by Tina Grazier
This limited article can’t begin to ask, much less answer, all the questions it’s title will invoke. I just hope it will spark some thinking and perhaps induce a conversation. It was inspired by a new report issued by The College Republican National Committee that attempts to honestly address problems the GOP has with college aged voters. Their conclusions were based on extensive polling and focus groups:
Titled the “Grand Old Party for a Brand New Generation,” the report is sharply critical of the GOP on several fronts. The study slams some Republicans’ almost singular focus on downsizing Big Government and cutting taxes; candidates’ use of offensive, polarizing rhetoric; and the party’s belly-flop efforts at messaging and outreach, even as the report presents a way forward and, at times, strikes an optimistic tone.
Are these perceptions accurate or have they been, at least to some extent, manufactured? Is it the roll of government to be a massive entitlement riddled entity or are Republicans right to focus on downsizing? Are our politicians any more prone to using offensive or polarizing rhetoric than others? Is our messaging all that bad or do our opponents in the Democrat party have a few advantages and schemes that we have failed to overcome? I mean really, What to make of this? How do we turn this into an opportunity?
We can begin by asking ourselves some questions.
What have Republican party politicians and members done to win the ugly label “racist”? What have young people witnessed personally that make them associate racism and the Republican Party? I submit there is more evidence to suggest the label is a construct of messaging by radical Democrat politicians, organizers, and media to smear the Republican Party than it is any messaging made by Republican activity or speech. The Tea Party, a multiparty grass roots uprising, was labeled racist despite the fact that the major complaint was taxation and regulation and a big bloated government bureaucracy. In other words the label was attached to this disparate group of citizens without evidence or cause. The label attached by association to the Republican Party even though disgruntled Democrats and Independents were also participating in Tea Party protests. some might cite immigration as a reason and yet our ideas focus not on race but on illegal entry and the associated issues and national security. How does this translate to racism except by aggressive accusation without justification, evidence, or cause? We need to engage young people to open their thought processes so they recognize the very real problems associated with illegal entry into our country and ask them to seek solutions to this problem. We should engage them in discussing solutions rather than allowing them to sidestep the issue by jumping on the progressive racism attack. This way they become participants in their future rather than activists for the left. It’s vital to make them part of the solution so we will all be assured that an equitable and dynamic future remains open in this great country.
We have recently learned that our efforts have been severely limited in the past several years by overt efforts to silence and prevent dissemination of Republican ideas. The IRS scandals point to the lengths to which the extremists in the Democrat Party will go to destroy the Republican message and suppress voters. But this terrible state of affairs can be seen and used as an opportunity to engage others in conversation. Although there is no question that Republicans need to find better ways to communicate it is also true that people may now be in a better position to hear the Republican message. This opportunity presents quite a challenge for a party that is constantly defending against an onslaught of negative branding and presumptive questioning but we should hold forth with confidence. Countering labels such as, “closed-minded, racist, rigid, and old-fashioned” will require rhetoric that has the power to break through tainted belief systems and preconceived ideas. The task is mighty but overcome we must if future generations are to have hope for a satisfying future in a free and economically vibrant America.
In the work ahead it would be wise for Republicans to stick to the principles that have long served the American people and the American dream. All attempts to become democrat light must be eschewed. Progressive policy dominance has come about through a Republican posture of accommodation and bi-partisan cooperation that asked too much of the Republican Party and the people. Cooperation with those who work against American principles has not served our country. Instead of the shining city on a hill our nation has become needy, broke and in debt. We face a sketchy future as bereft of opportunity as any of the socialist nations around the globe. This is not America!
Republicans must find a way to show young people the value of the Republican message as we know it! We must assist them in discovering the value these ideas and principles would have for them in their own lives. We must enroll them as torch bearers, filled with energy and creativity, to restore the American strength that made us the envy of the world. To begin, I challenge all young people to ignore the rhetoric of both Republicans and Democrats. Instead I challenge them to investigate and compare their ideas. I challenge them to seek out information that engages their minds and expands awareness and knowledge about our heritage and founding principles. I challenge them to discover freedom’s affect on economies and the affect of social policy on individual success, wealth, and opportunity. I challenge them to look into current demographics that will challenge future generations in various ways. And I challenge them to discover the absolute joy of thinking and acting for oneself and of taking manageable risks.
