By Kevin Rogers
Assistant Opinion Editor
For Republicans, Tuesday was a pretty disappointing night.
All of the perceived momentum nominee Mitt Romney was gathering turned out to be a flop, with only two states Obama carried in 2008 swinging to Romney. Despite an illusion of enthusiasm, Romney wound up with fewer votes than John McCain in 2008, according to a Nov. 7 NewsBusters story. Senate seats which should’ve been pickups or holds were lost to Democrats.
The results have divided the Republican base. Fresh off President Barack Obama’s victory, The Tea Party Patriots, one of the nation’s most prominent conservative groups, decried Romney as a “weak moderate candidate, hand-picked by the Beltway elites and country-club establishment,” according to a Nov. 7 U.S. News and World Report story.
True, Romney was the favorite of the establishment this election cycle. But ultimately, Romney beat out every other Republican challenger based on the decisions of the average Republican voter. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul couldn’t gather the necessary coalition to win; Romney did.
And yes, Romney is a moderate, but it’s simply not true that he presented a weak challenger to Obama. He put forth a commendable effort and kept things much more competitive than his predecessor. In 2008, we knew McCain would crash and burn; this time things were at least interesting.
What’s more troubling about this statement from the Tea Party Patriots is the threat of further divide among Republicans and conservatives. If we couldn’t put a Republican in the White House or pick up seats, the blame falls on the entire conservative mobilization effort, not just on Romney.
The right can’t afford to crumble in the aftermath of this election. It needs to refocus and rebuild for the future. Tuesday night was a disappointing blow, but it’s not the end. We’re still where we were before Tuesday, and now is not the time for a civil war. It is a time to regroup and unify.
Texas Sen. John Cornyn, chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, expressed similar sentiments in his post-election comments, according to a Nov. 7 Politico story. Cornyn predicted that there would be a “period of reflection and recalibration ahead from the Republican Party.” Cornyn called on Republicans to come together to build a “stronger Republican Party.”
The Tea Party base and the Republican establishment don’t need to be mutually exclusive parties. In essence, both are fighting for the same ideals. The key comes in meeting somewhere between to develop a platform that doesn’t compromise core values but offers an area of agreement.
This doesn’t mean we can’t have challenges to Republican incumbents. But those races shouldn’t be decided on an invisible war between populists and the establishment. Voters need to be decided on the grounds of which candidate can best articulate conservative values to the general public.
Luckily, the Republican Party isn’t without its share of leaders who can present the argument. Vice presidential nominee and Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is an ideal example of a leader who can appeal to both Republican demographics. Others, including Sen. Marco Rubio (Fla.), Gov. Susana Martinez (N.M.) and Sen. Kelly Ayotte (N.H.) are strong leaders who can articulate the conservative argument in the future.
The 2012 election offers a lesson for the Republican Party and the Tea Party. A fractured party is not the way forward. Republicans can’t effectively campaign against Democrats when they’re fighting each other. The party already has the skilled, young leadership that can carry the torch for the future party. It needs to regroup and coalesce around these leaders.
If establishment and Tea Party Republicans can take the time to reassess their priorities, join forces and put the right mouthpieces in front of the American people, they can avoid the humiliation of Tuesday night in the future and become a party that can appeal to the general public.
