Moderate and conservative Republican should have both felt good after the recent Republican debate on MSNBC. Republicans should be proud.
Why is that?
Chris Christie and Ted Cruz actually agreed for once. Marco Rubio and Donald Trump attacked the media instead of each other. Republicans united against something for the first time in a long time.
Since the debate, we have now gone back to Republican “politics as usual.” The conversation became about how Marco Rubio is a RINO because he’s willing to work with the other side. Now, if you have an immigration policy other than Donald Trump’s, you might as well be one of those darn liberals.
Those who think the Republican Party will thrive by trashing those who they don’t deem conservative enough couldn’t be more mistaken. The MSNBC debate was proof that, if Republicans work together, they can be a force to be reckoned with. As of now, it seems, they are not.
Republicans have become too concerned with attacking their fellow Republicans instead of attacking the opposition. They have gotten away from the optimistic message of freedom and instead are focused on a pissing contest for the title of “most conservative.”
This is not to say that criticism of the establishment GOP is unwarranted. The American people are understandably frustrated with Washington, and Republicans are understandably frustrated with their Washington leadership.
The tactics of division now seen in the Republican Party are not healthy for the preservation of the party or the promotion of the conservative message.
Many of those who ardently practice these “divide and conquer” tactics will point to Ronald Reagan’s run against Gerald Ford in 1976, which angered some in Washington.
In doing so, however, they conveniently ignore the fact that Reagan largely followed his very own 11th Commandment during that campaign: “Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.”
He bowed out of the race gracefully, keeping him on fairly good terms with the establishment.
The shift to more conservative political thinking in the 1980s didn’t come about because of constant negativity and partisanship. It was because of big ideas and lofty goals. Republicans actually stood for something. They debated ideology and policy, instead of whatever topic is going to look good to the base in a few years.
Since every candidate today thinks they’re Ronald Reagan, they need to learn from him. Reagan never alienated Republicans. Instead, he built a coalition of moderates, independents, and conservative Democrats.
President Reagan once said, “My 80 percent friend is not my 20 percent enemy.” This is a sentiment rarely seen among those in Washington today.
We Republicans are on the same team. We are working towards the same goal.
To put it in simple terms: “a house divided cannot stand.”
