Kathleen Parker hit the nail on the head with today’s column. Known as an ultra-conservative columnist, I hardly ever agree with what she writes. But her article, titled “Giving Up on God,” was an honest assessment of the GOP’s woefully pathetic state of affairs.
I felt refreshed reading it. Seriously. You should read it.
Basically, she admits that party leaders cower to the religious right — thus creating a party totally out of sync with the American public. No longer is the party setting an agenda that the American people believe in. The party isn’t relating to a diverse group of people. At this point, Republicans can’t get out of their own way.
You know what the GOP has turned into? That crazy Bible-thumping man who stands on the street shouting scripture at passers by. Screaming at busy intersections isn’t going to get someone to convert. Nor will forcing religion on voters. As Parker says:
So it has been for the Grand Old Party since the 1980s or so, as it has become increasingly beholden to an element that used to be relegated to wooden crates on street corners.
Which is to say, the GOP has surrendered its high ground to its lowest brows. In the process, the party has alienated its non-base constituents, including other people of faith (those who prefer a more private approach to worship), as well as secularists and conservative-leaning Democrats who otherwise might be tempted to cross the aisle.
Amen.