The GOP's Epic Fail

It was hard to imagine the GOP hitting a lower point politically than the dead-ender days of W.'s presidency, but this moment may very well be it. The only thing dropping faster right now is the Dow. Jindal's disastrous performance in the response to the non-SOTU, infighting between Michael Steele and Rush Limbaugh, and crude racial comments (here and here) that are sure to alienate the minorities the GOP needs to expand the party beyond a white, southern one. Sure, a lot of these dust-ups will be forgotten in a few days, but the overall impression is a party adrift at a time it can least afford it.



What a difference a few weeks makes. Remember, after the stimulus debate, congressional Republicans were hi-fiving themselves over their near unanimous opposition to the bill. They felt like they had scored political points (even if they couldn't stop the package) by casting doubt on some of the spending in the bill. Beltway pundits picked up the GOP's line and it appeared the Republicans were gaining momentum. To my mind, the turning came when the Washington Post and New York Times unveiled polls showing solid majorities approved of the stimulus package and Obama's approval ratings remained high. The GOP rebound was revealed as another unsustainable bubble.



The problems with the GOP seem to sprout from two separate, but intertwined issues: a lack of leadership and an ideological rigidity. The tussle over party leadership between Rush and Steele obviously plays into Dems hands. Jindal isn't ready for the national stage -- at least not yet. It's not clear where leadership will come from, but a sensible moderate seems like the best bet. The GOP also appears incapable of grasping the political moment has turned. The tired ideology of tax cuts uber allis and smaller government (see the post on Jindal below) is not where we are at -- find a way the government can play a constructive role and a way to reach out to the suffering middle class.



One last thing, if you're going to try to re-cast yourself as the party of fiscal discipline don't gobble up 40 percent of the earmarks in the 2009 omnibus appropriations bill. It's not a good place to start.


UPDATE: The Politico assesses the failings of the current GOP and employs the same Dow metaphor I used:

"Four months after John McCain’s sweeping defeat, senior Republicans are coming to grips with the fact that the party is still – in stock market terms – looking for the bottom."

Sorry to extend the metaphor even further, but it seems the GOP's downward spiral could turn out to be self-reinforcing -- like the stock market. The GOP's huge loses in November's elections sheered off many of the party's moderates. The remaining party is more conservative and hence more likely to find direction/solace in hard right ideologues like Limbaugh and Palin. Of course, this could drive away moderates leaving an even smaller party. And so on.