Republicans must look not only to the present but also to the vital long term goal of being more involved in the education process. College aged students today have come to maturity having been processed through an education system heavily biased toward the progressive point of view. Students come to politics having been branded by the Democrat ranch and with attitudes against freedom and individuality that’s been deeply embedded through years of leftist thinking. There is nothing “old fashioned” about ideals such as freedom and personal responsibility or in policies that actually lead to a vibrant economy and plenty of JOBS. But young people will not hear this messages of freedom and opportunity if they don’t have the grounding and tools to understand and implement the message! They are more likely, as we witnessed last summer, to go take to the streets to place blame on the demon of the moment, “the 1%. This group is currently facing a bleak future and yet they have not been prepared to understand the policies that brought us to this lackluster state or the personal steps they could take to create a great life for themselves as contributing adult citizens. Students need to be armed with complete information that will support them as they move into adulthood. It’s a little late for this group but it is a worthy goal for the future. This will not be easy. Its difficult to change entrenched systems so it may be necessary to compete instead.
Democrats have it pretty easy. Their message for young people is that government will be there for them just like mom and dad. It asks them to be dependent and remain dependent. Even when presented with the unsustainable nature of big government programs and the growing numbers of needy or under achieving citizens, young people fail to connect the dots back to the intrusive size and scope of government and an expensive bureaucracy. The downside of this dependency is concealed under a feel good cover that appeals to compassion or guilt as a motivators for loyalty and support.
Pandering to the young, appealing to emotions rather than common sense or reasoning abilities is part of the Democrat strategy to destroy the win Democrat Party loyalty within the youthful demographic. Youthful exuberance and angst is a handy tool when the ultimate goal goal is the destruction of the opposition to ensure a state of permanent Democrat Party power. But this strategy is established through cowardly and sinister means to avoid competing openly on merit in the realm of ideas. It is the rot that debilitates and stains both individuals and the nation. Republicans must reveal this deception. At the same time we must appeal to the natural desire of the human spirit to be self-governing and free. We must find ways to illustrate that through self-discipline, sacrifice, savings, and risk every person, in his own way, will realize a more satisfying and fruitful life. They will then have the means to personally contribute and make a difference in their own communities. We must find a way to spark in them an experience of adventure and opportunity that will make them the creators of a reinvigorated grass roots America. This would have incredible long term benefits for our nation and future generations. They can become the heroes, not only in their own lives and in the lives of others, but as the re-builders and restorers of America.
The truth sets us free and the truth is that a nation of strong, capable individuals will always be productive, innovative, and abundantly capable to help the very needy…a nation that is prepared to offer a hand up to those that fall on hard times without rendering them permanently disabled….an America that will endure as an example of freedom and opportunity in the world. Republicans have always carried the flag of excellence and opportunity for all. We stand for vibrancy, equality, charity, and good will, honor, and respect. We believe competition strengthens the individual spirit and leads to excellent outcomes…its time to restore Americanism and reclaim the “Grand Old Party” as a clear choice…an exciting vehicle, and a political destination for a “brand new generation” of American voters.
What about the Republican brand? The brand is fine…we just need to remember who we are and what it means to be American…and share it. Young people are the future, they need all the support we can give them.
Tina, if you want Republicans to be the party of personal responsibility, then once in a while you actually have to take some. Disassociating the party from black voters in order to attract Southern whites was an intentional Republican strategy for many years; that much is fact. Blaming Democrats for painting Republicans as racist won’t change that.
Have some Democrats gone too far in labeling all Republicans or all Tea Partiers as racist? Of course. But that doesn’t absolve Republicans of all responsibility. I’ve given you plenty of examples of racist rhetoric from prominent figures on the right, and every time you either refuse to comment or you defend these comments. Democrats say racist things too, but they usually receive condemnation from other Democrats, myself included. When Rush Limbaugh says that healthcare is about reparations, or says that a black kid beating up a white kid on a bus is somehow a result of Obama’s policies, or imitates a Chinese person by saying “ching-chong-ching-chong,” the right is either silent or defends him.
The Heritage Foundation just got into hot water for publishing an immigration study by a guy who baselessly claims that Hispanics have lower IQs than whites. The heads of nativist groups are frequently invited to FOX News as “experts” on immigration. Scalia just said in court that the Voting Rights Act was a “racial entitlement.” Republican politicians at all levels have been caught sending racist e-mails. The new NRA president calls the Civil War “The War of Northern Aggression.” Birthers still exist.
I could go on, but you get the point. The GOP has a racism problem, and it’s one they brought on themselves.
Do I believe all Republicans are racist? No. Do I believe even the figures named above are evil people, who hold an all-encompassing hatred of black people? No. You don’t have to be an evil person to hold bigoted beliefs, or to say bigoted things.
I don’t think you will make much progress until more Republicans start acknowledging these facts. Luckily, the young ones mostly are. I know several college Republicans who do not try to defend any of the above, but still believe in conservative economic policy. Prominent black Republicans like Michael Steele and Colin Powell have also acknowledged the problem. I think that admitting the problem and working on it can only help the Republican party at this point.
