Swimming Through Storms
May 25, 2009
Am I the only one who doesn’t give a damn about Colin Powell?
The good general should never have joined the Republican Party to begin with; if you put some sodium pentothal into the man, even he would admit that his life would have been much better if he had stayed 93 million miles away from the GOP. Powell never shared the party’s conservative positions, and seemingly joined the party back in the mid-1990s in a misguided attempt to move the party back to the pre-Reagan era in terms of its policies. He should have realized long ago that such an effort would not be successful.
Powell’s performance on the May 24 edition of Face the Nation was fairly pointless. Why doesn’t he simply ignore criticism from the likes of Rush Limbaugh? It’s not as though Powell’s supporters really care about Limbaugh’s opinion of him—why should he?
The only important thing Powell said on the broadcast was his declaration that the GOP talks a good game about reducing the size of government, but never actually does it. Undeniably true; Powell’s old boss permanently destroyed the GOP’s credibility on the issue of limited government. Other than that, Powell should have just stayed home.
Former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge’s May 24 appearance on CNN’s State of the Union was far more interesting. The pro-choice Republican declared that the GOP should not demonize those who deviate from the party’s platform in certain respects. “[The way for] the Republican Party to restore itself is not as a regional party but as a national party. We have to be far less judgmental about disagreements within the party and far more judgmental about our disagreement with our friends on the other side of the aisle.” He went on to declare that Limbaugh “…articulates his point of views in ways that offend very many…it does get the base all fired up, and he’s got strong following. But, personally, if he would listen to me — and I doubt if he would — the notion is, express yourselves, but let’s respect others’ opinions. And let’s not be divisive…Let’s lead our party based on some principles that have been very much a part of who we are for decades, and let’s be less shrill, [and] not attack other individuals. Let’s attack their ideas. Let’s explain, in a rational, thoughtful, responsible and reasonable way why our ideas and our approach are more acceptable, why they should be more acceptable to the average citizen.”
Republicans would be well advised to blow off Powell and listen to Ridge. The path to future Republican/conservative success cannot be found in senseless proclamations about the Democrats’ socialism or incoherent online ads mocking scandal-scarred House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. It cannot be found in after-the-fact complaints about mainstream-media bias. It can be found in the development, explanation and advocacy of new ideas that are consistent with conservative principles and more effective than the remedies President Obama proposes.
The GOP can survive without Powell, but it needs figures like Ridge in order to have an appeal beyond the party’s base. Ridge is wrong (from a conservative perspective) on the issue of abortion for birth-control purposes, but he doesn’t seem to hold contempt for conservative members of the GOP, nor does he seem embarrassed by the party’s main philosophy. He is truly a center-right figure, the sort of politician who could help the party ward off rump status.
Despite my disagreement with Ridge on the question of abortion, it would be nice to see someone like Ridge have a viable shot at being the GOP nominee in a future Presidential election. Unlike John McCain, Ridge wouldn’t come across as a washed-up politician just going through the motions. He’d change the GOP’s damaged image; it would be virtually impossible for the left to depict him as an incompetent or a blind ideologue.
Ridge could be the GOP’s future: Powell should never have been part of the GOP’s past. Powell comes across as someone who wants two political parties that believe in the same thing; Ridge comes across as someone who believes that the GOP should have an ideological contrast with the Democrats, so long as the party doesn’t chase out everyone with dissenting views on one or two issues.
Powell has no constituency and no credibility; one cannot even listen to his voice without remembering that this was the guy who gave that peculiar presentation to the UN Security Council a few years back. Although he is also tied to the controversial Bush years, Ridge’s words have more weight and make more sense. The GOP should hit the mute button when Powell speaks—but when Ridge talks, they should turn up the volume until the whole neighborhood can hear it.
