It's no secret by now that the American people gave the Republicans a proper spanking in the recent election. President Obama was re-elected by a significant margin (making him one of the very few American presidents to be elected twice, and receive more than 50% of the popular vote both times). The Republicans also lost seats in the Senate and the House, and although they retained a majority in the House, their House candidates actually received more than a million less votes than Democratic candidates did.What happened? Why did they lose so badly? The right-wing teabaggers in the party seem to have convinced themselves that it was Willard Mitt Romney's fault. They say he just didn't properly explain the party's policy and agenda. They believe if they had a better leader, one who could communicate their policies better to the voters, that they would have won the election. And it seems that is the feeling of most Republicans. A recent Washington Post/ABC News Poll (taken between December 13th and 16th) shows that 64% of Republicans believe they just need a better leader, while only 23% see their policies as the problem.
But that's not how the rest of America sees it. Romney may not have been the greatest candidate, but he was probably the best option they had in the last election season. People didn't vote against him because they personally disliked him. They voted for Democrats because the majority of American are either frightened or disgusted by the mean-spirited policies of the Republican Party.
They want the rich to pay a higher tax rate, Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid to be protected and properly funded, schools to be adequately funded (without religion and politics being infused into the classroom), the environment protected, undocumented immigrants to have a path to citizenship (especially those who serve in the military or finish college), equal rights for the LGBT community, and corporations to pay their share in taxes (and stop exporting American jobs). But while the voters support those policies, the Republican Party doesn't.
That is why this same poll shows that 53% of all Americans say the Republicans need better policies, and only 38% think they need better leaders. When only Independents are considered, the numbers look much the same (53% to 40%). About 79% of Democrats think the Republican policies are the problem, while only 14% say it is their leaders.
It doesn't look like the Republicans got the message sent by the voters last November though. The party is controlled by a hard-headed base of teabaggers who just can't understand that their views are out of step with most Americans, and it is likely they will just continue trying to find some leader who can communicate their policies -- and they will keep losing. The truth is that the voters don't really care who is leading a party -- as long as they think that leader and his party have the best interests of the American people at heart. Right now, voters think the Republicans don't care for anyone but the rich and the corporations -- and they are right.
