The ’08 Presidential race has highlighted the crisis within the Republican party. From the surprisingly successful Ron Paul campaign to the stillborn McCain campaign, it’s clear that the Republican party has reached a turning point.
While populist demagoguery has been rampant in both parties since before I was born, it wasn’t long before that when the Democrats had a foothold on working class ideals and the Republican party was dominated by such characters as Barry Goldwater. Ronald Reagan changed all that, starting a trend that reached its zenith in 2000 with the abortion that is the Bush presidency. While this, like any trend, was destined to reach an end, the religious right in this country and the Republican party were SO indulgent that they spent this cultural capital far too quickly for their own good. Many Republicans this year are voting for Obama. The reason is that the Republican party is a pro-business party, and religious populism at its root is anathema to such philosophy.
The Ron Paul candidacy is testament to that fact. While he could’ve never been a viable candidate in 2008, don’t discount the possibility of a similar character redefining the GOP in 4 to 12 years’ time. The embarrassment many Republicans feel at seeing such people as Bush and, now, Palin represent their party is evident in the ability of Ron Paul to create his cult of personality. And his ideology is nothing new: do you think Dick Cheney cares whether life begins at conception? Ha! Mr. McCain himself had to make himself more folksy and God-fearin’ over the past several years in order to secure the nomination.
The Republican party has to make a decision: does it want to be the party of the Mike Huckabees, George Bushes and Sarah Palins? Or does it want to be the party of the Ron Pauls, the John McCains, the Barry Goldwaters and the Ayn Rand cadets? What we call “libertarian” in the USA is a misnomer. “Libertarians” are free markets fanatics, just like real Republicans are. The Democrats, for their part, have run an excellent campaign and have won some polical capital. They, however, are just as ideologically bankrupt. Limp-wristed appeals to leftist pathos notwithstanding, they will always rely on populist fluff to get their message out.
Just as the Republicans went all holy on the public, the Democrats went all pro-choicey and courted (and betrayed!) the gay rights movement, but both tactics are a ruse. Despite Obama’s image, they are the party of the unwashed masses. With the disparity between class, wealth and education on the rise, they will have an increasingly hard time in the future gaining the support of the working class in this country with the image they are projecting today. The Clinton (in ’92, ’96 and ’08!) campaign was successful in tapping into the traditional Democrat base.
Don’t be surprised to see the Democrats return to their old Dixiecrat ways in the decade ahead. They refuse to take an authoritative stance on gay marriage, they are just as war-mongering as anyone (remember Lyndon Johnson escalated the Vietnam War and Nixon ended it and opened relations with China) and do little to appease the mind of the true individualist (and what American isn’t truly an individualist? We aren’t known for our collectivist mentalities).
If my predictions are true, there will be little gained by voting for the Democratic party in the future. Given that most Americans lack any true economic perspective and that the Democratic party may find itself taking the same stance that Hillary Clinton did, the only real refuge within the two party straightjacket that passes for the American polity lies in social freedoms, not economic equality. If the Republican party chooses wisely, if they espouse “libertarian,” Goldwater ideals, they may just become the party for those who have more liberal social ideals.
The Obama campaign was savvy and seized upon the Republicans’ inability to be true to their individualist beliefs, just as the Reagan and his successors were successful in taking advantage of the lacunae between the Democrat’s traditional ethos and their projected image in 2000 and in 1980. Speaking of which, if you were 18 during the 1980 presidential election, you’re almost 47 now. It’s 2009-thirty years since Reagan came to power. The political tactics that defined the GOP over the last three decades have become stale and if they can take the courageous step of dispensing with this childish God-bullshit, they may once again become the party for left-leaning Americans.
Without a comprehensive understanding of wealth distribution, with only two parties, this is the future Americans have to look forward to. The inability for the American mind to grasp collectivism and to countenance socialism are the ghosts from the past which will keep social reaction the vanguard of the working poor and personal freedoms a privilege for the wealthy.
