Save the G.O.P

[Saigon]

How would you save the GOP?

For me, the GOP needs to go through the same kind of soul searching that the UK Labour went through during the Thatcher years. Labour had become boring and outdated, too tied to trade unions and still relying on ridiculous soviet cliches.

Under Tony Blair the party changed it's name to New Labour, and became pro-business, and all about Cool Britania and building a new, fair, capitalist society.

I think the Republicans need to go through the same kind of angst and introversion that Labour went through, starting off by realising that they face parliamentary oblivion.

Here is what I would to build a strong, real conservative party:

1) Restructure taxes. Implement a 15% VAT in exchange for substantial cuts in both business and personal taxes. This is the conservative solution for taxation, and will bring in millions of revenue from the shadow economy.

2) Accept climate change. Conservative parties around the world, even oil companies accept climate change, and there is now no mileage in pretending it doesn't exist. Promote private sector solutions while opposing cap & trade and development aid. Support nuclear & gas - abandon coal & biofuel.

3) Trade not aid. Slash overseas development aid, while committing to real fair trade. Remove import tariffs on cotton and sugar. Farming is a business.

4) Sensible gun control. Like climate change, denial makes no sense. Instead work for a fair, sensible set of laws that protect the 2nd Amendment while protecting innocent lives. Start with a massive crackdown and gun seizures on gangs.

5) Legalise and tax prostitution.

6) Stay out of the Middle East and avoid wars. Back Israel, but also indicate that Palestine is inevitable and that Israel needs to work towards a sustainable solution.

7) Accept immigration and perhaps an amnesty, but implement deportations for immigrants committing felony offences prior to achieving citizenship.

8) Brand America as being the home of innovation, modernity and creativity - and back the policies to support it. Invest heavily in education and training.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Good luck with that. I could never in a million years imagine a Republican accepting even a single one of those things. The right's propagandist msm has conditioned them to all be completely lock-step against all of that.

 

[Unkotare]

How would you save the GOP?

For me, the GOP needs to go through ....

For you? For you? Just who the fuck are you, pisshead? Go dig up some rotten fish for dinner and shut the fuck up about your betters.

 

[Unkotare]

The last thing the GOP needs is 'advice' from a bunch of lefties. Thanks but no thanks.

 

[ABikerSailor]

How would you save the GOP?

For me, the GOP needs to go through the same kind of soul searching that the UK Labour went through during the Thatcher years. Labour had become boring and outdated, too tied to trade unions and still relying on ridiculous soviet cliches.

Under Tony Blair the party changed it's name to New Labour, and became pro-business, and all about Cool Britania and building a new, fair, capitalist society.

I think the Republicans need to go through the same kind of angst and introversion that Labour went through, starting off by realising that they face parliamentary oblivion.

Here is what I would to build a strong, real conservative party:

1) Restructure taxes. Implement a 15% VAT in exchange for substantial cuts in both business and personal taxes. This is the conservative solution for taxation, and will bring in millions of revenue from the shadow economy.

2) Accept climate change. Conservative parties around the world, even oil companies accept climate change, and there is now no mileage in pretending it doesn't exist. Promote private sector solutions while opposing cap & trade and development aid. Support nuclear & gas - abandon coal & biofuel.

3) Trade not aid. Slash overseas development aid, while committing to real fair trade. Remove import tariffs on cotton and sugar. Farming is a business.

4) Sensible gun control. Like climate change, denial makes no sense. Instead work for a fair, sensible set of laws that protect the 2nd Amendment while protecting innocent lives. Start with a massive crackdown and gun seizures on gangs.

5) Legalise and tax prostitution.

6) Stay out of the Middle East and avoid wars. Back Israel, but also indicate that Palestine is inevitable and that Israel needs to work towards a sustainable solution.

7) Accept immigration and perhaps an amnesty, but implement deportations for immigrants committing felony offences prior to achieving citizenship.

8) Brand America as being the home of innovation, modernity and creativity - and back the policies to support it. Invest heavily in education and training.

You forgot legalization of cannabis. Currently it's a Schedule I drug, which means that according to the government, it has no use for medicinal purposes, and is supposed to be highly addictive.

However......................it HAS been proven to be beneficial medically for many ailments, as well as has been proven to be non-physically addictive.

 

[aaronleland]

The last thing the GOP needs is 'advice' from a bunch of lefties. Thanks but no thanks.

You can look forward to this response from a majority of the "conservatives" here. Accept climate change? Avoid wars? Nonsense!

 

[Unkotare]

Good luck and have fun being liberals. More than twice as many Americans identify as conservative and we'll be ok without your 'helpful' advice.

 

[Avorysuds]

WHat a horrible list.

The country will shift back to conservative, the issue is the Republican party has moved so far to the left the people (voters) that make up the party have lost interest.

In the end progressive ideas will fail as they always have, Bush was a progressive, Obama is a progressive, massive debts, never ending wars and non stop power grabs for more Government power.

People will and are atm looking for a conservative. The problem is the title "conservative" has been so badly beaten into the ground by presidents like Bush. However presidents like Obama have made progressive and liberal a bad word. We have a shrinking far right and a shrinking far left and a heavily growing middle. What's odd is that the middle for the most part rejects the major policies that the left and the Right actually do... It's ironic that the rejections of these policies that both the left and the right do happen to be very similar due to the fact that Dems and Reps are virtually one party.


The Republican party does not need to go even further to the left as the OP has suggested, the Republican party needs to actually put up conservatives.

 

[Avorysuds]

And for the last time, Dems lost 4 million votes in 2012, Reps gained 900,000 new voters... The Democrat party is shrinking incredibly fast based on actual voters, not opinion.

