During the Republican primary campaign, I fell victim to the “Moderate Myth.”  I believed that the atmosphere created by a pork-loving Republican Congressional majority and the ire of the left directed at Bush, and therefore, the whole party, meant that the only way we could get an R in the White House was to put up John McCain, a moderate Republican, as our candidate. (H/T: Hot Air)

Boy, was I wrong.  I see now that John McCain is lucky he didn’t lose my more; in fact, the only reason he was up so high is because of his VP pick — conservative darling and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin. 

The problem with the Republican party is not the ideas — it’s the perception.  Liberals, minorities, and many independents see us as a bunch of male Caucasian religious zealots, who love their guns and their money, poor people be damned.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

First myth — we are all Caucasian, and mostly male.  On the contrary; there are a LOT of women in the party (google Republican women sometime).  And we don’t hate ourselves nor are we trying to please our “oppressors.”  There are also minorities in the party.  Just look at the names being thrown out as future leaders of the party: Michael Steele, Bobby Jindal, Sarah Palin, Tim Pawlenty, Mark Sanford.  Three fifths of those names are not Caucasian males.  (I would throw Michael Williams in there, too, although he doesn’t have a presence outside of Texas… yet.)

So why are minorities and women so anti-Republican?  Mostly they are misinformed.  Think of it this way: many believe Democrats are the party of the poor and Republicans are the party of the rich.  They believe Republicans want power so they can keep the rich rich and voting for them.  So, wouldn’t that mean the Democrats need to keep the poor poor in order to stay in power, too?

Women and minorities tend to have the mindset that they are oppressed.  What Republicans do is put the responsibility back on the individual.   People don’t want to see themselves as failures, so they often turn outside themselves to find reasons for that failure.  The problem is that women and minorities are often told that the mean old Republicans keep the government from helping them, and that becomes the focus.  Instead of doing something different to succeed, they spend their time trying to change the government knowing that once changed, their lives will be magically different.  If that is the case, take a look at some of the most liberal states and cities and see how their minority populations live.   There is so much more to write on this issue, but I will save it for another post another day.

Second myth — Republicans are religious zealots.  I think the main reasons for that statement are the stances on gay marriage and abortion taken by the GOP.  Yes, these stances are based on several religious tenets, but they are also based on what we see are societal woes that have been perpetuated by the “do it if it feels good” mentality.  Sanctioning gay marriage and abortion are seen as sanctioning behaviors that don’t positively contribute to society.  The gay marriage issue is more difficult due to the behavior vs. genetics issue.  However, abortion has a clear root in behavior, and I would argue that routine abortion has encouraged the “sex without consequences” mentality.  Again, this goes back to a basic Republican principle — personal responsibility (the rape / incest issue is a whole other matter — most abortions are not performed for this reason).

Third myth — we LOVE us some guns!  Well, that is pretty much true.  But it is our RIGHT — an actual RIGHT enumerated in the Constitution — to have guns.  Some want to hunt, some shoot for sport, and others keep a gun for safety.  As long as you are trained, you can use a gun responsibly and effectively.  Almost all registered gun owners never turn their guns on another person.  But think about some of those circumstances that come up often when you might want to have that protection — the Katrina aftermath is one that comes quickly to mind.  If you were stuck at your home with your supplies and family, what would you do?

Final myth — we love our MONEY!  Who doesn’t?  But how do you want to get it?  Do you want someone else to work for it and give it to you in increments, or do you want the opportunities to be able to make as much of it as you want for yourself?  And opportunity = education.  That, I think, is one place where Republicans and Democrats agree.  However, throwing more money at schools DOES NOT make the students magically successful.  The D.C. school district spends the most money per student in the country, and yet it is the least successful.  Some of the most successful districts spend the least amount of money. 

How does that happen?  Well, it’s all about the teachers.  We need to CHANGE how our schools work; that is the only way all children will get the education they deserve.  Unions need to be removed.  Bureaucracy needs to be removed.  The less money spent at the top, the more that can go directly to teachers.  And teacher pay needs to be merit-based.  I know it’s difficult to determine the metrics here, but it needs to be done somehow. 

One of the best programs that helps poor children get a better education is the voucher system.  Democrats will NEVER allow that to happen; Republicans WILL.  Money follows success.  Good schools THRIVE, and failures fall by the wayside — as they should.  So many are mad at the taxpayer dollars being used to prop up banks that should have failed a long time ago.  Well, we’ve been doing that with schools for YEARS.

To wrap up, this myth that moderate Republicanism will bring more people to the tent is false.  We ARE the big tent party, but we need to remove the perceptions that we aren’t.  I think the new leaders can do it if they get their heads on straight.  They are so afraid of being seen as against Obama and his popularity that they are beginning to hem and haw when asked direct questions again.  Republicans were fantastic when going up against the Porkulus plan, but they didn’t sell it well enough.  All the public saw was us saying no. 

I knew the Republicans put up an alternative, but who else did?  They should have gone on EVERY talk show and stuck to the talking points (like Dems do) about the alternative plan (REAL tax cuts and twice the jobs for half the cost).  If they just kept repeating it instead of just talking about the frisbee golf courses and STD prevention, they might have won more points.  Can you imagine the difference in the story if they would have just kept repeating “Why would Obama, by his own models, want to spend twice the amount of money for half the amount of jobs?”

Update: Karl at Patterico has a slightly different take.  While I agree we will need a better messenger, as argued above, I think that new policy proposals don’t need to be rooted in new ideas.  We need to apply our conservative principles to the cliched “kitchen table” issues in a way that will make Republican candidates more accessible and appealing to those who self identify as Democrats but don’t understand how much they agree with Republicans on issues that matter most to them.