Column by Andrew Waldner
Dear Dad,
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I know you find my Democratic ideas silly and immature. You always say, “One day you’ll be a Republican, just wait and see.†But I don’t think you understand. I don’t think you understand my beliefs and I don’t think you understand the actualities of your own party.
You think the GOP is something that it’s not. It is not, as you think, the party for free-market ideals and do-it-yourself energy. It used to be, but it isn’t anymore. They’ve abandoned that creed for another: Fear. They incite fear in the electorate using social, “family†issues and ride that wave to power. It’s a wonderful short-term strategy and it worked extremely well for a while. It kept them in power for nearly two decades, all under the watchful eyes of people like Karl Rove.
I’m an economics major, so I know how the free market works. I believe in its ability to regulate itself and run efficiently, the recent credit crisis notwithstanding. I believe that if you lower taxes, you can spur consumer spending and investing and improve the economy. These are all historically conservative and/or Republican ideas, but they’ve been put on the backburner. They haven’t been on the agenda for the last two decades.
Today’s Republican “base†is predominantly white, lower-class and socially conservative. As exit polls are showing, the Republicans have slimmed down this base and are now losing nearly all demographics outside of these people. In the latest election, they only won 3 percent of blacks and 30 percent of Hispanics. They lost every single age group except voters over 65. How’s that for a super-majority, Rove?
Rove and his ilk took advantage of the basic fears of these poor, uneducated Southern and Midwestern voters and spun it into getting George W. Bush elected twice. Politically, it was a genius move. Realistically, it was a short-term solution that created a long-term problem. This strategy further marginalized their base and made people like myself, socially liberal and educated upper-middle class whites, even more scared of the goals of the party. Their views on immigration, related to this idea of fearing all “foreigners,†probably cost them just as many votes with other demographics.
The GOP isn’t the free-market, small-government party it was supposed to be. It’s now, both in practice and how it’s viewed, the anti-abortion, anti-gay marriage and anti-anything not born in America party that focuses on little else. There are good conservatives who have similar views; the Andrew Sullivans, the David Frums, my own father; but they aren’t the ones in power.
The doomed campaign of John McCain is a perfect example. Here you have a moderate Republican who stands for everything good about the GOP and actually appeals to those moderates that you need to win an election. And yet, over the course of the last few years and during his campaign, in an effort to appeal to that base, he’s had to compromise his own beliefs.
Nothing shows this more than the choice of Sarah Palin. I won’t get into attacking her ignorance or “diva†tendencies, because it’s irrelevant. The important thing is that she’s nothing like McCain. He’s a relatively non-religious moderate and he’s forced to choose a hyper-religious neo-con as his vice presidential candidate. I don’t buy the arguments that she ruined his chances. In fact, I think she gave him the only chance he ever had at winning. Joe Lieberman or someone else would’ve just turned off the base and handed Barack Obama the presidency.
But, to moderates and liberals, she represents everything that’s wrong with the party. She has little policy knowledge and doesn’t seem interested in learning, she just wants to thrust her family and moral values on the rest of the country; real policy and issues be damned. Just like Bush, she seems to be an empty vessel that fundamentalist forces can work through to keep their belief systems in power. Rather than work to make the country better for its citizens in realistic ways, they want to control and remake their citizens into their ideal, “true†Americans.
So sorry Dad, but I can’t bring myself to join such a party. This GOP that basically ignores real issues like health care, taxation and the security of our nation just to wage an ideological holy war against Democrats and the rest of the world isn’t something I want to be a part of. The Democrats aren’t perfect. I don’t buy into some of their economic proposals, Nancy Pelosi is an evil succubus and they have their own nutty members to deal with. However, they’ve been smart and have begun to move towards the center away from their crazier tendencies. They also haven’t played into the most basic, religious fears of some of the poorest, least-educated people in our country just to keep in power.
If you haven’t guessed by now, I’m not saying that you or anyone that thinks like you is evil. Being conservative is and should stand for the belief that people make their lives and fortunes on their own hard work, that we should carefully and skeptically embrace change and that the government shouldn’t give handouts. It shouldn’t mean controlling people’s lives, marriages, bodies and who knows what else. So if you’re a true conservative, defend yourself and take back your party. If you’re a fundamentalist Christian, that’s fine too, just remember that “fundamentalist†does not equal “conservative,†it’s something entirely different.
So for now, unless something big happens, I’ll continue to be a moderate Democrat and be happy with it. On a side note, I voted for Obama and would have done so wholeheartedly whether a registered Republican or Democrat, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that he won.
Someday, hopefully, the GOP will sort itself out and become the party of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan again; not the party of Bush and Rove. Until then, I cannot, in good conscience, be part of the Republican Party.
So don’t worry Dad, I believe in you. Someday you’ll be a Democrat, just wait and see.
Andrew Waldner is a journalism and economics senior. E-mail opinions@kykernel.com.
