Professor’s Classroom

Subject:  Politics/Government

2010/12 Elections

My recent encounter with the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in new Orleans got me to thinking about American history and political parties and the way things change….the SRLC showed me that the GOP is not ready for prime time politics…..in fact I thought about a time in our history….the year was 1852…..

Actually, it started as an anti-immigration movement in the 1840’s and morphed into the American Republican Party in 1843…..then in 1855 renamed itself as the American Party…..the “know nothing” tag came from when a member was asked about the party’s activities they would reply “I know nothing”…….by 1856 the “Know Nothings” were in decline in the North, but still active and alive in the South…these partiers were locked on to the slavery issue and the growing concern of run away Unionism…..the platform of the Know Nothings sounds kind of familiar:

• Severe limits on immigration, especially from Catholic countries
• Restricting political office to native-born Americans
• Mandating a wait of 21 years before an immigrant could gain citizenship
• Restricting public school teachers to Protestants
• Mandating daily Bible readings in public schools
• Restricting the sale of liquor

Okay the history lesson is over (for now) and I move on to the meat of this post……

I am comparing the GOP to the old Know Nothing Party…..because, while they are Not the same there are some similarities, since the days when the neocons took over the party it seems to be moving in the direction of the KNP…….look at the GOP’s stance on immigration, look at the religious stuff, look at the attempts to restrict cigs…look at the birthers…..look at the education position of the party…..I guess some of these stances come with the title “Republican”…….

The GOP does have some fine thinkers, though I may not agree with them, they are good……the problem is that the leadership is weak and ineffective except in misinformation…..there is the possibility that the GOP could shot itself in the foot in the next election…..it is time for the “good old boys” to step aside and allow a younger more energetic Repub to take the reins……even the Tea Partiers, who are for the most part conservative, is trying to defeat Repubs in some states and if they are successful I look for them to go national……

The popular position today is opposition to Obama…I think it is a good position for the 2010 election, but it will NOT work in the national election of 2012….they need to find new voices to represent the party….voices of logic and reason….not the hyperbole and hatred they have now…..

Please, do not misunderstand, I am not condemning all repubs or conservs, just the antiquated thinking that still prevails within the ranks of the GOP……you can do better!