After their loss in the 2012 elections the Republicans’ announced that they would revamp their Party by building a larger and more inclusive tent.  Whatever they did, it didn’t work.  So they gave up and reverted to their old ways of doing things following the extreme right-wing takeover of their Party.

It is easy for me to imagine why women and people of color would be hard-pressed to stand with or want to become a part of the GOP even if they are as conservative as any Republican.  Why, you might ask?  Here are a number of reasons why starting from the top.

Look at the rainbow of colors and great gender diversity of the Republican leadership, look at how long and hard they have fought against the Affordable Care Act (ACA) although it has helped millions of poor and middleclass people, look at how many states – most of them controlled by Republicans – have refused to expand their Medicaid program and hurt thousands of people who desperately need health insurance in an effort to derail the ACA.  And there is more.

Look at how since the ACA has become law they have continued to try to dismantle it, even pushing their challenges to it all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Look at all of the roadblocks that they put up in order to prevent legitimate, eligible voters from voting in the 2014 midterm elections.

Finally, look at how they have gone after women by trying to dictate to them the choices they should make regarding their own body and how hard they have fought against equal pay for equal work.  Looking at those holding the Republican leadership positions in Washington makes it hard to imagine that they can build a larger and more inclusive tent.  If they are struggling at this level, to imagine that they can do something greater would require a perfect mastery of the imagination.  It could be compared to one’s ability to see the Andromeda Galaxy, which is the most distant galaxy that can be seen by the unaided human eye; it would be a formidable stretch even with a near perfect night sky!

There is no doubt that the Grand Ole Party has many stalwart conservative politicians who have ideas that would be beneficial in helping America to prosper and grow but those ideas are no longer put on the table and discussed because they are predetermined by those who currently control the Republican Party to not be conservative enough.

Right now the GOP is like a great ship at sea with the ability to move only straight forward or starboard.  Until this problem is corrected the Party’s future is not bright; their destiny is predetermined and eventually they will crash.  That would be a great loss to all Americans, not just Republicans.  Where are the Republican statesmen?

Eulus Dennis

To read the article by ABC News on how the Republicans planned to revamp their Party after the 2012 elections loss search “RNC Completes Autopsy on 2012 Loss, Calls for Inclusion Not Policy Change.”