Let me start by saying, I was not surprised by the election
results. I think this country has become
a secularized, culturally center-left country.
We’ve been moving in that direction for 25 years and at some point,
inevitably, that will show up in politics.
I thought, despite all of the things going against him (the economy,
Libya fiasco, failing to show up for the first debate, etc.) that Barack Obama
would be re-elected.
Part of that calculation was that Mitt Romney did not make
an argument on many of the core issues that have made us a center-left country. He opted to leave the field on issues like
abortion, contraception, and gay marriage to his opponent. The problem with that is, as any high school
debate judge will tell you, not responding to an argument means your opponent
wins by default. Clearly failing to put
up an argument did not help Romney.
The GOP has to really look in the mirror this morning and do
some hard thinking. They have now put
forward two consecutive socially moderate candidates and lost to frankly the
weakest candidate the Democrats have put forth since Jimmy Carter. Obama was an untested rookie in 2008 and a
disaster on many fronts as an incumbent in 2012.
Republicans fell for the media spin that said talking about
social issues was a surefire way to lose the election and nominated Mitt
Romney. He was a fiscal conservative, a
social moderate, who was supposed to be the best GOP choice because he would
win. Well, the result is he did not win,
nor even conduct a particularly interesting campaign. Surely someone like Rick Santorum, who likely
would have lost as well, at least would have advocated conservative positions
on a range of issues. He would have
answered the unprecedented assault on marriage, life, and religious freedom
coming from the left.
But 2012 is in the books and the question is, what is the
future for America now? Our best
short-term option is to pray that Barack Obama comes to his senses and uses the
job security he now has to make tough choices and usher in the necessary fiscal
and tax reform to get back on track. But
after 4 years of spending and central planning us into debt and recession, is
he really going to get it now?
Putting that aside, what is the make-up of the
electorate? The exit polls paint a stark
picture. White Americans, almost
universally, preferred Mitt Romney to Barack Obama. Minorities, led by Latinos, overwhelmingly
preferred Barack Obama. As white
fertility rates have been and continue to be below replacement level, and
Latinos are maintaining at least replacement level fertility rates, this is
increasingly how the country will be governed.
The question is, how acculturated are minorities, how much
do they understand of America’s past success, how well do they embrace our
ideals? When Romney talks about lowering
tax rates, do they really understand supply side economics? Do they really understand that massive government
spending is a recent American phenomenon and not the cornerstone of our success?
Understand I am not saying minorities were too dumb to vote
for Romney, what I am saying is they have a set of experiences, a history,
values very different from the traditional American electorate who grew up in
this country, learned about the founding fathers, and experienced a truly
capitalist model. For people who have
never seen their military liberate a continent, free Jews from a concentration
camp, turn back the tide of communism, or seen what oppression can take place
when it stays home a head in your sand foreign policy seems like a great
option.
Showing up once every 4 years and reminding people that tax
cuts lead to economic growth works for people who remember the Reagan years
(now 25 years in the rear view mirror), but people who are new to that idea may
need more explanation.
The GOP also needs to get immigration off the table as an
issue, but the Democrats don’t want that to happen and won’t make it easy. If I work up Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, my
right or my familiy’s right to stay in this country is going to be my first
priority until that is secure. Shutting
the border and assimilating those who are already here have to be done quickly
and compassionately.
With that issue off the table, there is a clear path for
conservatives to engage Latino voters around their Catholic faith. Abortion is reaching the level of genocide in
the black community and it is a huge pox on the Latino community as well. The left pitches it as a “right” and
conservatives have been silent. Instead,
they need to pitch it as the plague.
That doesn’t mean you talk about it clumsily and ignorantly like Akin
and Murdoch tried to do. But we need to
put forth the Catholic ideal (which will resonate with Latinos) of life beginning
at conception and ending with a natural death.
That is the only objective standard of life and any subjective
encroachment upon that opens the door for others.
Talk about life, talk about a place for God in our lives and
the need to ensure religious freedom.
The most stunning thing about yesterday’s election is that Americans
re-elected a President who has put forth a mandate to restrict religious
freedom and violate individual conscience protections. We now stand 10 months away from Bishops and
Priests going to jail.
You have to paint a vision for America where we do have room
for charity (a cardinal virtue), we do take care of our neighbor when times get
tough. But we also allow people to keep what
they earn to give them that opportunity, to help the next generation
along. Talk about the failure of
government schools and a way forward that gives parents a choice where to send
their kids.
On too many issues there was no difference between Mitt
Romney and Barack Obama, by Romney’s choosing.
When that was coupled with a failure to fully articulate the rationale
and the individual benefits to the supply side economic policies he was putting
forward, it was the end of the Romney campaign.
The great lesson of yesterday is that if conservatives try
to talk to Americans as they are instead of showing them who they can be, they
are doomed to fail. Democrats will
always do a better job of enabling us to be who we are today and frankly, who
it is easier to be. I want to just send
my kid to the school down the street and not have to worry about it – Democrats
tell me public schools are great. I want
to know I can have cheaper health care.
I want big corporations to pay more taxes so I can pay less. I don’t want to tell people how to lead their
sexual lives or who they can or can’t marry.
If we don’t see the long-term consequences of short-term convenience, we
will never grow as a people or solve our nation’s problems.
I will have plenty more to say on this in the coming weeks,
months, and years.
I grew weary of
blogging this election cycle as the outcome seemed inevitable to me and the
right issues weren’t being discussed. To
be clear, I view our solutions to be more spiritual and less political. Free of the shadow of an election year, I hope
you and others will join me in looking at our country through that lens.
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