Lessons for the Republican Party

With the national elections now behind us and the results tallied we can go back to a life not consumed by politics.  However, I can’t help but wonder what lessons the Republican Party might learn.

Will Tea Party or Christian Conservative elements of the Republican Party emerge or will a more socially progressive wing flex its muscle? One need not be a political scientist to understand the Republican Party is losing ground with increasingly important voting demographics like  Women (who made up more than 54% of the electorate) and Latino voters, which is one of the fastest growing demographics in the U.S. (now 10% of the electorate).

Perhaps the best evidence of the Republican Party’s waning influence was seen in the US Senate races.  With Democrats defending 23 seats and Republicans defending only 10 seats (and needing to pick up just 4 seats to gain a majority)  it was widely believed Democrats would lose control of the Senate. However, across the country Republicans lost in states like MA and CT in the Northeast, WI and IN in the MidWest and even in the South in VA. The lesson from the 2012 election is that you can no longer support programs that marginalize women or minority groups and expect to win (with the possible exception of the South).

My message to Republicans Drop the faith-laced language, the xenophobic hyperbole, your homophobic stereotypes and you will find a receptive audience to your smaller government message.  If you cannot, your days as a national party are numbered.