Postmortem

The election of Barack Obama two weeks ago ushered in a new political and social age for our country. He ran an efficient, smart campaign that captivated voters from all walks of life. John McCain was right on the issues but failed to win the trust and support of the majority of the American people. I've waited to write my post election thoughts to see who the Republicans blamed for their failures nation wide. As I suspected they blamed everything and everyone besides themselves.

The nation wide election loss should signify to the party that significant change in leadership and approach to 21st century issues are needed in order for the GOP to survive and be successful once again. The party needs to find its identity in this emerging brave new world. Republicans speak of being a 'big tent' party but two weeks ago at a Republican 'big tent' BBQ I only saw a handful of Hispanics and youth. The majority of people under that tent were old, white, and their politics outdated...much like the party as a whole.

In response to the nation wide slaughter, party leadership is advocating for Republicans to return to their core conservative principles. This is such an easy and inferior excuse for them to offer because they used this same excuse two years ago when congress was lost. Returning to core principles is a small component to polishing the GOP brand, not the whole. They continue to use old excuses to solve old problems; for this very reason leadership needs to change.

Republicans have allowed different spheres of the party to redefine what a conservative is. This has alienated a significant amount of voters and contributed to the Democratic victory. Republicans need to define who they are and offer pragmatic solutions to modern day problems. While the base of the party is white, old, and evangelical the face of the nation is not.

John McCain lost this election because he played to this base just to solidify their wary support. His time and strategy spent on energizing these supporters (the so called base) allowed other groups of voters to fall through the cracks. President Bush won his base but what won him the presidency was independent and Hispanic voters. McCain lost these two groups overwhelmingly.

If the so called base of the party will only support candidates that pander solely to their ideological beliefs, the party is in store for a long exile into the desert of American politics.

This is the first entry in the New Mexico Politico's Postmortem thoughts. Check back tomorrow for Postmortem II.