I’m a proud registered Republican. I firmly believe that the GOP platform offers the best solution for America’s future and that past Republican policies, namely those of the Reagan administration, demonstrate the strength of conservatism. The Republican Party has achieved incredible things, from freeing African-Americans from slavery and Eastern Europe from communism to advancing unprecedented economic wealth and opportunity. I feel compelled, however, to assert that without massive change, history may view 2013 as the year the Republican Party doomed itself to extinction.
The recent vote on the Manchin-Toomey proposal regarding gun control and the upcoming Gang of Eight immigration deal have put the GOP at a crossroads. We can become the party of Rick Santorum, Mark Levin and Steve King who seem to define conservatism as a dogmatic intransience where even the most minor of disagreements turns a conservative into a RINO, or Republican in name only. Alternatively, we can follow the lead of Chris Christie, John McCain and Peter King, who are trying to steer the party back to its Reagan-era doctrines, when issues were judged by their merit rather than against a conservative litmus-test or an NRA scorecard. To survive, the GOP cannot view someone who agrees with the party 80 percent of the time as 20 percent its enemy. GOP politicians need to remember that compromise means making deals, not holding the country hostage to get your way.
The party’s longtime white demographic is shrinking. When Ronald Reagan won re-election in 1984 white voters comprised about 90 percent of the electorate. In 2016, the white proportion will drop to roughly 70 percent, thereby necessitating Republican outreach to minorities, young voters and women, groups that traditionally vote Democrat. Yet some on the right seem insistent on further alienating these groups, who have been turned off by dismissive rhetoric on important social issues. While lambasting the Gang of Eight immigration deal, Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) went so far as to state that demographics weren’t an issue for Republicans when election data shows this to be false. In his 2004 campaign, former President George W. Bush struck an inclusive tone and won 44 percent of the Latino vote as a result. Conversely, Mitt Romney called for “self-deportation” and won only 27 percent. Had he performed as well as Bush with Latino voters, he would have won Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Nevada and Colorado; he would be our president.
Some might confuse my advocacy as an effort to “moderate” the GOP, or, in effect, create a second liberal party. But unless you consider Ronald Reagan a liberal, this is not the case. Republicans need not moderate their principles but rather understand that most issues fall in a gray area. Republicans are right to stand up for the Second Amendment, but voting for the Manchin-Toomey proposal would not have been an abandonment of conservatism. Since when is it conservative to believe in allowing criminals and maniacs to buy guns? Voting against the bill, which polling showed had the support of 90 percent of the public, wasn’t conservative — it was just stupid. In fact, six Republicans voted to expand background checks in 1999 but opposed the amendment on Wednesday. This rigid right-wing caricaturizes conservatism.
Already, talk radio is dismissing the Gang of Eight immigration deal as blanket amnesty when in reality it would secure the border and force illegal immigrants to wait more than 10 years before earning citizenship. Ironically, most Republicans demand that these immigrants undergo background checks –– yes, the same checks that are “useless” for gun-buyers –– before they can earn legal status. Deporting someone who has lived here and worked for 25 years is not conservative, yet that’s what the rigid right wants.
The GOP can avoid extinction by returning to its roots. I believe its core principles of economic freedom, personal liberty and a strong America are inherently popular. We Republicans oppose big government and support personal freedom because we have faith that the American people can run their own lives better than government can. Unfortunately, the newly rigid right that seemingly enjoys alienating people with horrendous votes (Manchin-Toomey), dismissive rhetoric (“self-deportation”) and stupid comments (Senate candidate Richard Mourdock’s statement, “Even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that’s something God intended to happen”) has hijacked the conservative movement. Their incompetence and lack of intelligence will destroy the Republican Party. Faced with these crossroads the GOP can further alienate voters and disappear, or it can choose to return to reasonable conservatism and thrive once again.
SCOTT REUSTERHOLZ is a junior in the McDonough School of Business.
