Party Platform

Party Platform Party Platform As an ambivalent and mostly inactive member of the Republican party , I find that the recent govern-ship of the party by the so-called "Neo-Con faction the most prominent reason for the currently widespread dissatisfaction with the state of the party . Due to the Co-opting of the Republican base by a small faction of ideologues , the Republican party is presently in danger of ceding much of its voter-base either to disenfranchisement or to actually moving to the Democratic party . In a two-party system , it is essential for the survival

of either of the two major parties to add as many independents as possible to their ranks recent activities by the (former ) Republican majority in the Senate and the House , as well as myriad negatives which emanate form the presently Republican held executive branch are turning prospective independents away from the Republican party . A key vulnerability in the electoral college exists in the interior West of America , where Republicans are presently in danger of losing supporters and public offices "The interior West has a socially libertarian and anti-federal government streak as long as the Rocky Mountains[ .]legislatures in Colorado Idaho , and Montana have passed resolutions denouncing the Patriot Act Colorado and Utah have openly rebelled against No Child Left Behind 's federal testing regime by passing laws exempting themselves (Sager 37

The interior West presents , in microcosm , the paradigm which is causing the present losses in the Republican party . The former support gained in these regions came despite a "liberal " tendency in this regions due to the key components of the Republican party 's traditional political platform , which included : pro-gun legislation , an emphasis on small government , a reputation for being tough on National security , and a solid conviction in the efficacy of lower taxes (Sager

Foremost among the ills that presently concern the Republican party 's public perception in the interior West and elsewhere is the notion of fiscal responsibility "The Republican Party is rapidly losing its identity as the party of fiscal responsibility and small government (Sager 37 ) This perception , coupled with a ever-increasingly common public belief that Republicans have failed as the party of reform , has crippled the emergence of a goring base in the party . The mid-term election of 2006 demonstrated that "Republicans lost because of setbacks in Iraq , scandal , and the absence of a reform agenda . Those last two factors combined to create the perception that Republicans were more interested in self-preservation than in the public good (Ponnuru

Democratic party platforms include the expansion of government involvement in social policies , the continuation of abortion , the absence of a concise and effective immigration policy and -- above all -- they remain the party of tax-increases rather than tax-cuts . A new vision of bipartisanship and fiscal conservatism would be the most important changes in the present strategy of the Republican party for reversing the trends in public perception that have led to its weakening and fall from power "Conservatism ceases to be a type of statecraft and becomes an ideology when it loses its political grounding , which is to say , its connection to reality . For conservatives to make headway in today 's daunting circumstances , they are going to have to find a way to maintain their principles while abjuring wishful thinking (Ponnuru

In to re-engage voters who have "turned off " the Republican party , public debates involving Republican politicians must show a moderation on such issues as medical marijuana , stem-cell research , tax reform (and earmark reform , foreign policy , and -- above all -- war-making powers , which have been critically compromised by the war in Iraq . To re-engage voters , Republicans must return to their traditional political beliefs while simultaneously demonstrating a capacity for compromise and bipartisanship

Works Cited Sager , Ryan "Purple Mountains : Could the Interior West-Long Seen as an Archetypal Red Region-Be Turning Blue ? the Fate of the Republican Party May Hinge on the Answer " The Atlantic Monthly July-Aug . 2006 : 37 Ponnuru , Ramesh "The Way Back '08 Is the Best Revenge " National Review 4 Dec . 2006 : 38 ...