Ask your Dad…what happens Dad when you have to start paying an extra 6% on FICA taxes over $102,000. You Dad’s response will be…”Son, you’ll have less money for college”. I guess the Democrats believe in punishing those that are actually responsible. Those that ran up credit card debt…well, you’re off the hook. I’m all for helping those in NEED, but those that are materialistic and got in over their heads…..not so much. I guess the taxing those over $102,000 for FICA doesn’t count as a real tax, since it’s less than $250,000. I still haven’t heard an explanation for that one. If anyone has one, please post it.
Your total lack of understanding of why John McCain lost is mind boggling, he lost because he wasn’t a Conservative. Conservatives only voted for McCain by a total of 80-20, the difference in the election…Conservatives felt that it was time to pay back the party that had abandoned them and voting for McCain for many Conservatives like myself was voting for the lesser of 2 evils…True Conservatism will also triumph over Moderate/Liberal thinking. And yes we are, anti-abortion and believe in life, anti-gay marriage because a marriage was meant for man/woman. But your close minded view that GOP represents Conservatism is ridiculous. True Conservatives believe in limited Govt, True Freedom, Property rights, and the CONSTITUTION. A document forgotten by you andn your kind.
I’m not sure about this FICA tax, but my personal college/retirement investment account has lost 66% of its value over the past year due to Republicans and their “free market” economics. I am quite certain that no 6% additional tax could ever do as much damage.
Spoken like a true journalism major. The journalism department can be proud. They have once again taken a young impressionable mind and turned it into a “real intellectual thinker” . I only hope you live long enough to regret putting your dad down in print.
You’re an idiot Andrew. Nobody was going to beat Obama. With the economy, war, unemployment up and market significantly down. NOBODY could have run against the Dem’s and won. Obama is a very good public speaker and is African -American nothing more. He had very little experience. Four years from now there will be very little “change”. Other than giving preferential treatment to disadvantaged and underrepresented groups, Obama will attack businesses and over-regulate key sectors. He will raise tax rates on capital, investors, and successful earners. This “Change” will not help America.
I am offended when you say that only under-educated, lower class peoples voted for McCain. I am a doctoral candidate coming from an urban area in another state with upper middle class, college-educated parents. My mother was a journalism major. My brother has a degree in history and poli-sci from a prestigious university. My sister will have a degree from a major technical university. We are not uneducated nor poor. I know plenty others like me. You, Sir, are misinformed about the voter constituency. Do not generalize when you do not know what you are talking about. This makes for bad reporting and bad journalism.
This is a great article! You are completely right, the Republican party works on FEAR. Most of the Republican base is poor and middle class. The only reason their base supports them is because of their stance on social issues, when the Democrats can help them so much more, with their economic policies. That is just something I can not understand. Why would you vote for and support someone and the party that will continue to ruin the economy, bankrupt the lower and middle class, foreclose on family farms, etc.?
Well said, I would only add that conservatism is also about limited role of government in Economy.
How ironic since now Comrade Bush ‘spreads our FUTURE wealth around to otherwise Rich but short-term focused irresponsible Wall Street’. How pathetic that the greatest Economy on earth follows social-democracy European-like intervention in the market in order to save it from crashing from highs to ‘Bangladesh’ level.
Your letters shows anybody who isn’t full of hate towards ‘liberals’ that the GOP truly forgot many of its principles. Some here said McCain lost because he wasn’t “True Conservative” which is interesting because he was the Party’s nomination. You would think that conservative party would no nominate someone that was truly its party representative. Even Palin did not save him. If he wasn’t true conservative why conservatives did not vote for someone else in primaries?
But this is not the end of bad news for GOP. When Economy will be fixed by ‘government under Obama’ this will provide another nail to the coffin GOP found itself. Ironically, it is all just its fault. They were practically unchallenged for 6 years and only slightly over the last 2 years. Ironically it is Comrade Bush that already changed US capitalism for ever. It will never be the same. And yes, Europe is laughing, they have a good reason “we told you so” for many years they are saying I am sure. In order to buy house in France, in addition to income you have to have doctor’s visit and pass medical exam so you are healthy enough to work for next 30 years and pay mortgage … what a contrast to ‘are you alive? yes, OK, here is the mortgage for this house’.
The glorified globalization, greed and short-term focus proved disasterous. Economy based on national, state and individuals debt powered in 2/3 by consumer spending run itself to a corner. Without jobs no matter how cheap something is at Wal-Mart, Americans cannot afford to buy it. The last resource of continuing consumptionism – the seemingly never ending appreciation of our houses – burst too. There is nothing left, no cars, (production and sales) no houses and we hardly produce anything, except for … burgers.
Again, your dad can be proud of you. For all your critics, he never said that conservatism is wrong, just that it lost its values, it became shallow cherry picking issues fundamentalism, if not extremism.
