If I were given a few minutes with the Republican billionaires, I’d say: spend less money on marketing and more on product development. Spend less on “super PACs” and more on research. Find people who can shift the debate away from the abstract frameworks — like Big Government vs. Small Government. Find people who can go out with notebooks and study specific, grounded everyday problems: what exactly does it take these days to rise? What exactly happens to the ambitious kid in Akron at each stage of life in this new economy? What are the best ways to rouse ambition and open fields of opportunity?Don’t get hung up on whether the federal government is 20 percent or 22 percent of G.D.P. Let Democrats be the party of security, defending the 20th-century welfare state. Be the party that celebrates work and inflames enterprise. Use any tool, public or private, to help people transform their lives.
See the rest of the op-ed here.
What do you think?
This is a very well written article. I couldn't agree more, that the Republican party needs a new framework--Or it will soon find itself the minority party. These Reagan-age ideals are quickly becoming lost in a world of global ties and more intimate domestic/international relations. Fighting for government as 20% of GDP compared to 22% is not a fight worth spending millions of dollars, as we've seen these Super PACS do lately, regardless.
ReplyDeleteSome quick demographic and voting data for thought: If you don't believe the republican party needs a new framework from qualitative evidence, look at the raw numbers- More than half the births that occur in this country every month come from minority familes (approx. 50,000). By the year 2016, are demographics will have shifted alll the more towards what were once the minorities in this nation. The ideals held by the democratic party are currently a lot more favorable to these groups. Hispanics, Asian Americans, and African Americans all readily accept notions of government intervention. It can be looked at positively, and they see this first-hand as these groups are disproportional in the lower classes. (The groups that receive the bulk of government expenditures). Another important parameter to note is the voting statistics from this past election: 73% of Hispanics voted for Obama, up 4% from 2008. 91% of Blacks did the same. These numbers stand to continue growing unless the republican party changes its platform. Its time for a new approach, unless they want to fade into obscurity in the long run. The structure of our country is moving forward and away from these archaic ideologies of ethnocentrism, lax regulation, and minimal government intervention.
I agree with Andrew. Like we discussed in a previous blog, the minorities are becoming the majority and there are numbers like the ones provided above to prove it. The Republican party should consider a new framework to continue to be part of the run. People want the government's help and the Republican's idea of little government intervention is not helping them. We've said it before, times are changing, people are changing and in order to have more support, the Republican party should probably adopt some of that change.
ReplyDeleteGreat article, I found most appealing was the realization from someone of the disconnect between seemingly important conservative principles and hardworking minorities. I also found the use of such broad terms by Republicans quite thought provoking. The author makes a significant point in that Republicans should be less concerned with radio broadcasts and the typical "throwing money at it" solutions, and more concerned with actual studies or research that support their claims of "small government." Overall, this is quite an insightful message and one that will need to be heeded the next presidential election.
ReplyDeleteThe numbers of immigrants voting have significantly increased. They are looking for equal opportunities and this is what I think what Republicans could not convince them. Democrats focus on healthcare and social security have made them more appealing to the minorities and the 47 percent. Ignoring these people or failure to convince the general public that they can create equal opportunities for all can lead the Republicans to be a minor party, like Andrew said.
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