Ideas have always been fuel for the engine of democracy. New thoughts and concepts constantly come up, always propelling our democracy forward – well, until now. The mid-term strategy coming from the right seems to be simple – no, no, no.
This has, apparently, brought conservatives decent results.
"We're very comfortable where we're at; we have very few members who feel endangered," Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., told The Washington Post. "We feel like we are reflecting a broader mood of dissatisfaction. Right now, the American people want us saying no."
Perhaps Cole and I are reading a different electorate, but it seems the country wants solutions.
Unfortunately, ‘no’ is not a solution. According to a recent poll conducted by Politico, 72 percent of the general population said that the political system is broken.
Also in the same poll, the Republican leaders in Congress received far less favorable ratings than President Obama. House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, received a “very favorable” rating of 4 percent while Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., received a rating of 2 percent. The president received a much higher rating though – 25 percent of those polled had a ‘very favorable’ opinion of Obama.
The doom and gloom among liberals has led many pundits predicting that November will be reminiscent of 1994, when the Republicans regained control of both chambers of Congress for the first time in four decades.
However, there is a fundamental difference between then and now—and that difference is simply how the GOP has presented itself.
In 1994, conservative leaders devised the “Contract with America.” This “contract” was a platform that most of the Republican candidates ran on. It gave the American voters a distinct idea of what the Republican Party would do, should they be elected.
However, this year, the Tea Party movement has defined the Republican Party. In the Politico poll, serious warning signs exist that the general population is not pandering to the far right, as they like to think.
It has received very little notice from the electorate—31 percent of poll respondents did not know enough about the Tea Party movement to judge its future. Also, 26 percent of those polled said the movement was a fad. Totaling the two numbers, 57 percent of Americans know very little about the Tea Party movement or don’t take it seriously.
The GOP could take a lesson from 1994 if they choose to succeed.
Understanding a candidate positions and what they stand for is much more defining than what they do not stand for.
Our politics is compromised of two parties, giving it a “this or that” feel. That should not be the notion that dominates legislative affairs of our country. If the GOP wishes to succeed, it needs to come up with new, innovative ideas— something more interesting than cutting taxes.
Reach Andrew at andrew.hedlund@asu.edu.
