GOP Report Shows Party is Out of Touch With Americans on Threats to Democracy: Money in Politics and Voter Suppression
The Republican National Committee released a report on Monday reviewing its losses in the 2012 election cycle and laying out a roadmap for the future of the party. People For the American Way Vice President Marge Baker released the following statement:
“This report highlights what we already knew: that the Republican party is out of touch with America. Instead of addressing the party’s anti-choice, anti-gay, anti-worker policies that voters resoundingly rejected in 2012, today’s report calls for a complete gutting of campaign finance reform – in essence calling for even more big money to be poured into our elections. If the Republican party were listening to Americans, they would know that the country supports finding systemic solutions to the problem of unregulated money in our political system. The answer is certainly not to gut the regulations we already have in place. Instead, we need to overturn the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC and related cases so that we can create more effective regulations to get big money out of our democracy.
“The GOP report’s recommendations on voting rights also underscore a continuing focus on keeping certain voters from the polls. After an election cycle overflowing with examples of discriminatory voter suppression efforts aimed at historically disenfranchised communities, the report recommends an ongoing focus on so-called ‘ballot security training initiatives.’ This is simply another phrase for the same voter intimidation tactics used in the name of preventing supposed ‘voter fraud.’ It’s baffling that the GOP thinks it can improve its image with people of color while still working to block their access to the ballot box.
“This report is yet another example that the GOP’s ‘soul-searching’ hasn’t gotten them very far. It’s time to refocus our efforts on getting the big money out of elections and the voters into the voting booth.”
Ready to go?
Just exactly how much lipstick have they purchased? Maybeline and Revlon combined couldn’t make enough lipstick to take care of that pachyderm.
Yesterday— the Republican National Committee released its wide-ranging “autopsy” report called the “Growth And Opportunity Project Report.” In it, the party admits to several shortcomings that contributed to the party’s wide losses in the 2012 election. A portion of the report includes market research from voter focus groups around the country. Not surprisingly, when asked to describe Republicans, respondents said that the party was “scary,” “narrow-minded,” “out of touch,” and full of “stuffy old men.” What’s most interesting is that the report failed to quantify just how out of touch their party has become on a number of issues, from climate change, to marriage equality, to universal background checks, to women’s rights, to the minimum wage, and more.
The GOP thinks they merely have a messaging problem … and just need to change a few words they used to talk about things. HAH! Now that’s a joke and a half. Maybe they should look at their 2012 Platform. Better yet, maybe they should look at what is happening in State Legislatures and what members of their party have introduced in the Congress:
- Restricting access to or insurance reimbursement of costs associated with an abortion;
- Restricting time frames in which a woman could seek an abortion to 12-weeks and in on case, to 6-weeks from conception;
- Mandating the use of transvaginal ultrasounds and other medically unnecessary procedures as a means to shame women;
- Gleefully and gloatingly defunding Planned Parenthood;
- Attempting to elevate “religious” rights above all others to allow zealots to assert their religious rights to deny all types of service and/or medications should it offend “their” personal religious beliefs, making their beliefs superior to yours;
- Continually attempting to repeal Obamacare and providing NO replacement;
- Promoting continued systemic discrimination against the LGBT community, as a whole, via marriage inequality espoused throughout our Nation’s income tax and estate tax structures;
- Attempting to enact one voter suppression tactic after another to disenfranchise voters as well as restricting early voting opportunities;
- Continually filibustering one bill after another, even those introduced by Republicans;
- Blocking Consumer Financial Protection and making multiple attempts to repeal Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform;
- Promoting racial profiling as a means of harassment to convince Hispanics to “self-deport’ ;
- Promoting Personhood for embryos and essentially demoting women’s status to nothing more than an incubator;
- Replacing Democracy with Dictatorships (Overseers);
- Promoting fatherhood visitation rights for rapists.
I’m sure I’ve missed of few other big issues we’ve had to overcome … but need I go on? There’s a politically incorrect term we frequently used when I was in the Navy to define that kind of behavior. The term stars with “cluster.” The GOPs (Grouchy Old Patriarchs) problem is much more than a “messaging” problem. It’s a policy problem and we should cheer them on in pursuit of their messaging delusion. It will most certainly shorten their path to minor party status. We may have a few challenges to overcome in the short run, but we’ll all be much better off in the long run.
Don’t believe me? See for yourself, take your pick, click a pic or two. Read/compare a few — then compare the numbers.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| GOP 2012 Platform | GOP Growth Opportunites | 2009 Path to Recovery | 2010-Better Solutions |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| 2010-Pledge to America | P2P v1.0 | P2P v2.0 | P2P v3.0 |