Forum Post: GOP soft on principles, hard of understanding

GOP leaders are busy telling each or the and the party faithful (and I use the term advisedly) that they need to change their positions before the next election.

During the campaign a few of their candidates made the mistake of telling the truth (re rape) that many of their smarter candidates would never say into a video recording device. Then the others said they would never say what those guys said (although they all actually believed the same radical positions, they wouldn't say them in those exact words.) So, the guys who were dumb enough to tell the truth lost. But some of the other guys who didn't tell the truth also lost.

And Romney (who believes that the truth is whatever I need to say to the people I am speaking to right this minute, but the next speech has to be different because they are different people and won't except those positions, and by they way, he meant what he said about the 47%, after denying it.) also lost, for reasons no GOP experts can agree upon.

So, after the election, some have decided that next time they should talk nicer and not mention their radical positions. (It worked in 2010 when they talked about jobs during the campaign then passed dozens of radical social bills while all jobs bills gathered dust.) Others say, "Even though these are our foundation principles, we should do what Romney did in the debates, just adopt all of the Dems positions during the campaign and then..." Well, you know the rest of that sentence. So the Etch a Sketch page changes completely from the Primary to the General, and then changes again after the election.

So, are the GOP soft on their principles, or soft on character?: Both? Are they, as my wife says I am, "hard of understanding?" Do they (as my wife says I do) hear what the electorate is telling them and just ignore it?

Maybe the reason they lose is that the electorate does fully understand the "principles that they hold dear," And maybe they understand the character that allows them to say one thing while believing another. And maybe they just flat disagree with them.

Maybe the only way they get any credibility is to cooperate in passing legislation that returns women's rights to make their own reproductive and healthcare decisions, and to allow people who love each other to marry, and to allow people who have lived here for years while being exploited by rich white guys to raise the kids who know only the US, and take the money out of elections and governance and that would be a down payment that would demonstrate they understand that they have been on the wrong side of these issues. Until then, they look like they are soft on principles and their principles are wrong and they fail to understand that freedom applies to women and gays and immigrants and the poor.