Monday, November 24, 2008

Deal Hudson: "A Warning to the GOP"

Deal Hudson writes at InsideCatholic:
In an op-ed published after the election, former Governor of New Jersey Christine Todd Whitman wrote, "Unless the Republican Party ends its self-imposed captivity to social fundamentalists, it will spend a long time in the political wilderness."

And who are these "social fundamentalists?" In Whitman's political lexicon, they are "the people who base their votes on such social issues as abortion, gay rights, and stem cell research."

When I read Whitman's column I had three thoughts:

1. Why is she putting the label "fundamentalist" on fellow Republican voters?

2. Does she know she's also talking about Catholic voters who consider non-negotiable issues before casting their ballot?

3. Is she asking Catholic and Evangelical voters who care deeply about these issues to leave the party and declare themselves independent?

It's remarkable that someone who considers herself a leader in the GOP would go out of her way to antagonize millions of voters who have been dependable Republicans for over three decades.

Whitman and the other GOP leaders who have made post-election stabs at social and religious conservatives had better start minding their manners. Whatever happened to the "Big Tent"? The Republican Party may find itself hemorrhaging its most zealous constituency.


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4 Comments:

At 11/24/2008 5:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

So let's get this straight:

-Republicans win in 2000, 2002, and 2004 largely on moral issues and "values voters."
-Republicans lose in 2006 because of the war.
-Republicans lose in 2008 because of the economy.

And we're supposed to believe that moral issues are bringing the party down? If anything, you could make the case that moral issues are the only thing that's won an election for the GOP in the last 12years

 
At 11/24/2008 6:56 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

People prefer "Real" Demonrats to the psuedo ones the Republicrats want Republicans to be.

BTW, in '06, the repubs were tainted with scandal, with the Foley stuff - a "values" issue.

 
At 11/26/2008 1:49 AM, Blogger Matt Walker said...

Unless the Republican Party wises up and gets back to basics, the conservative Catholics and Evangelicals will leave the GOP to go the way of the Whigs.

 
At 11/26/2008 8:48 AM, Blogger Emily Wilson said...

one thing that the liberal illuminati did well in doing this election was to attract a wide-range of voters. The republicans are going to need to do this in the future if they want their party to survive

 

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