I say this not as a political opponent trying to score points. I say it as a concerned citizen who wants a healthier, more reasoned discourse in this country.
The GOP has a RINOsaur problem that needs to be addressed at all levels.
Both parties are at fault for excessive $pending and being out of touch with those that elected them.
Wow Tina, one of the best evaluations of why! as opposed to how the GOP lost it basic direction. Comparing your thoughts to Chris’s cliff notes of collegiate indoctrination about why the GOP has lost the youthful following, well I only have to realize that so often we express our own thoughts vociferously.
What I like most about your post is the fact that Republicans do need to get back to basics first, and govern for the benefit of the people, and stop playing politics with the opposition. We clearly have a stronger message in the benefits of financial responsibility, followed closely by promoting ones self reliance. Sadly it is safe to say that anything can be spun into a racist context, (I think your example of Tea Party is on point) by any member of an opposing party. This happens especially with those played solely for their voting support via special interest. And it is often done for no other reason more than to diminish the message politically through diverting the core of the message. I found yours, as well as Jacks post on racism both very timely and interesting, and look forward to other posters comments. You never know this might help both parties work harder for the people and spend less time just campaigning to raise money to stay in office, verse actually doing the people work and proving they deserve their time in office.
Chris: “Disassociating the party from black voters in order to attract Southern whites was an intentional Republican strategy for many years; that much is fact.”
If you’re referring to the Southern Strategy attributed to the Nixon administration you’re way off base in calling it racist. The strategy was political, not racist. It was designed to pick up both white and black voters who were fed up with conditions in the South. But I can see how looking at history through the lens of political correctness and progressive bias people might see this strategy as racist. The Democrat Party has certainly taken advantage to profile Republicans as the racists. When one considers the actual racists of the time in the South were long time Democrats and many of them KKK it’s a bit absurd. This is how propaganda works! This is how history is rewritten. Racists existed in both parties; the tag, however, was hung only around the neck of Republicans whether they deserved it or not by revisionists and the tag has remained with the party because Democrats have made it a point to push this damaging profile year after year after year.
This University of Michigan webpage explains the strategy as it existed (with a bit of bias) at the time before the leftist history remake morphed the Southern Strategy into an absolute racist strategy:
(Tina: Note that Nixon is called an “exploiter” for promoting affirmative action in this “history”. Democrats have made a cottage industry of race based affirmative action and great society welfare and “history”, of the PC variety, records them as the champions of blacks…incredible!)
It was the more moderate Southern whites that moved to the Republican Party…extreme racist whites stuck with their racist brothers in the Democrat Party. It was right around this time that the Democrat Party began to exploit and pander to blacks with the help of black race exploiters and race baiters like Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and others. They worked hand in hand to change perceptions. The Democrat strategy was to, wink, wink to southern racists of the party, back off and we will control the black vote permanently. This is the real disgrace of the era and the past fifty years demonstrate it worked. Blacks have not, until Obama, been promoted or placed in high positions within the party. Black districts were gerrymandered when it suited the party politically so a few blacks moved into Congress. The great society accomplished the goal of permanent dependency on government and loyalty to Democrats.
Northern Republicans that were targeted and profiled as racist, because they didn’t want blacks in their country clubs, were elitists first…they didn’t want poor white trash in their clubs either. Some were actual racists or at least extremely biased in that they believed the races should remain separate, but at the time this was not unusual, many blacks held the exact same opinion! Some continue to be of that opinion today.
“Democrats say racist things too, but they usually receive condemnation from other Democrats…”
No Chris, they don’t. Certainly not when it counts!
The current vice president, Joe Biden, in 2007 said of Barack Obama, “I mean, you got the first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and a nice-looking guy. I mean, that’s a storybook, man.”
He took a little heat but generally speaking the remark was laughed of as “just old Joe”.
But think about what his remarks said about his opinion of all of the more prominent black men within the party structure…none had been “articulate”, “clean” or bright enough to promote within the party before Obama came along. It suggests that all of the previous prominent blacks in the party were mere “tokens” to be used and exploited! Joe was elected as Vice President!
During the primary Bill Clinton remarked to Ted Kennedy, that in the past, Obama “would be carrying our bags”. A large gasp could be heard but his remark, as with Biden’s, were explained away…and his reputation remains untarnished.
Harry Reid made a similarly ignorant, and by the Democrat standard for Republicans, racist remark: “…it’s wonderful he doesn’t speak in a negro dialect unless he wants to.”
Harry Reid remains in the top position in the Senate. (How did an offhand remark by Trent Lott impact his standing in Congress? He was forced to step down.)
