By sheer chance of schedule and a business meeting I got to watch the results come in at a country club surrounded by Republicans watching Fox News try to put a positive spin on the situation. Was kind of weird.
All that said thank goodness that common sense prevailed and we can put this election behind us. I think this country faced a serious test and as usual almost half of America (mostly old white dudes) did their best to kick out the black guy and 'restore' America. These people were willing to ignore the flip flopping, the lack of substance or policy, the lack of tax returns, the bogus personal success narrative, and the false promises of 12 million jobs tax cuts for all; just by magically closing some unspecified 'loopholes.' (I'm guessing these loopholes didn't include the ones where rich people hide their money in Swiss bank accounts and bogus foreign companies to avoid paying tax.) Mitt Romney promised many things, and some people were taken in, others would have voted for a giant pig just as long as it wasn't black.
What I find interesting is that Republicans keep going back to the same watering hole that has worked so well for them in the past. They go after the rich, the evangelical fringe, the old people (while oddly stating a desire to cut their benefits), the racists, and any other white redneck dudes they can find.
Sadly for Republicans (fortunately for the rest of us) this base is eroding at a speedy rate. More and more people are turning away from extremist religion, homoprejudice, draconian social policies, gender discrimination, xenophobia and racism. Admittedly these people tend to live in more enlightened parts of the country, but the movement is unmistakable, and I think unstoppable. Because the fact is old whitey is dying off and being replaced by more progressive young people and people of color. The draw to the silver haired white dude who is past retirement age is simply diminishing.
If there is one take away from this election for Republicans, it would be to take a cue from former British Prime Minister, Tony Blair. During the Thatcher era one of the reasons she spent 21 years in Number 10 is because her opposition was useless. The British equivalent of the Democrats was the Labour Party, and they kept pushing further and further to the fringe of their party installing unelectable leaders and pandering to special interests. In every election Thatcher trounced her opposition and went on to become the longest serving PM in British history.
In a move of political brilliance portrayed in the movie The Deal, Tony Blair secretly garnered support within his party and forced Gordon Brown not to step up to take the leadership of the Labour Party as everyone had expected him to. With leadership now secured Blair went on to re-invent the Labour Party going so far as to call it New Labour, cutting ties with the extremist fringe and becoming more electable. After leading his party to victory he led the country for about a decade, stepping down largely because the British public did not accept supporting the American wars in Afghanistan and more importantly Iraq.
I relay this story, because if I have one hope for America it is that Republicans take stock at this point and reset the direction of their party. They must accept that their base of angry white men and old people are dying off or being superseded by people we once called minorities. Women too are now less inclined to accept 77% of a man's pay for the same day of work, while being told what they are allowed to do with their vaginas.
I really believe that it will become increasingly hard to keep the applying same old strategies of warmongering, xenophobia, racism, and hard line stances on social policies, gender, reproductive and LGBTQ issues. With a changing population they must find new less extreme leadership to be successful. It is very hard to imagine that doubling down on such divisive issues and extremist positions can create a landslide victory for Republicans any time soon.
In watching this election it seemed like Democrats were occupying a centrist position, while the Republicans had left the building in order to see just how far to the right they could possibly move. And I'm sure the most extreme of them all spouting about legitimate rape and similar can't have helped their case.
So in conclusion, America barely made the right decision, but the right decision was made nonetheless. Time will tell if Republicans learn from this and reinvent themselves as New Labour did, or will they simply keep peddling the same old same old. I guess we'll find out in a year when the politicking and money squandering will begin all over again.
