What is going on in the Republican Party? For many years, the party has been split in two general groups: The Establishment and the Conservatives. The Establishment - which includes retiring Speaker John Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell - are fairly content with the current size of government so long as they get to drive the car. Right now, the car is a Ferrari La Ferrari (the most expensive sports car on the market at $1.4 million) and the establishment members love it. They don't admit they love it. They talk about wanting to pare down the government but that Ferrari is just so much fun to drive. The conservative wing of the party thinks the Ferrari is too expensive. Those of a more Libertarian bent would opt for a Toyota Camry, which is plenty robust if the government kept within its Constitutional limits. The majority of the conservatives - Tea Party Caucus - would be content to just have a Lamborghini. Sure, it's still a ridiculously expensive car ($540K), but much more economical than the current Ferrari.
The problem for the Establishment wing of the party is that the primary voters are predominantly conservatives and taxpayers. These voters are paying for the government to have a Ferrari while they are stuck driving a Ford Fiesta. They have repeatedly listened to the establishment and chosen 'electable' candidates like Dole, McCain, and Romney only to discover they weren't electable after all. No one wants to sacrifice their values to back a loser. Even when they won with George W Bush, they lost. The government got bigger, a new entitlement (Drug Benefit) and a cabinet department (Homeland Security) were created. The spinelessness of the Republicans to oppose Obama's agenda despite having both houses of Congress has been the last straw. This is why the top three candidates in the race have no elective experience.
Of course, the Democrats aren't happy with the Ferrari either. They want another one.
No comments:
Post a Comment