A good cultural definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. That is where the Republican Party is today. I guess that they feel ideologically justified in some of their positions and that they'd rather stay true to their ideas and philosophies than move on the political spectrum to a position that would win an election. At least that's the only explanation I can see.
Yesterday was an off year election in several places. I think Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland and a few other places. It was mostly an election to choose state and local representatives and for voters to vote on a few measures before them in a few places. In the scheme of things not a big election, but of course it was touted in the main stream media as a bellwether of things to come over the next year culminating in the Presidential election a year from now.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs Wade last year and sent the abortion issue back to the states for the states (in my view rightly) to determine the issue of the legality of abortion, that has been the central issue in every election. We all know that there are zealots on both ends of the spectrum on this issue who will never, ever change their minds. Some want abortion right up until the time of birth and some want a total ban on abortion. The American people time after time prove to be rather pragmatic in most things. Most aren't interested in the extremes. Most, like a large percentage of the enlightened world believe, like Bill Clinton, that abortions should be safe, legal and rare. Most would be perfectly fine with reasonable laws at the state level that allow abortions up to a certain time in the gestation period (15 weeks is the most common point of departure) and have accommodations for rape and incest. It seems pretty reasonable. In Ohio, voters approved by a wide margin an amendment to the state’s constitution which would guarantee access to abortion up until fetal viability, and allow for the procedure beyond that point if the life or health of the woman is at risk. It was a blow to Republicans but I don't see any evidence that they understand that their position is not viable. Until they move to middle ground, they will continue to lose.
So the Republicans got creamed yesterday and in reading the results and comments in the main stream media and on social media, I really don't think they understand why. Americans are simply not going to stand (in most places) for a radical ban on abortions. The Democrats have been masterful in two things. One is painting all Republicans as wacky MAGA loving zealots and two as not giving an inch on abortion bans. Here's the evidence of the strategy in a tweet this morning from Senile Joe...
Of course, that's not true, but the Dems have been wielded that claim like a hot knife through butter with the American public. It's actually sort of PR genius and they'll keep doing it for as long as the public and the compliant media buys it.
The second thing that did the Republicans in is Trump. Even though he wasn't on any ballots, he loomed large. As I said above, the Dems are masterful at portraying every Republican, no matter how moderate or reasonable they are as MAGA loyalists. He is in the news every single day with all of his trials, bluster, and whining accusations. Now don't get me wrong. If you go back in this blog to the 2016 timeframe you'll see that I supported him. Or rather I would have supported almost anyone over Hillary. But that was then. Now we have a 77 year old man who is running a grievance campaign with a vengeance to regain the White House. I, like most people, believe all the legal entanglements he finds himself in are politically motivated, but that doesn't lessen the impact of him sitting in a courtroom defending himself. He has burned so many bridges that I can't even imagine who would be willing to serve in a future Trump administration. It certainly wouldn't be the best and the brightest. And so like the abortion zealots, the Trump diehards hang on and he has a reasonable shot at the Republican nomination. And in turn several very capable, viable, reasonable candidates will fall by the wayside.
The other thing that will happen is that he can't win. In today's electorate no one can win with only Democrat votes or only Republican votes. The independents are the key and he can't get them. That's been proven by the recent election results in which Republicans didn't draw many independents.
There are other issues of course but as long as the Republicans are vulnerable to the Democrats accusing them of being a monolithic, radical MAGA crowd, they will lose. I live in a state with one party rule and it's no fun. It also doesn't contribute to good governance. The tension and back and forth dialog on issues between the two philosophies of the parties contributes and I might even say is healthy for a vital and growing country and economy. Without it there is stagnation, resentment, depression and people begin to lose hope. It also can be an economic disaster. That has certainly been the case where I live. I really hope that the reasonable pragmatists in the Republican Party can somehow manage to wrest control from the people currently running the show who don't seem to mind losing while sticking zealously to their ideas.
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