The Republican Party, as we know it today, is officially dead. For the second election in a row, the party has been routed. Republicans now have a minority of seats in the Congress and a minority of governorships. Fewer and fewer new voters are identifying themselves as Republicans, which should be no surprise to any keen political observer. The Democrats, Hollywood and the national news media have vilified the GOP for the last eight years. The economy is in the doldrums, the country is involved in a detested war, the Republican President is extremely unpopular, and so the stage was set for a Democratic victory.

The Republican nominee, John McCain, was a poor communicator who was reluctant to engage Barack Obama on a host of important topics ranging from Reverend Wright to Obama’s ties to ACORN. McCain was clearly not an authentic conservative and on many issues such as campaign finance reform, illegal immigration, and global warming held the same basic view as Obama. He ran a horrible campaign and deserved to lose. Unfortunately, the stakes are very high and the nation just elected a man who is largely a mystery. Who knows what sort of damage he can do to this nation.

Like Bob Dole’s lame campaign in 1996, the Republicans rewarded McCain with the nomination because he had paid his party dues. John McCain acted like Bob Dole, the sequel. He was a candidate who the party regulars felt deserved the nomination.  Yet, if the party continues to nominate people who have been running the longest or are members of the Bush family, the GOP will die. After losing badly in two consecutive elections, the Republicans are facing legitimate questions about its future. It is time for fresh blood, new ideas and a new generation of leaders to save the Republican Party.

In contrast to the GOP plight, the Democrats will celebrate their majorities on Capitol Hill and get ready to receive nothing but adulation from the media. In fact, Democratic hack Chris Matthews of MSNBC admitted as much during an interview the other day. He revealed that he will not scrutinize the Obama administration and will “do everything I can to make this thing work, this new presidency work.” Of course, Matthews and others have tried to do everything they can over the last eight years to harm the GOP and the Bush White House. In this last election, Matthews had plenty of company in supporting the Obama campaign. Objective analysis showed that the media coverage was much more favorable toward Obama than McCain. In fact, the Washington Post today revealed that there was a significant pro-Obama slant in their campaign coverage, which is no surprise. What is sad is that this campaign marked the death of real journalism in this country.

The Republicans best hope is that the Democrats will overreach like they did in the late 70’s and early 90’s. It could lead to an opportunity for the GOP to recover, but the party has to offer a real alternative. The GOP cannot act like Democrats any longer; they must offer an alternative platform of bold colors, not pale pastels.  

With the media, the universities, Hollywood, the national news media and Capitol Hill all now firmly in the camp of the Democrats, the Republicans face an impressive array of opponents. The Republicans also face a surging demographic challenge with the booming Hispanic population, who strongly favor the Democratic Party. The only way the GOP will compete in the future will be to compete on the battlefield of ideas. Republicans need to reassert conservative ideas and a highlight a new brand of conservative leaders.

In the next presidential race, the GOP should not nominate the politician who has been around the longest. It is vital that a new generation of leaders need to be given a chance to save the party for permanent minority status. At the top of the list of upcoming Republican stars is Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and, of course, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. Both of these leaders represent the future of the party and are more conservative than former GOP nominees like George H. W. Bush, Bob Dole, George W. Bush or John McCain.

When Republicans offer moderate nominees, the party loses. McCain was not enough of a contrast to Obama. The Republicans need a good communicator, who is willing to engage the mainstream media, the beltway boys, the lobbyists, and the K Street crowd who have been dominating the Republican Party for decades.

The old guard of the Republican Party needs to be overtaken by a conservative revolution. The new generation of Republican leaders need to be more focused on representing the god fearing people of this country who are concerned about the moral decline of this country and the out of control growth of the government.

Good old fashioned conservatism works when it is tried. Too bad in this election, the only candidate espousing real conservatism was the GOP vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin. It is no coincidence that she paid a heavy price for her ideas. Like Reagan and other real conservatives of the past, Palin was considered a threat because of her ideas. Palin was attacked not because of her gender; it was her philosophy that most angered her political and media opponents. Let’s hope that not only does Governor Palin survive this onslaught, but conservatism itself. The future of the Republican Party and more importantly, our country, depends on it.  

Jeff Crouere is the Host of “Ringside Politics,” which airs at 7:30 p.m. Fri. and 10:00 p.m. Sun. on WLAE-TV 32, a PBS station, and 7 till 11 a.m. weekdays on WGSO 990 AM in New Orleans and the Northshore. He is the Political Analyst for WGNO-TV ABC26 and the Political Editor for NewOrleans.com. For more information, visit his web site at RingsidePolitics.com. E-mail him at jeff@ringsidepolitics.com

Sign up for our Email Newsletter

Do you want to write for Bayoubuzz?  Email us.
See the "hot" topics on our discussion boards and chime in