If you don’t believe us, look at the more and more blue map of US. Where there are people in large numbers, there are issues, and things turn blue. Where there is desert with a few houses, people are still red …. but not for long. Population grows.
Great piece. The Republicans run on a campaign of hate and fear. They scare many Americans into fearing any changes that could actually be great not only for the country as a whole but for them personally. They use religion to lure the fundamentalist/evangelical Christian voting bloc in while implementing laws that Jesus Christ would never approve of. They refuse to use peaceful diplomatic relations; they want to control womens’ bodies and leave Americans uneducated about sex; they ignore imperative environmental issues; they do not recognize the fundamental part of our constitution that separates church and state, which any true American would realize is vital; and they have basically destroyed the middle class and our economy.
Yet most Christians remain a part of the Republican party, and others remain part of it because they think they will have to pay slightly fewer taxes. I question the values of these people because they certainly seem very selfish.
By the way, I would definitely not call McCain moderate. He is more moderate than Palin but his voting record indicates that he votes conservative 90% of the time.
Can an Obama supporter please tell me what he stands for and what is on his agenda other than something to do with taxes, abortion, “healthcare” and gays?
An open letter to Andrew: if you’re smart, some day you’ll take my advice and see that neither party has the best interests of the American people at heart. This is coming from a lifelong Democrat who voted for a Republican for the first time this year. Anyone could see that Obama won because Bush is a Republican, not because he’s the most qualified, and not because of Sarah Palin (who I greatly admire). Try looking at the person, not the party. And remember, no one likes to be patronized – it just makes you sound smug and self-satisfied.
Maybe I wasn’t clear in my article, but I’m in no way throwing my dad “under the bus.” He’s very much a political moderate, exactly like am, socially liberal and fiscally conservative. We share nearly the same beliefs on everything except which party we’d rather affiliate ourselves with.
My main point to make in this article is that the Republican party has become less about real, tangible issues and more about moral codes and inciting fear using social issues like abortion and gay marriage. I believe the party has been taken over by these fundamentalist Christians. And I totally respect the views of people who feel that way about gay marriage or abortion, I just believe you’ve hijacked one our two main parties for your own purposes and that you continue to ignore the socially moderate/liberals in your own party.
If you have those views, fine, just understand that they are not inherent to either conservatism or the GOP, they are inherent in the church and in fundamentalism. While I don’t think they have any right to be affiliated with our governance, that’s an opinion and I respect any differing views.
I don’t see how you can find anything factually wrong with my article, it’s simply my view of the two parties and what they have evolved into. The Democratic party has taken time to lick its wounds from the 80s and 90s, broaden its base by appealing to more people and ignoring the more radical tendencies of the extreme left (socialist, anti-American crazy people). The Republican party, meanwhile, has moved itself so far right that it has finally alienated enough liberals and moderates to royally screw itself over. You can blame the financial crisis all you want, but the fact is that they’ve just slowly cut out minorities, youth, liberals, moderates and others to the point where their “base” is now the minority. Yes, there are still minorities, youth, liberals and moderates who voted for John McCain, but polls show they are part of a dwindling minority.
And to the person who says they come from a similar background as me yet has differing views on the parties, that’s fine. Just understand that you are the minority. That is not an opinion or an argument, it’s simply a fact based on the demographics of voters in this past election.
Again, I am NOT ATTACKING CONSERVATIVES OR LIBERALS, I’m simply expressing my disapproval of the methods and direction the GOP has taken. Also again, I’m not attacking my father, just disagreeing with the party he chooses to be a part of. I’d rather be a conservative Democrat than a liberal Republican solely based on what issues the parties focus on.
FYI … you may want to check the sharing button … I shared this on Facebook and it did not work yesterday.
Andrew, I normally do not enjoy reading argumentative essays especially on politics, but your article was fascinating and also an eye-opening read for me. Thank you for sharing your opinion and being mature enough to have a one to one debate with your dad. However, like your dad, I am a conservative Republican who has always tried to vote for the person and the issues rather than the party.
As I look back, I am have leaned toward the GOP because of their less radical beliefs and need to promote drastic change. I do think our country is in need of change but I am unsure who can do the task. It takes every elected official working together with the best interest of the American people regardless of their party. The only one in my life time that I have seen coming close to this was President Reagan.
I was amused by the diversified comments to your article and your added comments. I am still pondering the differences between liberal Republican and conservative Democrat. In my mind I have always considered them about the same. Thank you again for broadening my narrow scope about the differences between the GOP and Democratic Parties.
Andrew–I am sorry I am so late finding this on the website. Thank you so much for a thoughtful, well-reasoned analysis which not only made me think–as someone of your father’s generation–but also provides me with a catalyst for intelligent discussion with a variety of friends who have a variety of political views. It is difficult to pick over the differences between parties without becoming inflammatory but you did a good job.