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Into the wilderness

VanC

Well-known member
The Republican Wilderness: Four Years - Or Forty?
David R. Stokes
Sunday, November 16, 2008

The Grand Old Party of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, & Ronald Reagan, has entered the proverbial wilderness. It moves from the box seats to the cheap seats, or better - to mix the metaphor a bit – the backbenches.

How Republicans handle this exile, and just how long the era lasts, will depend largely on what is done with and in the wilderness.

The idea of a wilderness period as a picture of exile is actually much older than American politics or even anything from our ancestors across the pond. It is a concept dating back to Biblical history and the frustrations and wanderings of the ancient children of Israel. Poised to enter the “Promised Land” of abundance and fulfillment following centuries of bondage and privation, and in the wake of the clearly providential exodus led by Moses, that generation fell tragically short.

They missed their rendezvous with destiny.

Entering the wilderness – a place, but also a process – they lived out a forty-year reminder of what had been left behind, while also grieving the loss of a compelling future. They had allowed short-term frustration to short-circuit long-held principles and dreams.

And the Lord told them in the book of Deuteronomy that the reason for the wilderness was, “to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart.” In other words, the wilderness for them was a divinely ordained “time out” – the kind of thing my dad would do when he sent me to my room to “think about” what I had done (when it was really all my brother’s fault).

The wilderness was a time for purging and preparing. Attitudes, habits, and ambitions had to be dealt with, and priorities revisited and clarified. The duration of the wilderness depended on how well the lessons were learned. In that ancient case, a journey that should have taken no more than a year became a forty-year generational failure.

And something that was lost, forgotten, or just misplaced, desperately needed to be found.

As the Republican Party moves into its own desert of exile for a while, it is time for reflection. It needs to figure out what it really stands for and what it can offer the nation the next time it is called upon to lead. How it manages in the wilderness will determine whether it will come back in four years, or forty - if at all.

That another such time will come is, of course, almost inevitable – not just because of very real concerns about the capacity of recent victors to translate historically flawed policies into real success, but because of the inherent cycles of politics. What happened on November 4th was due nearly as much to the tendency of politics and history to repeat themselves and the public’s tendency to soon tire of anyone on center stage, as it was a mandate for real “yes, we can” change.

Writing in the book, In the Arena: A Memoir of Defeat and Renewal, the late and former president Richard Nixon dedicated a chapter to the phenomenon of the wilderness. He knew a thing or two about the ups and downs and ins and outs of political life. The period between his loss in the governor’s race in 1962 and the winning of the White House in 1968, is a textbook case of how to come back from the kind of defeat that tempts opponents to write someone off permanently.

Nixon mentioned something described by Arnold Toynbee in his, Study of History, described as “the phenomenon of withdrawal…a disengagement and temporary withdrawal of the creative personality from his social milieu and his subsequent return to the same milieu transfigured in a new capacity with new powers.” Throughout history, great leaders demonstrated this. Certainly Nixon did and clearly identified with others who went through deep valleys.

In the 1991 movie, City Slickers, Billy Crystal and his best friends head out west looking for adventure. Crystal’s wife in the film wanted him to, while moving cattle from point A to B, along the way find something. Something he had lost. Something he needed to recover. His smile. The movie ended happily with said smile finding its way back to Billy’s face.

For the Republicans, they do not need to find something as insignificant as a group smile. Rather, they should be looking for something much more vital if they are to have a real shot at coming back from this wilderness.

The key to this is found in another place where the ancient scriptures mention a wilderness. We learn about this from the writings of the prophet Isaiah, when in the 40th chapter of his book we come across the vital phrase, “the voice of one crying in the wilderness.”

No doubt Winston Churchill, another frequent wilderness wanderer, identified with this little phrase during his years as a political has-been in the 1930s. He had no power, no position, and no prospects.

But he found his “voice” – and began to warn his countrymen about Hitler and dangers to come. Later, when he once again found himself in forced exile, having been voted out of office in the Labor sweep just a couple of months after the victory had been won in Europe, he found his “voice” again. This time he did not speak in the House of Commons, but rather in the gymnasium of a small college in the American mid-west. From that unlikely pulpit in the wilderness he cried out about an “iron curtain.”

