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Introduction: The Gop at the Crossroads
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10415 |
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CURRENT ISSUES
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2 / 1993 |
443 Words |
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As a confident, energetic Bill Clinton becomes the nation's 42nd president, Republications in and out of Washington are publicly debating the wisest course for their party, out of the White House for the first time since 1981.
Among the more pressing questions are: Why did George Bush go from a sure thing for reelection to a distant second in less than one year? Are the Reagan Democrats lost forever? Who is likely to emerge as the GOP's new leaders? What strategy should Republicans adopt vis-à-vis the Clinton administration?
In this month's Special Report, Current Issues senior editor Lee Edwards concludes that the basic reason for Bush's defeat was the collapse of the broad-based coalition that had won the last three presidential elections for Republicans. Essentially the coalition came apart because Bush reneged on his no-new-taxes pledge, thereby destroying his credibility and helping to prolong the recession that gave Clinton his major issue.
An important point to keep in mind, according to Edwards, is that Bush, not the Republican Party or conservatism, lost the election. When voters were asked in exit polls whether they preferred a government that provided more services but cost more in taxes, or fewer services and lower taxes, they chose smaller, less expensive government by a margin of two to one.
For the first time in 30 years, points out political analyst Bill Pascoe, Republicans are without a clear leader. However, the race for the 1996 GOP nomination is already under way, with Jack Kemp, Bob Dole, Pat Buchanan, and Phil Gramm leading the way.
Buchanan will appeal to the hard-right nationalistic wing of the party; Kemp to the growth oriented moderate conservatives; Dole to the traditional establishment; and Gramm to the more conservative elements of the establishment. The man who emerges as the leader of the conservative movement, argues Pascoe, is likely to become the leader of the Republican Party and the 1996 presidential nominee.
After responding to the initiative of Republican presidents for the last 12 years, Republicans must now develop their own strategy for political survival and success. They must adopt a new theme, says political consultant Donald Devine, that will unify all the different strands of conservatism that have been the GOP's proven means to victory.
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