Monday, March 18, 2013
Arkansas Politics Republican Party 'scary,' 'narrow minded' and 'out of touch'
Posted by Max Brantley on Mon, Mar 18, 2013 at 2:16 PM
Hold on now. That's not me talking. The headline comes from Politico on a report by the Republican National Committee itself.
The report devotes many pages to the need to better connect with minority, female and young voters. Comprehensive immigration reform is a critical first step, it says.... Post-election focus groups with voters drove home the party’s shrinking demographic appeal, the report says.
“Asked to describe Republicans, they said that the Party is ‘scary,’ ‘narrow minded,’ and ‘out of touch’ and that we were a Party of ‘stuffy old men,’” it states.Though it steers clear of the gay marriage debate, the report also says Republicans need to be more tolerant of gays if it is to have any chance among younger voters. People younger than 30 cast 5 million more votes for Barack Obama than Romney, it says.
Again, this is a report addressing presidential politics, not state-level politics. In Arkansas — in case you haven't been reading — Republicans are doing everything they can to DISconnect with minority, female and young voters. Kind of hard to see how you move the national party to a gentler, more inclusive image when your electoral base — Dixieland — directly and unequivocally rejects the notion. Some think — painful as this legislative session might be — the extremism on display might be good for moderates over the long haul by eventually provoking a backlash. Cold comfort. For now, gun-waving, sneering at women and minorities and a blithe lack of concern for the environment are held to be politically golden in Arkansas.
The GOP report is short on fixes. After all, how do you "fix" an ideology without changing your position? You can't. You can only spin. That's what makes some of the more straightforward reactionaries — think Nate Bell — somewhat refreshing. If still scary.
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