There are lots of reasons for the Republican’s defeat. Some real (they lost their way, they renegged on term limit pledges, Schiavo, runaway earmarks) Some false (Iraq) but one thing which really did drive them to lose, and I have no doubt, is the shit thats peddled on Fox News. If you don’t listen to anything else I ever write, just remember this – Fox News (or at least their prime time “political debate†programs) are about the least intellectual thing on TV. I can’t think of a worst example of folks without a clue of how D.C. works or whats actually going on around here actually fooling people into paying attention to their contrived talking points.
Interesting theory, but I’m curious as to how exactly this has hurt the Republicans? I agree completely with his statement here, but don’t quite make the connection to electoral failure. My first choice for where to lay blame would be evangelical voters who think as long as a guy loves Jesus, he’s OK by them.
The problem is that it allowed Republicans to abandon intellect and ideas in favor of relying on idiots who simply read and repeat ad nauseum their foundation less talking points. Its created a Republican cult of personality (or rather, exposed the one that always existed just under the surface) which became no different (and I’d argue even worse) than the corrupt Clinton machine which gave rise to their power.
End result??
Death of the policy wonk and Policy is shaped by press secretaries.
Remember, if the first rule of politics is to get elected, the second is to not believe your press release. The vacuum of ideas created by Fox News Channel made it all too easy for Republican’s to believe their press releases.
There you go with that evangelical shit again. There just aren’t enough of them to make the difference. What got the Republicans where they are is they were elected on their platform of responsible contstitutional government and and reneged. Nobody trusts them.
They don’t trust the Democrats either, but the Dems didn’t have to turn their coats to be identified as traitors to their constituents and their country. The Repubs did.
There you go with that evangelical shit again. There just aren’t enough of them to make the difference. What got the Republicans where they are is they were elected on their platform of responsible contstitutional government and and reneged. Nobody trusts them.
There don’t have to be that many of them if they are united behind one candidate. They are a minority, even in the Republican Party. You’re right about the source of the Republican trouble, but I don’t think Huckabee is the man to lead the Republican Party back to their roots.
I think that theory might explain why the Republican Party has been losing so badly in the traditionally Republican Philadelphia suburbs. The people that tended to be Republican around here were traditionally well educated and in higher income brackets. The Party has virtually abandoned those people and those principles in pursuit of a more populist voting block.
But is Fox News a response to that? Or the cause of it?