Righting the Ship

With the Republican Party facing severe losses in the both the Presidential Campaign and the Congressional races, the Republicans have had to re-think how they are going to do buisness. In the weeks that followed the election, many looked to Governor Palin to be the party standard bearer, but not everyone. Even the day after the election, her future as the Party's leader seemed in jeopardy due to many publicity faux pas.

Another contender waiting in the wings was the Louisiana dynamo Governor Bobby Jindal. It was he, not Palin, that was given the task of responding to President Obama's first state of the Union. His response though, left much to be desired. His response was seen as sophomoric and was blasted by both the right and the left and so the republican party was left waiting for their new standard bearer to rise up as they continued to eat their young.

Recently the republicans hosted their annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC). During this conference, they voted by straw poll to determine who the next leader would be. Eeking out a victory, but recieving only 20% of the vote was Governor Mitt Romney. While this is the second time that Mitt Romney had a strong showing (in 2006 he came in a surprising second), his 20% of the vote is hardly a mandate for change. Perhaps the only strong voice heard at the convention was that of Rush Limbaugh who is unapologetic in his desire to see the Obama adminsitration fail.

It seems that Rush knows something that the other members of CPAC do not because as the second page of this article points out, there seems to be a chasm of difference between who the Republican Party leaders (the members of CPAC) and the republican party voters (the general public) see as their party's leader. While many republican voters still seem to be leaning to the right, the CPAC members seem to be scrambling for the middle ground in the person of Mitt Romney. How this story will end is anyones guess, but one thing is for sure; unless the Republicans can figure out their message and their leader, they continue to face difficult times in the coming elections.