The Republican Debacle

The new American president is governing without an opposition. President Obama certainly doesn’t deserve it – and it’s damaging the nation.

Republicans are still around, albeit in reduced numbers, and they aren’t silent, either. Just the opposite, in fact – one or the other of them is constantly speaking out. But the ones who are talking right now are just not important. And what they have to say is even less important.

Obama cannot simply govern as he sees fit, however; he does have to draw some Republicans to his side. But the substantive counterbalance is missing.

The party of Abraham Lincoln has gone off the tracks at a time when the government is spending trillions of dollars, more than any previous administration. And this is happening just as America is undertaking momentous changes in everything from health care to foreign policy. Never has it been more necessary to have a robust opposition.

So where are the new Reagans and McCains? There seems to be a gaping hole in terms of both personnel and substance. For a brief moment the Republicans were very proud: After the Democrats won the presidency with a black candidate, the Republicans elected a black party chairman. That was certainly a nice little coup, even if it was long overdue for the party that freed the slaves.

But there was a problem: The Republicans failed to take a close look at their new chairman. If they had, they might have noticed that he is not suited for the job. Now they have a mess on their hands: Mr. Steele is putting his foot in his mouth so often that one almost feels sorry for him – he’s keeping the comedy shows as busy as Sarah Palin did previously.

Trying to find a unified party message has caused chaos for the Republicans, also. Since the election defeat on November 4, conservatives no longer know what they are supposed to think, because they themselves no longer know who they are. Some would just like to continue on as they did before the election – only without Bush. Others would like to make a radical shift in the party’s direction: open it up to minorities, deal with social inequities and make it more empathetic. In other words, they want the Republicans to become “Democrats lite.”

The latter are in the minority and are unlikely to gain much ground as long as there are Obama Democrats and Obama Republicans. But to continue on as before is not an option, either. The voters may have a short memory, but not so short that they could forget who gave them the economic crisis, war, torture and a terrible reputation abroad: the Republicans!

Not all of America is in an Obama frenzy. Many people are not convinced that showering money on the problem is the answer – not even everyone standing under the shower. Many have serious reservations. They question whether this huge shower will yield a rich harvest, or whether the dollars will just vanish into the dry ground.

But a stubborn “no” to the economic programs is also not a legitimate alternative. How could it be, at a time when so many are worried about their job and don’t know how they are going to pay their mortgage or medical bills? Thus it seems rather obstinate and cold-hearted when the conservative governor of South Carolina turns down funds from Obama’s stimulus program for ideological reasons, even though the state could use every cent for the renovation of its awful schools.

You don’t have to look at the polls or elections to see how bad things are for the Republicans right now. Recently, they lost a House seat in a special election in what should have been a safe district in upstate New York. Then, a Republican senator changed parties. And now the pollsters have reported that only 31 percent of Americans identify themselves as Republicans, when just a few weeks ago it was 37 percent.

No, the debacle of the political right can be seen most clearly in the fact that they act as if the last eight years of Bush never happened, with its disastrous mistakes and miscalculations, and also in the fact that the right-wing ideologues, the Cheneys and Limbaughs and Roves, have gained the upper hand.

Dick Cheney has become the Republican standard bearer against Obama. The dark horse, who ought to keep silent, is now making the rounds from talk show to talk show and raging against Obama’s economic programs, the release of torture memorandums and diplomatic outreach to Iran.

At some point, of course, the Republicans will get their act together. At some point, Cheney & Co. will disappear and new, better people will emerge. But some point is not today, and Obama and America urgently need an intelligent, nimble opposition right now.