Dear Friends,
It seems to me, the reason the republicans have lost in the last few elections, is as simple as it is obvious. The powers that be in the republican party, the Elite, will steadfastly refuse to see the obvious as they have election after election. The Elite in the republican party today have the same macro viewpoint as the democrats. The difference between them is so slight you can’t fit a newly printed dollar bill between them. The base of the republican party is far more libertarian, and at the same time more conservative, than the republican Elite are. This creates a tension within the party. The Elite in the republican party jealously guard their power and prestige against all comers. The reality that there is no difference, between the republican Elite and the democrats, is not lost on the American people. When confronted with a democrat, and a democrat, the people will reliably choose the democrat every time. This has critical importance to the American republic, and the standard of living not only in the US, but the World over.
The republican Elite are universally progressive. They agree with the progressive democrats all the time. They disagree with the conservative democrats as much as they disagree with their own base. They feel they can run a bloated, overly bureaucratic system, better than the democrats, and they have the hubris to believe, they know better than everyone else about everything else… like I said before, they are progressives with an R after their name instead of a D. As such they look only in a certain direction. That direction is not based on truth or reality it is based on politics and perspective. That is why they cannot see the obvious so often.
The republican base is far more libertarian, in that the people that make it up, who are independent minded and self reliant people. They have the mindset, it is from the people that all innovation and good comes, and that government, more often than not, is the font of evil. Ron Reagan said as much and won in a landslide… twice. History bears the libertarian viewpoint out. The republican base is more interested in limiting the role and scope of government than the republican Elite. The base is also far more conservative than the Elite.
Take the issue of abortion. The base is much more agreeable to limits on abortion, than the republican Elite, who are universally pro abortion. They only claim to be pro life during the campaign season. Even the most libertarian of the republican base believe that partial birth abortion is evil and wrong. The only way a reasonable person could be for this procedure is ignorance of what it entails. The upshot is… the base is far less trusting of arbitrary power than the Elite are. Obviously, since it is the Elite who wield that arbitrary power, and the people who are the subjects of it.
Everyone who is a member of the Elite is loathe to give up the power, money and prestige, that comes along with it. It is the nature of human beings to enjoy power over others. Adam Smith said that a man would rather order a slave than negotiate with a free man for his free labor. It is in our nature. One of the beauties of the capitalist system is that it mitigates this negative aspect of our nature. No one dislikes money. We all lust after more of it. Whether it is for power, to buy serenity, to purchase the luxuries in life or just as a hedge against life’s exigencies, money is something we all desire to some degree. Do you know anyone who doesn’t like praise? Is there one among us, who doesn’t revel in being waited on, and have his or her boots licked? It is self evident that the Elite are loathe to give up their status.
And so it is clear that the republican elite are incapable of recognizing the facts right in front of them. They disagree with their base and so they must go. The Elite cannot understand that the people who elect them would actually be so unselfcentered, they would believe in the sanctity of life, the Elite are incredulous that their base actually wants limited government, the whole concept is alien to an egoist. The Elite seek the opposite of what their very voters want and they shake their heads that they cannot get elected. In the last debate Romney went after the 1% who were undecided, and in doing so put off the 70% of the population that makes up his base, while Obama energized his base. Some were so off put they voted for Obama. After all, if there is no difference, why vote for the democrat wanna be when there is a bona fide democrat in the race? Obama went after his base and got them to vote, and Romney turned off his base, so they didn’t come out to vote. It is no more difficult to understand than that.
Romney had no problem attacking, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Fred Thompson, and any other conservative that stood in his way, but gave Obama deference, as had McCain. Romney spared Obama the negative ads he pelted Santorum with, further proving the point. The republican Elite despise their base, even to the point of abandoning Tea party republicans and even undermining their campaigns. While the democrat Elite, who also loathe their base, are better at pretending they don’t.
Don’t expect the republican Elite to wake up though. They have already rolled over for the democrats, they share the same goal after all, it is only the path to it they disagree on. The republican Elite are only too happy to compromise in the destruction of the American Constitution, as well as the death of our economy and culture. They agree with the democrat progressives more than they disagree… guaranteeing their eventual extinction. The only question left is; will they take our society with them?
Sincerely,
John Pepin
