Republicanism is dead. Maybe.
By Richard Cohen Opinion writer June 29 at 8:00 PM
If you’re old enough to recall how the landslide election of Lyndon Johnson over the hapless Barry Goldwater supposedly spelled the end of the Republican Party, or how Ronald Reagan’s election amounted to a revolution that put the Democratic party on the mat until — more or less — the end of time, then you will understand my caution in saying that while the Republican Party may well survive its recent difficulty, Republicanism itself is dead. I think.
The recent difficulties consist of taking the wrong side in the great health-care debate, not only opposing what came to be called Obamacare, but also refusing to produce an alternative. People are worried about their health, and the party comes up with buffoons such as Sarah Palin who invents death panels and trivializes the whole debate. Obamacare is not only the law of the land, but it is also the inevitable next step toward universal health care — just like many countries have, even the poorer ones.
The party’s other recent difficulty is being on the wrong side of just about every social issue you can think of. The Supreme Court legalized same-sex marriage throughout the land, and Republican after Republican stepped forward to denounce the decision and prattle on about what God intended — as if any of them know.
Some, such as Chris Christie, reached for that hoary cliche about unelected men in black robes. Christie is hardly the first person to discover the awesome power of the American judiciary and, when you Google the matter, he turns out to be using similar language as school desegregation opponents did in 1954. Then, too, an alleged and simply horrible dictatorship of the judiciary was denounced — but the nation moved on.
Opposition to social change is but one pillar of contemporary Republicanism. The other was best articulated by one of the many Bushes in American life, George H.W., who vowed at the 1988 GOP national convention, “Read my lips: No new taxes.” This was a clear — if extorted — articulation of the First Principle of Republican Life as received, possibly in fire and other Cecil B. DeMille effects, by Grover Norquist.
The no-new-taxes mantra has now been applied in several states and found wanting. In Kansas, Gov. Sam Brownback has taken a weed whacker to the tax code, lowering rates and waiting for the promised economic miracle to occur. It didn’t, and now he’s working on raising some revenue — through the sales tax, for instance — because there’s a hole in the budget.
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Or funny. I am sure some won't find mine funny.
Glad you did.
