Our political Quote of the Day comes from Juan Williams, who must read The Moderate Voice since I’ve said this in many posts — as well as in the Cagle Cartoons column I did for some years and elsehwere as well:
The GOP is currently a smashing talk-radio show or reality TV. But as a political party with responsibility to govern, its poll numbers are sinking under the table well ahead of November 2016 – the ultimate ratings period.
Unless something changes, the days when the Republican Party’s image was that of a party offering a serious, detailed alternative for politicies advocated by its opposition party are either waning — or over. It’s all now about the quick zinger that’ll be carried on cable shows, re-run on Rush. Politicians seemingly parrot what the talkers on the radio and cable say, and you can now talk to Republicans or read them and they all seem to vomit up the latest name-calling phrase or fact that often turns out not to be a fact.
The GOP is now becoming a party of the conservative base, for the conservative base and by the conservative base.
Which doesn’t mean it can’t win elections and implement its vision. But the whole approach is in-your-face, the hell with winning over minds just use the power and negatively define groups or individuals who argue against you.
And, yes, you can win power that way. But it’s more difficult to govern if you think consensus and comprimises are for wimps or ideological traitors. It can be done. But it won’t be pretty.
In the meantime — no joke — tune into Rush or Fox and Friends when a big event happens. The take they give will eventually be the argument picked up by many in the party who are in office, who broadcast, or who write.
There is lots of talk in the GOP about cherishing the memory of Ronald Reagan. But today’s GOP is no longer the party of Ronald Reagan.
It’s the party of Rush, Sean, Fox and Friends and — most assuredly — of Roger Ailes. In tone, accuracy and content.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.