by Dr. Ellen Brandt
The past seven weeks of GOP turmoil may seem more like seven years, so much has happened. But we contend it's a healthy and productive turmoil, in stark contrast to the goose-stepping "solidarity" of the Other Side.
Right before the Reagan Library debate on September 16th, we decided - intentionally - to refrain from commentary on the Republican presidential race and related events, hoping to observe what "shook out."
And indeed, in the immortal words of Jerry Lee Lewis, "There's been a whole lotta shakin' goin' on."
It's been quite unusual shakin', however, with events unfolding in ways hardly anyone would have imagined a few short months ago.
Below, our take on some of these events and others to come.
But first, a word on the Party of Yes and how we hope to proceed.
In the next blog in this series, which we'll post tomorrow, we will restate just what it is we're working towards; how we hope to accomplish it; and why we urge the RNC and other GOP leading lights - including every Republican candidate, Caucus, and PAC - to support these efforts.
We maintain that the vast majority of the so-called Mainstream Media, particularly on the Internet, are firmly biased - in fact, prejudiced - supporters of the Other Major Party and its candidates.
We can't change Them. But we can change Us - how we present ourselves; how we work with other Republicans - all other Republicans; and how we unite our various factions, continue to expand our Base, and fashion and express strong and coherent messages about the issues which unify us and our overall values and principles as committed members of the GOP.
Much more about this in tomorrow's story and future stories.
Back to That "Shakin' Goin' On"
Here are some of the major GOP events of the past seven weeks and our personal "take" on these events, from our Party of Yes perspective: positive, optimistic, constructive, and supporting an inclusive "Big Tent" Republican Party.
***** Rick Perry Returns to His Ranch: Five days before the Reagan Library debate, on September 11th, Candidate Rick Perry, the popular, long-time former Governor of Texas, bowed out of the race, after failing to catch fire with big donors and running dangerously short of cash with which to campaign.
Our quick take: We very much like Governor Perry and are sorry he decided not to hang on. Largely the victim of the Mainstream Media and its (way too large) effect on donors, he was ridiculed by various Pundit-Bullies - and by fellow GOP Candidate Trump - for such shallow reasons as switching to black horn-rimmed glasses "to appear more intelligent."
(In reality, Perry's eyesight has probably deteriorated with age - as anyone over age 50 will tell you it's apt to do. Many people find that the alternative to glasses, contact lenses, cause too much glare when combined with the bright lights used for television or press conferences.)
Perry, among the oldest Baby Boomers - as are Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton, with John Kasich, Mike Huckabee, Jeb Bush, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina all age 60 or older - should be roundly applauded as the sole Candidate so far to acknowledge the importance of our "Gray" population over age 50, who will make up about 1/2 of all voters in 2016 and have lately skewed very strongly towards the Republican Party.
We believe Perry should have stressed his support for the Party's "Gray Base" even more vehemently. And while the Governor did highlight the State of Texas's superb educational improvement and job creation record during his tenure, he could have become the major champion of Resources and Manufacturing, Texas and other "Red State" mainstays, by stressing how these parts of the economy have suffered under President Obama's ill-thought-out anti-Resources, anti-Manufacturing, too-strong-USDollar policies.
In other words, Perry, the quintessential Texan, should have been more Texan.
***** Scott Walker Walks His Blazing Career Back Home to Wisconsin: Five days after the second debate at the Reagan Library, on September 21st, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, at one time considered the front-runner for the nomination, bowed out of the Presidential race. Like Perry, Walker cited lagging largesse from big donors as a key deterrent to making an effective bid.
Our quick take: Walker's abbreviated candidacy shocked pretty much everyone, including us, not least because he had been considered - the Mainstream Media told us he was! - the "personal pick" of the all-powerful Koch Brothers and their all-powerful circle of all-powerful people.
I guess they changed their mind.
From our perspective of looking for the best in each GOP candidate, we thought Governor Walker put in truly excellent performances at both GOP debates in which he participated. He has a lovely - even a "sweet" - personality, exuding the same kind of Midwestern wholesomeness that first brought Ronald Reagan to public awareness.
But from our "Big Tent" perspective of inclusiveness - which also recognizes the need to bring Independents and Democrat-crossover votes to the GOP - it's possible that Governor Walker's celebrity as an anti-union activist harmed his incipient campaign.
We gather from talking to those with far better knowledge of Midwestern politics than we have that there's a fair bit of pure misunderstanding surrounding this issue. Walker has been strongly anti-public sector unions, which he rightly sees as bloated and operating in an antiquated fashion. But he has, insist colleagues, a far more lenient view of private sector unions, especially those in the Manufacturing industries, important to any economic rebound in the Midwest and the nation. Walker needs to stress this and to beef up his standing among blue-collar voters in general in any future runs for national office.
It's also possible that the very fact of the Koch interests' early support for Walker - again, touted in story after story from the Mainstream press - proved to be a barrier to his candidacy, rather than a boost, in a cycle when many Republicans seem to be turning away from "kingmakers" and their perceived interference with the independence of the rank-and-file.
***** The Fall of John Boehner and the Rise of the Freedom Caucus - Followed by the Fall of Kevin McCarthy and the Rise of Him? Her? Him? Him? Him? Her? - And Yes!, There's Paul Ryan On a Beautiful White Steed
After months of wrangling over what seemed like dozens of issues both important and less-so - and their related legislation - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, who had been in Congress for 25 years, House Republican leader for almost 10 years, and Speaker for 5 years, announced on September 23rd that he would not only be resigning his post as Speaker, but also retiring and giving up his House seat.
Blame or praise for Boehner's momentous resignation - or cries of "Who the heck are they?" - fell at the feet of a group of about 40 GOP House members, previously not widely-heralded, known as the Freedom Caucus, although Boehner had been clashing on various issues with far better-known and more influential groups within the House, too, including the Republican Study Committee, the Conservative caucus which has over 170 members, including many long-time House leaders.
Boehner's second-in-command, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, immediately stepped up to the plate and said he wanted to be Speaker - only to withdraw his name from contention a mere 9 days later, after putting his foot in his mouth - or so the Media widely said - over comments about the Benghazi subcommittee and its efforts to investigate Hillary Clinton's handling of the attack at the Libyan consulate and its aftermath.
McCarthy's withdrawal led to a feeding frenzy in that portion of the political Mainstream Media which leans towards Democrats - i.e. pretty much all of it. As previously stated, we intend to devote future blogs to discussions of the current irresponsibility of the "MSM" and what Republicans need to do about it - fast.
After McCarthy took his name out of the hopper, a plethora of other possibile names poured forth. About twenty days ago, however, interest coalesced quickly around House Ways and Means Committee chairman and former Vice-Presidential candidate Paul Ryan of Wisconsin.
A vote of GOP members was taken last Wednesday, October 26th, and on Thursday, October 27th, Ryan was formally sworn in as the House's 54th Speaker.
Our quick take: Speaker Boehner was probably prudent to leave his post at this historical juncture, with a distinguished career of accomplishments in the House behind him, while the immediate future for the GOP House caucus could remain somewhat turbulent, as members struggle to reconcile Party factions, while striving to force the Opposing Party to make mistakes and take the role, in gridiron parlance, of Defense, after being on an Offensive - pun intended - roll the past year or more.
If new Speaker Ryan is seen as the Great Conciliator going forward, by all means, we approve. Best wishes and good luck to him, as well as to retired Speaker Boehner.
In our next two series blogs, we will further explicate what we hope to accomplish with the Party of Yes, after demonstrating why we think such action is needed so urgently.
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