On Election Day, American voters stepped into voting booths, took a collective deep breath and sent a clear message. Four more years.

President Barack Obama has built a broad and diverse coalition of supporters and emboldened his presidential legacy with a second term.

In a period of great frustration with our elected officials, Americans chose the status quo over a change in leadership. Despite historic political gains for Republicans in the 2010 midterm election, just two years later the party has completely fallen apart.

At the center of the downfall is Mitt Romney, the unwilling standard-bearer for what used to be called “The Party of Ideas.” In 2012, Republicans turned into “The Party of Ideology” and threw away a terrific chance to regain control of the executive branch.

The Romney campaign was a microcosm of more fundamental problems with the national Republican Party. Without significant changes, the Grand Old Party can expect more Election Night defeats like Tuesday.

On Election Night, the dichotomy between the two parties was as clear as day.

Obama’s victory rally in Chicago featured a diverse, electric crowd and a podium embossed with the presidential seal. Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered” was cranked to full volume. Obama’s supporters waved American flags, not political banners.

Romney’s concession speech was especially emotional. His words were genuine and sincere, delivered swiftly and directly. He certainly didn’t look like Bain Capital’s “Big Bad Mitt,” which the Obama campaign labeled him throughout the election season. But Romney wasn’t going to waste any time on stage, and his short speech offered little inspiration. Romney’s voice was soft; you could almost hear the faint whispers from the audience asking whether Paul Ryan would run in 2016.

Romney is a modern political Hamlet — haunted by the ghost of his father’s failed presidential bid and dealt a lethal blow from the poisoned blade of the Republican Party. A party he was supposed to be leading.

It’s as if an entire generation is slipping away from Republicans. Look at the voters that turned out overwhelmingly for Obama — African Americans; Latinos; women; lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people — and look at the groups Republicans clashed with throughout this election.

 

It wasn’t Obama’s handling of the economy that mobilized his voting bloc. It was fringe Republican stances on voter ID laws, immigration, women’s reproductive rights and marriage equality that delivered Obama the election.

Political operatives like Karl Rove and Grover Norquist, or talk radio personalities like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, don’t represent mainstream conservative ideals, but it seems that those are the only people Republicans listened to in 2012.

In 2008, we saw an election of change. America has changed. The Republican Party has to change.

It must stay committed to smaller government and fiscal responsibility, skeptical of spending and the growth of the public sector. Republicans don’t have to sell their souls to liberal Democrats, but they must shake the hubris that comes with winning the white male vote. They need to adapt their social policies to better reflect the electorate — an electorate that has twice chosen Barack Obama as president.

It’s a new America. An America that Republicans should study up on.

Jared Kraham is a senior political science and broadcast journalism major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at jmkraham@syr.edu and followed on Twitter @JaredKraham.

 

Published on November 10, 2012 at 3:22 pm