Republicans scrambling for leadership
Michelle Malsbury, BSBM, MM
May 15, 2009
Ever since President Obama took office the republican party has been scrambling and re-scrambling to find a titular head for their struggling party. The first presumptive leader was the vice-presidential loser, Governor Palin, but she is as polarizing as a green light turned red when your car is in the middle of a busy freeway full of moving traffic in the opposite direction. The next one was Rush Limbaugh, also a divider, but a very popular one within the right leaning right segment of the republican conservative party. Then came Bobby Jindal, governor of Louisiana. He was a young breath of what the republican party hoped would be new and credible leadership for their battered party. He fell flat in his speech after President Obama and has not been able to re-emerge as anything resembling a real leader to date.
Vice-president Dick Cheney was the next person in the republican party to be outspoken about changes that President Obama has made for America and the world. He said that he believed America and Americans were less safe because Obama was elected instead of McCain. McCain may have had a chance without the crippling effects of Sarah Palin. Anyway that is now history. Come on Mr. Cheney get real! It was the boondoggled Bush policies that made the world hate America and made us less safe by uniting the would-be members of Al Qaeda against us with new fervor and renewed purpose.
Former Secretary of the State, Condoleezza Rice would have been a solid pick as leader for this struggling party, but she took Cheney´s side with the issues of torture and waterboarding. She, like Colin Powell initially, has lost her credibility with mainstream republicans and Cheney is a washed up has-been. It is unlikely that she will be a big voice in the future of her party. Colin Powell, who has been pushed aside as a leader in his party, is welcome to join the democrats anytime he wants.
Recently Jeb Bush has united with Eric Cantor and Mitt Romney to see how they can make the republican party have meaning, meaning that translates into members and votes. They need members who can be energized to vote in the 2012 elections like never before. Mitt Romney should have been the party´s pick for president in the 2008 race. He has a good business mind, was sound in his arguments to bring America back on track, and a regular family man. But no they, the right leaning republicans, could not get behind a man who does not share their religion or at least a more mainstream religion than Mormonism. Mitt´s one failure was his religion and that is sad in modern day America. Good luck Mitt and watch your back!
Jeb Bush is by far the most intelligent and thoughtful member of the entire Bush family, but he would do best to stay in the background for the next decade or so. America has had enough of the Bushes for some time to come. Jeb could be instrumental in helping to turn his party around because he was a fine governor for the State of Florida, in which I reside as a democrat. He can speak well to the public at large and he comes off as if he is sincere, unlike his father and brother. He is married to a lovely woman who was not born in America and who can help him to energize the Latin voters, which the republican have managed to alienate in most elections.
Mike Huckabee has made some headlines recently too. He, like Mitt, was rejected because of his religion. He was a Baptist preacher, former governor of Arkansas, and a wonderful public speaker. He has a way about him that made you want to trust him, but the republican party has a hard time embracing people who are genuine or trustworthy. Better luck next time, if there is a next time, Mike---you are a good man!
If the republican party is unable to pull themselves out of this tailspin they are doomed to crash, maybe even burn up and evaporate. What they, the republican party, need are people who can bring together people of all classes, ethnicities, religions, and educational levels, not people like Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh who divide and spew hate or people like "Joe the Plumber" who was never a plumber. They need to locate leaders who have an eye, and not one who winks, on the future of America and the world, not one who is constantly looking into history for clues about what to do next.
Looking backwards prevents one from clearly seeing the future and the possibilities that it holds. Forward looking and forward thinking is the way up and out of their turmoil. I guess it is hard to stick to your conservative schtick while trying to be progressive, but it can be done. Credible, quality leadership is the key. Who can, or will, emerge to lead the republican party next?
Vice-president Dick Cheney was the next person in the republican party to be outspoken about changes that President Obama has made for America and the world. He said that he believed America and Americans were less safe because Obama was elected instead of McCain. McCain may have had a chance without the crippling effects of Sarah Palin. Anyway that is now history. Come on Mr. Cheney get real! It was the boondoggled Bush policies that made the world hate America and made us less safe by uniting the would-be members of Al Qaeda against us with new fervor and renewed purpose.
Former Secretary of the State, Condoleezza Rice would have been a solid pick as leader for this struggling party, but she took Cheney´s side with the issues of torture and waterboarding. She, like Colin Powell initially, has lost her credibility with mainstream republicans and Cheney is a washed up has-been. It is unlikely that she will be a big voice in the future of her party. Colin Powell, who has been pushed aside as a leader in his party, is welcome to join the democrats anytime he wants.
Recently Jeb Bush has united with Eric Cantor and Mitt Romney to see how they can make the republican party have meaning, meaning that translates into members and votes. They need members who can be energized to vote in the 2012 elections like never before. Mitt Romney should have been the party´s pick for president in the 2008 race. He has a good business mind, was sound in his arguments to bring America back on track, and a regular family man. But no they, the right leaning republicans, could not get behind a man who does not share their religion or at least a more mainstream religion than Mormonism. Mitt´s one failure was his religion and that is sad in modern day America. Good luck Mitt and watch your back!
Jeb Bush is by far the most intelligent and thoughtful member of the entire Bush family, but he would do best to stay in the background for the next decade or so. America has had enough of the Bushes for some time to come. Jeb could be instrumental in helping to turn his party around because he was a fine governor for the State of Florida, in which I reside as a democrat. He can speak well to the public at large and he comes off as if he is sincere, unlike his father and brother. He is married to a lovely woman who was not born in America and who can help him to energize the Latin voters, which the republican have managed to alienate in most elections.
Mike Huckabee has made some headlines recently too. He, like Mitt, was rejected because of his religion. He was a Baptist preacher, former governor of Arkansas, and a wonderful public speaker. He has a way about him that made you want to trust him, but the republican party has a hard time embracing people who are genuine or trustworthy. Better luck next time, if there is a next time, Mike---you are a good man!
If the republican party is unable to pull themselves out of this tailspin they are doomed to crash, maybe even burn up and evaporate. What they, the republican party, need are people who can bring together people of all classes, ethnicities, religions, and educational levels, not people like Sarah Palin or Rush Limbaugh who divide and spew hate or people like "Joe the Plumber" who was never a plumber. They need to locate leaders who have an eye, and not one who winks, on the future of America and the world, not one who is constantly looking into history for clues about what to do next.
Looking backwards prevents one from clearly seeing the future and the possibilities that it holds. Forward looking and forward thinking is the way up and out of their turmoil. I guess it is hard to stick to your conservative schtick while trying to be progressive, but it can be done. Credible, quality leadership is the key. Who can, or will, emerge to lead the republican party next?
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