The Republicans have clearly found the wilderness. Now they need to find their voice.

The GOP needs to figure out what it wants to be if and when it grows back up. Are ideas like limited government, the free market, and at least an interest in understanding the relationship between the morality of personal responsibility and self-discipline and the ills of the larger culture – now officially gone forever?


The word paradigm comes from the Greek language and the word paradeigma. It basically means a perception, or frame of reference – a lens through which to interpret reality. Author Steven Covey in his book, The Eighth Habit: From Effectiveness to Greatness (hint: the eighth habit is “finding your voice”), insists that “if you want to make minor incremental changes and improvements, work on practices, behavior or attitude. But if you want to make significant, quantum improvements, work on paradigms.”

The time for tweaking is past. As the nation readies itself to enter a new era of “bold experimentation” under an activist Obama administration, it is time for the party now finding itself in the political wilderness to find what it has lost. By definition, something lost is not something new – it is something once possessed.

Republicans can find their voice during the wilderness period, but to do so will require a willingness to have the wisdom and humility to make a paradigm shift, one that surely involves a quantum journey back to the future. They must find what once worked – and has been lost.

And if anyone thinks that the idea of going to the past to find something that will resonate in the future is not politically feasible, please remember this: America just elected a guy who advocates policies and programs that failed 75 years ago.




Copyright © 2008 Salem Web Network. All Rights Reserved.
 

fff

Well-known member
Steve said:
They must find what once worked – and has been lost.

the Republican Leadership must use what worked well, and often..
and cull the herd of those who will not "lead",..

Yep, cull hard. Those that don't believe in Creationism, that don't believe a woman has the right to make her own decisions, don't believe in "trickle down" economics or that homosexuals are doomed to Hell, kick them all out. That's obviously the way to grow the Republican Party. Heck, send 'em over to the Democratic Party. We'll take 'em. :D
 

alacowman

Well-known member
no doubt you would... hopefully brobama will have his hands so full with the economy that he'll have too put the liberal agenda on the backburner..
 

fff

Well-known member
alacowman said:
no doubt you would... hopefully brobama will have his hands so full with the economy that he'll have too put the liberal agenda on the backburner..

Since the majority of Americans don't believe in the things I listed, they are definitely welcomed into the Democratic Party. And that should insure a Democratic majority in Washington, DC for several years. :D

Truthfully, even if they DO believe in Creationism, trickle down and are rabidly pro-life, they're welcome in our big tent. We can agree to disagree on specific issues, as long as we agree on broad Democratic principles, like Social Security.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
fff said:
Steve said:
They must find what once worked – and has been lost.

the Republican Leadership must use what worked well, and often..
and cull the herd of those who will not "lead",..

Yep, cull hard. Those that don't believe in Creationism, that don't believe a woman has the right to make her own decisions, don't believe in "trickle down" economics or that homosexuals are doomed to Hell, kick them all out. That's obviously the way to grow the Republican Party. Heck, send 'em over to the Democratic Party. We'll take 'em. :D

Yep- by deciding to pander to the right wing social/religious extremists as their "base", rather then the time honored Republican/Conservative principles of keeping their noses out of peoples, families, other countries, religion, and industry's business, they have driven people away in droves....And until they realize that, they will continue to....
 

VanC

Well-known member
fff said:
Truthfully, even if they DO believe in Creationism, trickle down and are rabidly pro-life, they're welcome in our big tent.

Since no one in their right mind would actually believe this, I'm gonna assume you're joking.

But just in case, why don't you tell me why Bob Casey, a pro-life Democrat, was slated to be the keynote speaker at the 1992 convention, but was told to hit the road after the women's groups through a hissy fit. Or maybe you could tell me why Al Gore, a pro-lifer during his years as a congessman and senator, was told that he would have to change his views on abortion before being considered for the VP slot.

Maybe you could tell me why Clarence Thomas is called a lawn jockey and Michael Steele and Thomas Sowell are called Uncle Toms simply because they don't think like a black man is supposed to think. Doesn't sound like their very welcome to me.

