By Paolo von Schirach
October 17, 2013
WASHINGTON – America needs to be re-energized. This requires pro-growth, pro-enterprise policies. With all due respect, I am not sure that President Obama and the congressional Democrats understand this. And even if they did, I am not sure that they know how to do this.
Tea Party GOP
However, if you hoped that the Republicans may have a chance to govern and thus spur growth, you may as well forget about it. This crazy Republican Party, now dominated by the “anti-everything” Tea Party wing, is a protest movement, not a reliable political force. Look, the Tea Party/Libertarians may have a point when they loudly complain about the growth of government, its encroachments into the private lives of Americans and its staggering cost. That said, focusing on a losing and destructive political battle, just to make a point about the need to defund Obamacare , is a most unproductive, in fact irresponsible way of advancing a policy agenda.
And there is unfortunately a lot more. Because of the mess it created with the shut down, the vocal Tea Party wing is now the face of the GOP. To the rest of America, the Republicans are now the party of angry, strident, middle class, middle-aged, southern males.
To put it mildly, this is not a very appealing image.
Message of inclusiveness
The only way for the Republicans to become credible is to craft a message of hope, opportunity and genuine inclusiveness. Beyond fiscal responsibility, the GOP has to have an agenda that can be embraced by minorities, and by the immigrants, the young, the women, the urban voters.
Yes, the Republicans can be pro-business and pro-opportunity at the same time. There is no contradiction.
The GOP must have a program that combines sensible immigration reform and public education reform, so that the poor can have a fair shot at the American Dream. They have to welcome women in the work force and therefore create policies that allow women to be workers and mothers.
You get the idea.
Forget about 2016
A Tea Party dominated GOP, with all its obsessions about Obama’s alleged “socialist” designs, is just a bunch of hysteric protesters. If it stays this way, forget about changing anything in 2014, and certainly forget about electing a Republican to the White House in 2016.