GOP Messengers Obscure Message

Conservative columnist Kathleen Parker notes that the most visible conservative figures are harming the movement by driving away mainstream voters and attracting extremists.

...fire-breathers on the right don’t help, whatever the cause. They may warm the base, but the Republican base is becoming a remote island in Mainstream America. Everyone else is paddling away...Accurately or not, the right-wing wacko contingent increasingly dominates the public perception of the GOP. And, fairly or not, that perception makes it easier for characters such as Scott Roeder, the suspected shooter, to become associated with the party.

Already, Roeder’s story is emerging to reveal a right-wing character from central casting. Previously arrested on explosives charges, Roeder was once attracted to the Montana Freemen, best known for engaging FBI agents in an armed standoff in 1996. Some Internet commentary even refers to Roeder as a “Christian terrorist.” Let’s see: Christian, pro-gun, anti-government, pro-life. Sounds like a Republican, right? Oh, and he’s suspected of being an assassin. Connect them dots...The GOP has contributed to the distortion by pandering to its less rational elements.

The Democrats went through a similar period in the 1980's when the party was run as a collection of aggrieved interest groups that were perceived as similarly out of touch with the political mainstream. In order to establish party bona fides and rise through the ranks, up and coming politicians feel pressure to kiss the rings of the heads of these interest groups. The way out for each party seems to be to rally behind charismatic leaders who articulate the party's positions in a thoughtful manner that appeals to non-partisans. Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama are recent examples.

--Ballard Burgher