IPFS
Menckens Ghost
More About: Politics: Republican CampaignsSocial and cultural trends killing the Republican Party
The presidential election should not
have been a surprise. After all, the Republican Party is being
killed by the following social, political and cultural trends:
1. The dramatic shift of the nation from
being a republic to being an empire, a shift that began in the 19th century and
continued under both Democrat and Republican administrations but most stupidly
as of late by Republicans. History is of course littered with the corpses of
nations that collapsed from the cost of empire.
2. The dramatic increase over
the decades in single mothers, due to the increase in unmarried
births and divorce. Republicans can only appeal to women by giving them
the same social-welfare benefits that Democrats give them.
3. The dramatic increase over the
decades in immigration from Latin America,
with high percentages of the immigrants having high rates of unmarried births
and low skills and education. It is political suicide for Republicans to
try to reverse this through the antics of buffoons like Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Ariz.
4. The dramatic leftward shift
of the country's major institutions, especially the media, K-12 unionized
schools, and universities, where, at great expense to their
parents, children are immersed in statist notions about social
justice, fairness, economics, and energy. Stupidly, rich Republicans pay
huge sums to send their children to prestigious universities that are the
most leftist.
5. The dramatic increase in the
number of people dependent in some way on the government, including
Republicans. Over 60% of households now get all or part of their income
from welfare, subsidies, entitlements, a government job, or a private sector
job that depends on government regulations for its existence, such as tax
accountants.
6. The dramatic increase in
corporatism, crony capitalism, mercantilism, socialism, subsidies, and central
planning, especially central planning by the Federal Reserve--all of which have
caused massive distortions, malinvestments, and the crowding out of the
free market, most notably in medical care, housing, and higher
education. Of course, the politicians and bureaucrats and intelligentsia
and rent seekers that caused these problems blame capitalism, not themselves;
and of course, a brainwashed public believes them.
7. The dramatic centralization of
political and regulatory power in Washington,
which makes people feel distant and powerless to influence public policy but
makes it easy for special interests, especially public-sector unions, to
influence policy against the interests of the polity.
8. The dramatic shift of Southern
evangelicals, jingoists, nationalists, and lowbrows from the Democrat Party to
the Republican Party, thus pushing the GOP in a direction that turns off urban
“sophisticates.”
Now, about half of Americans are
socialists, and half, nationalists. In that sense, the nation is National
Socialist.
I’ve warned about these trends for 20 years, including in my former newspaper column; and as a result, was called a curmudgeon, pessimist, cynic, and names that can’t be printed here. That I was prophetic doesn’t please me. It makes me want to puke.
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Mencken’s Ghost is the nom de plume of an Arizona writer who can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.
1 Comments in Response to Social and cultural trends killing the Republican Party
What is killing the Republican Party is the regal attitude of the Party leaders. They lost this election by showing open contempt toward Ron Paul and his people and by breaking their own rules to do so. As long as both parties belong to Wall Street, the Republicans will be seen as irrelevant.