In the aftermath (or afterglow, depending on whom one talks to) of the election of Barack Obama, media reports came to light regarding aides of Sen. John McCain circulating derogatory anecdotes about his running mate, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin. These parties apparently did so anonymously, giving rise to questions of whether Palin had "lost the election" for McCain, or – at least – damaged his chances of winning.
One source involved in preparing Palin for interviews and the vice-presidential debate told CNN "she had not paid attention to a single policy debate that's gone on in this country for 10 years."
– CNN, Nov. 7, 2008
These stories, which proffered such twaddle as Palin being ignorant of the fact that Africa is a continent (as opposed to a country), were juvenile, patently idiotic and indicative of the philosophical disjointedness and elitism that exists within the Republican Party. Anyone who actually listened to Sarah Palin during the campaign could easily determine that her level of knowledge precluded such ignorance. The fools who made the claims against Palin, through bitterness over McCain's loss or antipathy toward Palin for her staunch conservative views, are the kind who brought about the downfall of Republicans in America to start with.
The greatest factor in the Republicans' misfortune – reflected first in the midterm election of 2006, and again last week – had to do with Americans' inability to differentiate between the Democratic and Republican parties. This inability was not, however, indicative of voter stupidity – deluded though many might be. When politicians of both parties become embroiled in scandals when in power, when both evidence equal portions of ineptitude in handling weighty issues such as immigration or the economy and place personal aggrandizement above civil service, such a differentiation is all but impossible.
Make no mistake, the Democratic sweep of the presidency and Congress was a conscious, proverbial middle finger to Republicans on the part of American voters. This is a shame, because it prevented some quality conservative Republicans from attaining office while allowing some very dangerous Democrats to do so.
The Republican Party needs to be fumigated.
– Radio talk-show host Glenn Beck, Nov. 11, 2008
Truer words, as they say, have never been spoken. There is no longer room for the "country club" Republican. "Republicrats" ("Republican-Democrats" or "Republican-aristocrats," take your pick), with their lukewarm political philosophy, are like a neurological ailment from which the party at large suffers. They facilitate easy dismissal and mockery by conservatives and the left alike, and with good reason: They are as foppish and cartoonesque as far left elites. Ideologically barren, and having wholly abandoned the founding tenets of their party, they have nothing substantial to say or to offer the electorate; in the main, this is what Americans have experienced since Ronald Reagan's last term ended.
Prepare to hear a lot in the coming months in the vein of Republicans' need to reform, clean house and the like vis-Ã -vis their returning to the guiding principles of conservatism.
Certain conservative pundits – particularly in the talk-radio arena – relish mocking those country club, cocktail sipping RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) who are, in fact, the archetype whom Democrats offer as the "typical" Republican: Largely wealthy, white, arrogant narcissists. These do not represent that which has brought Republicans success. The elites of the Republican Party are as odious as those in the Democratic Party, with one distinct difference: The former have led to their party's ruin, whereas the latter have secured the brass ring for theirs. When Republican lawmakers behaved no differently than Democratic lawmakers in the face of the GOP's former congressional majority, they plunged a sword into the heart of the party's credibility as a conservative body.
George H.W. Bush was an elitist, a globalist, a vacillating disappointment. George W. Bush proved to be little different than his father; despite successes in the war against Islamo-fascism, he did nothing whatsoever to stave off demonization of Republicans and his administration by the establishment press, aiding in the gravitation of the electorate toward Democrats.
In truth, the cult of Barack Obama was largely built on the establishment of Obama as a Reagan-like reformer. Both men appealed to Americans' need for hope in uncertain times and expressed faith in the American people.
As has become clear, the American electorate does not comprehend arguments against socialism or the dangers of far left governance. Indeed, many are not even aware of what socialism is. The legacy of Ronald Reagan is that which voters, particularly independent ones, buy into when they vote Republican. Neither George W. Bush nor the national Republican leadership were willing to pick up that torch. If it is not rekindled within the party, we can look forward to a Democrat lock on our federal government for some time to come.