Defiance Doesn’t Trump the Presidential Race

Republicans have good reasons to be confident about next year’s presidential election. Despite improving economic signs, the country’s unemployment rate is still above 8 percent, its real estate market continues to suffer and its economic growth is weak at best. At the same time, their large budget deficit continues to grow. Republicans came down like a ton of bricks on Democrats in the 2010 congressional elections, winning a majority in the House of Representatives.

One might think that President Obama will lose in 2012 regardless of who becomes his opponent.

Apparently, Republicans also think that way. Unfortunately, courage has turned into arrogance, resulting in a party more unpopular than Obama. The field of Republican presidential candidates is filled with extremist right-wing populists. This bizarre list of potential nominees has turned many moderate voters away in fear.

In Congress, the party has managed to waste the goodwill it once had. Many of the representatives elected in 2010 misunderstood their success as a mandate from the tea party. By the end of 2011, Obama’s poll numbers have been on the rise. It was a year in which the Republicans wasted the advantages they had previously gained.

If and when common sense and moderation returns to the party, they will only have one chance to succeed in 2012. In the Iowa caucuses on Jan. 3, they have to unite behind Mitt Romney and leave extreme right-wing obstruction behind them.

Romney is certainly no dream candidate. He has changed his positions more often than most men change their neckties. But one thing is clear: The man has something between his ears. He proved himself as governor of Massachusetts and as a private businessman. In addition, he’s far too sober and analytical to be taken by radicalism.

Romney may not have much in the way of charisma, but that can be a good thing for Republicans. Colorful characters with monumental egos and little beyond that, such as media mogul Donald Trump and pizza magnate Herman Cain, give the party an unflattering image. The same is true for Ron Paul, the candidate who truly channels the tea party’s anger in Iowa. He wants to do away with several government agencies, the Federal Reserve and American membership in a number of international organizations. However, the bottom line is that the American people want a builder, not a destroyer, as their leader.

A decisive year for America’s conservatives

There’s one thing certain about anger: Sooner or later it goes away. Eventually, the economy will improve, people will tire of protesting and everyone will go back to their daily routines. The tea party had an important job. It sounded the alarm on major problems, high deficits and debt levels that future generations of Americans will be forced to deal with. It forced both parties to reflect on their policies. The nation now needs experts who can come up with solutions and politicians capable of forging coalitions.

Many politicians have already seen the light. The Group of Six, composed of three Republicans and three Democrats in the Senate, seek compromises on budget matters. These reasonable voices are drowned out by the constant yammering of fundamentalists on the right and left. Stubborn tea party politicians, who entered Congress after 2010, have failed in their institutional duties. In their blind fundamentalist fervor, they have forgotten that even the founding fathers they love to invoke had to make an occasional compromise.

Romney is often accused of being a businessman with no real convictions. This trait could be a blessing for Republicans, as long he isn’t forced into an far-right corner. The longer the nominating process lasts, the greater the risk of this entrapment occurring. The earlier the actual presidential campaign begins, the sooner Romney and Obama can begin debating their visions of how government and business should work together, how much military spending the U.S. can afford, and how the United States can solidify its future economic and scientific competitiveness.

That meeting of the minds could produce an interesting exchange between two highly educated and intelligent opponents. Whether it will help Republicans win the presidency remains to be seen. In the end, the ideological chasm between the two candidates may be as great as many hardliners are hoping it is. Still, both parties have to take a chance if they want to be taken seriously in the long haul.

The year 2012 will be decisive for American conservatives. They need to prove that that they can do more than obstruct and make noise. They need to show that they are capable of providing solutions. Anything less than that is self-inflicted damage, regardless of how Obama is doing next November.