Will The GOP Change After The Election? Unlike 2012, Will We Learn Any Lessons?
The above image was posted by former Rep. Allen West (R-FL) and years ago I was a big fan. I want more minorities in the GOP and I was hoping he would win higher office.
West served one term and was defeated in 2012 by a 29 year old nobody. West raised $19 million but defeated himself by making controversial and inappropriate comments.
They were popular on Fox News but not in his swing district. He has since left Ft. Lauderdale for Dallas, where he is a better fit. West has over 2.5 million followers and this image (above) was "liked" by 96,000 people.
It is a photo of Indians who live in Bangladesh, and West's comments were reprinted by Indian publications. Many Indian Americans are highly successful professional legal immigrants, but some in the GOP want to bash all immigrants.
There is an excellent case for stopping illegal immigration and sanctuary cities, but we too often appear to be denouncing all Hispanics.
We will soon know the verdict in FL, CO and NV. Col. West had an admirable military career and is knowledgeable about defense and foreign policy issues, but similar to some other GOP commentators, he goes too far.
It is fine to denounce radical Islamic terrorists and we should be focusing on the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and their allies. The problem is that West all too often blames every Muslim and Arab, despite the fact that many of them are our allies in the war on terror.
It is very popular with the Alt-Right, but we need to stop the hate rhetoric. America has changed and there is little we can do about it. Romney received 59% of the white vote. He would have won in 2012 if whites still equaled their 1980 percentage, but those days are not coming back.
There will be soul searching and a divisive civil war after the election. I don't want the GOP to be the populist party, but the nationalists are very strong.
We need to hold the Romney, McCain, Bush GOP base and the white working class. At the same time we have to improve our support with minorities.
I hope it is possible but the answer is not the harsh rhetoric of Ann Coulter, Laura Ingraham and Allen West.
The 2012 GOP autopsy said we should reach out to minorities, single women, and young people. We ridiculed and rejected it, and I don't know if anyone will listen in the weeks ahead.
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