and rhetorically asked Obama supporters “How’s that hopey-changey thing working out for ya?” Two years later I think everyone in the Obama camp will admit that holding onto hope in the face of a slow rate of change (partly due to the Republican stonewall in the House of Representatives) has been difficult.

That said a willingness to change is perhaps the only hope for the GOP brand. I for one would like to see the pachyderm evolution begin soon because an invigorated Republican Party will catalyse American political rhetoric and galvanize the world’s most influential democracy.