The Republican Dichotomy

Even with President Obama's reelection confirmed and the the 2012 presidential campaigns concluded, there is still much to be done on Capitol Hill in the coming year. The White House is expected to refocus its energy on improving the economy and ultimately fulfilling a successful second term.

On the other hand, the Republican Party is also expected to undergo some major changes over the next few years. After suffering two tough losses for both the presidency and control of the Senate, the GOP underwent much criticism from pundits and party representatives alike. These critics pointed to the strong influence of the far-right Tea Party on the GOP in this election that drove voters away, especially the female and Hispanic voters.

In a recent interview on NBC's "State of the Union", former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said that the Republican Party's poor performance concerning the Hispanic vote largely impacted the outcome of the election.

"The Hispanics I know were scared of the Republican Party," he said on the NBC show Sunday.

He explained, "I think it has to do with our incredibly ridiculous primary process where we force people to say outrageous things."

Gutierrez worked on Governor Romney's campaign leading his Hispanic Steering Committee. Gutierrez, obviously a Republican himself, asserts that there is a disease plaguing the GOP. A disease that he believes was created by the far-right of the party.

"I think the disease is the fact that the far right of the party controls the primary process," Gutierrez explained.

Other GOP supporters and liberal pundits alike can agree that the GOP faces a serious "branding problem" after the crushing blow this election season brought the party and its far right counter-part known as the Tea Party.

Even prominent Tea Party leader, Amy Kremer, acknowledged this year's election results as a huge wake up call for both Republicans and conservatives.

Kremer said in a recent interview, "There is plenty of blame to go around, but at the end of the day, the Republican Party has a branding issue."

Kremer drew upon diverse Republican voices to explain how the GOP must begin to tackle this problem and essentially re-brand itself to the American public.

Many believe that immigration reform is an issue the GOP must adjust its position on in order to appeal to the large and ever-growing Hispanic vote.

Upon reading countless articles about the unsteady fate of the GOP, one can distinguish a dichotomy between the commentary of the more moderate, just right-of-center Republicans and the extreme, far-right Tea Party, both of which think the other is to blame for the election day defeat.

Some pundits predict that in order for the Republican Party to emerge from the ashes of this election, it must ditch the extreme ideals of the Tea Party as to appeal to a wider demographic of Americans.

The Tea Party on the other hand, point the finger at more centered party members callings them too "moderate." Jenny Beth Martin, like many other Tea Party reps, considers the moderates in the party responsible for championing a losing candidate.

"What we got was a weak moderate candidate, handpicked by the Beltway elites and country-club establishment wing of the Republican Party," Martin charged in a statement written on the night of the election by a far-right group called the Tea Party Patriots.

"The presidential loss is unequivocally on them. While it may take longer to restore America's principals with President [Barack] Obama back in office, we are not going away."

Martin goes on to call Mitt Romney the "handicapped candidate" of the Republican Party's elite. She asserts that the Tea Party is America's last chance to recover from this election's "catastrophic loss" and that it is "the last best hope America has to restore [its] founding principles."

While the line between the GOP and the Tea Party seemed blurred during the heat of election campaigning, the dichotomy between these two political groups cannot be more clear after the election.

The question is, will the party moderates and minority leaders rise up in this time of great uncertainty? Or will Tea Party extremists continue to ride the wave that got them to this level of power in the first place? Is that momentum still present for them to tap into? And if not, what happens to the 21st Century Tea Party and the conservatism movement?

It seems apparent that the political system, much like the state of the nation, is likely to undergo some drastic changes in the next few years leading up to 2016. The economy needs a repairman much like the GOP needs a makeover.

The fate of the Republican Party depends on a successful, or at least cohesive re-branding of the party and its ideals. It is undeniable that a split party is useless against an opposition with a united front. The GOP must realize this and act quickly in order to simultaneously secure and cultivate a positive face with the American people.


SOURCES:
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83636.html
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1112/83704.html
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2012/11/gutierrez-hispanics-scared-of-gop-149224.html
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/2012/11/07/20121107latino-votes-key-obamas-win.html
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-pn-poll-latino-vote-obama-20121105,0,5182025.story
http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/hispanic-polls/hispanic-polls