LAT: The Crisis of 'Sam's Club' Republicans

[Xipe Totec]

Interesting article from the LA Times. The Repubs are starting to sound worried about losing their support base:

Back in 2002, two die-hard social conservatives fought for Minnesota's Republican gubernatorial nomination. Brian Sullivan was a successful entrepreneur backed by the Freedom Club, a group of "pro-growth" millionaires lifted straight from Central Casting. With his zeal for tax cuts and his privileged background, Sullivan was a Bush Republican down to his wingtips.

His opponent was Tim Pawlenty, a state representative born on the wrong side of the tracks. Pawlenty embraced the state's populist tradition, insisting that Republicans "need to be the party of Sam's Club, not just the country club." And it was Pawlenty who ended up winning the GOP nod and the statehouse by wide margins.

<snip>

But if Republicans don't shift gears, the Democrats' window of opportunity will widen, and left-wing populism could take off. When that happens, you won't see Clintonian micro-initiatives to help the middle class. Not by a long shot. Job-killing protectionism and overregulation will come roaring back, and so will stagflation.

Politicians are often vilified for pandering to their base, but on matters economic, the GOP needs to do more of it. By focusing on the interests of Sam's Club voters, farsighted conservatives can build a lasting majority. But if the party's agenda continues to be set on K Street, we'll soon be talking about "the emerging Republican minority."


http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-salam11jan11,1,7856532.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions&ctrack=1&cset=true

[Warpy]

1. "Job killing protectionism????"

Don't these damned fools know an oxymoron when they see one?

"Stagflation???" Wasn't that Nixon's problem, not Johnson's?

My gawd, is no lie too low for these schmucks?

What will come back is the sort of economic populism that gave us the incredible prosperity of the 50s and 60s. What will disappear is the concentration of wealth into fewer and fewer hands.

Of course, that means getting rid of the Repuglican DLC first, but it will happen, sooner or later.

[Xipe Totec]

2. Makes one cringe, doesn't it? LOL!

I'm surprised he didn't warn us about the return of godless communism too.

Even so, you can sense panic in his tone. Things are falling apart, but he can't bring himself to admit that the GOP policies are fundamentally flawed. Instead he blames the membership for not implementing the policies correctly.

And then the warning is a back-handed compliment to Clinton isn't it?