Maybe you could tell me why some of the liberal blogs are filled with hatred towards the blacks that helped pass Proposition 8 In California, even using the n-word at times. Well, they're black, so they're welcome. But wait, they're against gay marriage, so they're not welcome.

Name me one prominent Democratic politician that believes in Creationism, trickle down economics, and is pro life. Better yet, name one that believes in just ONE of those things.

Regardless of what kind of crap you've been spoon fed by whatever sources you get your information from, the fact is that the Democratic Party of today, at least on the national level, only accepts those that think and act like they are expected to think and act. Big tent my ass!
 

badaxemoo

Well-known member
VanC said:
Name me one prominent Democratic politician that believes in Creationism, trickle down economics, and is pro life. Better yet, name one that believes in just ONE of those things.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is anti-abortion and so is Senator Bob Casey Jr.

I think they are pretty well accepted in their caucus, even if the more progressive Democratic groups criticize them.

Now, for the examples of Creationism and Trickle-Down-Economics, I think you might have a tougher time finding a prominent elected Democrat who cops to those.

And it's a good thing because they are both figments of the imagination!
 

MsSage

Well-known member
Having been very involved in the NC Republican Party I can say they have gotten away from the plateform they set up.
They had a grassroots movement and they left it on the roadside. Now those people have been left standing wondering what happened to the Party they loved and supported.

Funny thing about the big tent I heard Haily Barber say that for many years. Yes the Republicans did welcome everyone. You didnt have o spew the party line.
They ( the National Board) need to find their base and work to get them involved again.
 

TexasBred

Well-known member
Oldtimer said:
fff said:
Steve said:
the Republican Leadership must use what worked well, and often..
and cull the herd of those who will not "lead",..

Yep, cull hard. Those that don't believe in Creationism, that don't believe a woman has the right to make her own decisions, don't believe in "trickle down" economics or that homosexuals are doomed to Hell, kick them all out. That's obviously the way to grow the Republican Party. Heck, send 'em over to the Democratic Party. We'll take 'em. :D

Yep- by deciding to pander to the right wing social/religious extremists as their "base", rather then the time honored Republican/Conservative principles of keeping their noses out of peoples, families, other countries, religion, and industry's business, they have driven people away in droves....And until they realize that, they will continue to....

I believe you have your directions a bit crossed up there OT.
 

Steve

Well-known member
fff said:
Steve said:
They must find what once worked – and has been lost.

the Republican Leadership must use what worked well, and often..
and "cull the herd of those who will not "lead"",..

Yep, cull hard. Those that don't believe in Creationism, that don't believe a woman has the right to make her own decisions, don't believe in "trickle down" economics or that homosexuals are doomed to Hell, kick them all out. That's obviously the way to grow the Republican Party. Heck, send 'em over to the Democratic Party. We'll take 'em. :D

and you can have them... hoepfully they could "moderate" the liberal democrats.. :roll: :wink: :wink: in fact I plan on registering as a democrat so I can vote for moderate democrats in the primaries... and conservatives in the General election... that way I can vote against a liberal twice.. LOL...

culling the so-called "moderate leaders" who turned from the core conservative values and ideals would allow the return to the core beliefs that most Americans favor..

when prop 8 passed in California.. it didn't say califonia supported the far left liberal gay marriage agenda... it said they supported a moderate center right view.
 

TSR

Well-known member
badaxemoo said:
VanC said:
Name me one prominent Democratic politician that believes in Creationism, trickle down economics, and is pro life. Better yet, name one that believes in just ONE of those things.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is anti-abortion and so is Senator Bob Casey Jr.

I think they are pretty well accepted in their caucus, even if the more progressive Democratic groups criticize them.

Now, for the examples of Creationism and Trickle-Down-Economics, I think you might have a tougher time finding a prominent elected Democrat who cops to those.

And it's a good thing because they are both figments of the imagination!
Oh I would think there are quite a few Evolutionary Creationists in both parties. Now the Reagan doctrine of trickle down economics, yes I would say you would have a hard time finding a democrat or any other person of normal intelligence that believes such.
 
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