 

[Charles_Main]

And for the last time, Dems lost 4 million votes in 2012, Reps gained 900,000 new voters... The Democrat party is shrinking incredibly fast based on actual voters, not opinion.

Those numbers reflect a smaller turn out, not a shrinking Party. Don't be fooled. Both Parties over all Party Affiliation was actually down some this time around.

 

[Saigon]

Good luck with that. I could never in a million years imagine a Republican accepting even a single one of those things. The right's propagandist msm has conditioned them to all be completely lock-step against all of that.

I tend to agree - and yet all of the things listed here have been implemented by conservative governments elsewhere (with the exception of legalised prostitution).

The GOP seems to have lost its ability to reform itself or learn from what other conservative governments are doing.

Some of them are inevitable, though. The GOP will accept climate science at some point. If not now, then 10 years from now. The alternative is to become an object of ridicule.

 

[Saigon]

the issue is the Republican party has moved so far to the left the people (voters) that make up the party have lost interest.

That's simply nonsense.

Fringe parties aside, the GOP is probably now the most radical major right wing party* in the developed world. If you disagree - find another one that is further right.


* i.e. when we consider the largest conservative party in each country

 

[there4eyeM]

Save the GOP? From what, itself?

I only hope that BOTH 'major' parties go out of business, to be replaced by honesty, clarity and conscience.

 

[Saigon]

Save the GOP? From what, itself?

I only hope that BOTH 'major' parties go out of business, to be replaced by honesty, clarity and conscience.

Yes, from itself.

The Tea Party and bible thumpers have turned the GOP into a party that is afraid of its own moderate shadow. It's fixated on phony flag-waving patriotism, guns, paranoia and xenophobia, and compleltely obsessed with slashing taxes. It seems to think it lives in 1976.

As I said, almost all of the ideas above come from conservative parties around the world. some of them, like VAT, have been conservative playbook material for a generation - and for good reason.

 

[Dubya]

How would you save the GOP?

For me, the GOP needs to go through the same kind of soul searching that the UK Labour went through during the Thatcher years. Labour had become boring and outdated, too tied to trade unions and still relying on ridiculous soviet cliches.

Under Tony Blair the party changed it's name to New Labour, and became pro-business, and all about Cool Britania and building a new, fair, capitalist society.

I think the Republicans need to go through the same kind of angst and introversion that Labour went through, starting off by realising that they face parliamentary oblivion.

Here is what I would to build a strong, real conservative party:

1) Restructure taxes. Implement a 15% VAT in exchange for substantial cuts in both business and personal taxes. This is the conservative solution for taxation, and will bring in millions of revenue from the shadow economy.

2) Accept climate change. Conservative parties around the world, even oil companies accept climate change, and there is now no mileage in pretending it doesn't exist. Promote private sector solutions while opposing cap & trade and development aid. Support nuclear & gas - abandon coal & biofuel.

3) Trade not aid. Slash overseas development aid, while committing to real fair trade. Remove import tariffs on cotton and sugar. Farming is a business.

4) Sensible gun control. Like climate change, denial makes no sense. Instead work for a fair, sensible set of laws that protect the 2nd Amendment while protecting innocent lives. Start with a massive crackdown and gun seizures on gangs.

5) Legalise and tax prostitution.

6) Stay out of the Middle East and avoid wars. Back Israel, but also indicate that Palestine is inevitable and that Israel needs to work towards a sustainable solution.

7) Accept immigration and perhaps an amnesty, but implement deportations for immigrants committing felony offences prior to achieving citizenship.

8) Brand America as being the home of innovation, modernity and creativity - and back the policies to support it. Invest heavily in education and training.

Save the G.O.P

Only death can save the G.O.P

....from future embarrassment

 

[Stephanie]

a person from Finland is giving suggestions on how to change our Parties.

how lovely,

Ok, Now how would you change the Democrat party?

 

[Saigon]

Ok, Now how would you change the Democrat party?

In a number of ways, though none entirely relevent to this thread.

Certinly I think that the Dems need to cut ties to some special interest groups, and to show more courage in their vision and policies.

 

[Stephanie]

Well who didn't see you taking sides with the Democrat party?

they need to show courage in their policy and visions

yeah that's it

 

[Mac1958]

.

Looks to me like the more pragmatic members of the party can see what's happening and are already working to bring the party back from the brink. Jindal was brave enough to start it (the party will thank him one day), and now others are slowly following suit. Seeing Cantor (holy crap) moderating from hard right absolutism was a shock and a very, very good sign. If Cantor can see it, it's far more difficult to deny.

The party knows it needs to grow some balls and cut the crazies off at the knees. I think that's already beginning to happen, and it's nice to see that it happened so quickly. They'll need to stay this brave for a while, though, there's a lot of damage to repair.

.

 

[Saigon]

.

Looks to me like the more pragmatic members of the party can see what's happening and are already working to bring the party back from the brink. Jindal was brave enough to start it (the party will thank him one day), and now others are slowly following suit. Seeing Cantor (holy crap) moderating from hard right absolutism was a shock and a very, very good sign. If Cantor can see it, it's far more difficult to deny.

The party knows it needs to grow some balls and cut the crazies off at the knees. I think that's already beginning to happen, and it's nice to see that it happened so quickly. They'll need to stay this brave for a while, though, there's a lot of damage to repair.

.

Excellent comments, Mac, and I thank you for them.

Under a Proportional Representation system the Republicans could split into two parties that might work together in a coalition. Under the US system their only option is to abandon extremism and occupy enough of the centre that they can win elections.

Taking a centrist line on climate change, gun control and gay rights means they will pick up votes from right-of-centre Democrats, and also allow them to frame legislation on these issues.

Republicans need to ask themselves - if there is to be legisilation on gun control, would I rather a Dem or Rep Congress were the ones drafting it?