Why We Should Offer an Olive Branch to the GOP

The GOP is in a state of disarray, and it's sent their party identification numbers slide down the slippery slope to irrelevance. Arlene Specter's defection is just one more indicator that the conservatives activists who dominated the party's national scene during the GWB Administration have alienated moderate conservatives.

The above graph from the recent Pew Research Center study on political identification finds that GOP identity is down in all regions of the country - even the South, a stronghold of the modern Republican party. The decline in GOP identity has not resulted in an increase in Democratic identity. This may be due to the trend that people are less likely to view President Obama as listening to the moderates in his party.

At the same time, young people are very much in favor of President Obama (70 percent), much more favorably than older Americans (55 percent). As progressive principles are becoming mainstream among Millennials, we should be careful not to become an inflexible bunch, like the right-wing conservatives that have driven Arlene Specter and others out of their party. As GOP moderates and others become more independent politically, we should take the big tent approach that is the foundation of democracy, and include as many "blue dogs" and moderates as possible. The reality is is that it's easier to work with someone on friendly rather than hostile terms. This is easier said then done, however, because partisan politics has heavy, entrenched machinery behind it, but we should take heart in the long view. To pick up on something President Obama said recently, "I'm a big believer that things are never as good as they seem and never as bad as they seem." That's probably true of the GOP, too. They are down, but not out, and as they rebuild their party we should try a new approach with our moderate friends from across the aisle and invite them to share their ideas as we upgrade our democracy to one focused on citizen-power, not ideology. Remember, our shared problems and opportunities are bigger than our differences.