More recently South Carolina Democratic Chairman Dick Harpootlian said of Republican SC Gov. Nikki Haley, an Indian Sikh, she should “go back to wherever the hell she came from.”
Chris Democrats don’t talk about or admit to their long history of racism and I don’t buy the so-called condemnation of racist remarks made by “other Democrats” that you say happens. I don’t buy that it is always sincere. I don’t buy it because a double standard exists and remains and because the profiling strategy of the Democrat Party to label and Republicans as inherently racist continues to this day.
I have already acknowledged that you are quick to condemn racist remarks no matter who makes them but even you, Chris, will explain away a Democrat’s racist remarks as you did when I mentioned Robert Byrd’s repeated use of the N word in an interview. You explained that he had denounced his “past racism”…that was enough for the likes of the former leader of a local KKK. You had no similar forgiveness for Trent Lott.
The Daily Caller recalls on of the more egregious remarks made by Byrd in his past:
And yet his repeated use of the N-word in recent years had no affect on his reputation or standing among Democrats and the media.
“The Heritage Foundation just got into hot water for publishing an immigration study by a guy who baselessly claims that Hispanics have lower IQs than whites.”
Yep, the Heritage Foundation is “in hot water” because one of their think tank members had the audacity to put forth a theory that people who had been living in very poor conditions for generations might have lower IQ’s than those who had had the advantage of much superior living standards for generations!
In the PC world, where certain ideas are not to be explored because of what they could suggest, not because of what they might suggest, racism MUST BE the motive…and the person must be immediately destroyed. What a bunch of closed-minded, racially biased, dishonest phonies!
You will notice that because of knee-jerk profiling the man has severed ties with the HF and his work will remain in obscurity even though its content overall might have, had it been honestly scrutinized and discussed, opened avenues to uplift minorities around the world.
“I could go on, but you get the point.”
I get the point. You have bought the profiling scheme of the Democrat Party. You have swallowed whole the double standard and phony posturing…you even unwittingly participate in it while making a big show of being equal handed in your condemnation.
The question is…when will you, and others in your age group, begin to explore profiling, bias, double standards and absolute phoniness on display in the Democrat Party? When will you begin to seek the truth. The GOP, if you look at the record in total, has a much better record overall than do Democrats. If it were not for the successful Democrat Southern Strategy to create a permanent voting block by labeling Republicans as a racist party, lying about their own history of racism by rewriting history, making excuses for democrats who say racist things, and pandering to blacks for their votes, the black vote would likely be more divided between the two major parties. Black loyalty to the Democrat party is built in good measure through lies and distortions…not much to be proud of IMHO.
“You don’t have to be an evil person to hold bigoted beliefs, or to say bigoted things.”
But as I have illustrated above, most of the time you have to be a Republican to be labeled as racist.
“I think that admitting the problem and working on it can only help the Republican party at this point.”
And I think that getting to the truth about what is described only as a Republican problem will be much more meaningful and effective in the long run.
“I say it as a concerned citizen who wants a healthier, more reasoned discourse in this country.”
I’ll believe that when I see a willingness to be honest both about our history and about the double standard and the concerted effort on the part of the Democrat Party to intensify that double standard to affix a permanent racist label on the Republican Party.
Thank you for commenting, Chris. Your remarks have certainly illustrated the wall of bias that must be penetrated before anything meaningful can be discussed with many young people today. As is always the case with those who suffer from extreme progressive induced bias, we can only make “progress” with young people when we agree that Democrats have been right about our inherent racism all along. Drop the scales from your eyes, Chris, and we might actually get to have a real conversation.
I have to say that’s a mighty hold they have on the young people today.
Harold thank you. I really appreciate your feedback. I certainly don’t have all the answers but I am definitely dedicated to discovering the truth and having honest discussions. The racist label doesn’t just hurt the republican Party. The process that keeps this label alive hurts black people who believe we on the right wish them ill or hate them…a lie that hurts personally and socially…a lie that wastes everyone’s energy and creates unnecessary division…and all of it hurts America!
I don’t believe there are very many true racists in America. I do think that attitudes have changed in part by the Democrat profiling game that naturally gins up resentment toward Republicans. Black had good reason to be angry, distrustful, and resentful toward whites in the fifties and sixties, especially in the South. They’ve been deprived of a sense of belonging as Americans and as human beings by this lie constructed for political power.
My personal opinion is that this is the ugly legacy that will in future haunt the democrat party.
Wayne Dupree: Why do Young Democrats Think Republicans are Racist?
http://www.ijreview.com/2013/06/57874-wayne-dupree-why-do-young-democrats-think-republicans-are-racist/