Republicans See Big Chance But Worry They Could Waste It

As the midterm elections are fastly approaching, Republicans feel they may have methods to recapture their votes-the problem is that they are unsure of how to properly mobilize. They are considering their "get-out-the-vote operation," hoping for grass-roots enthusiasm. However, they are unsure of how they might be able to surpass President Obama's consistently high and respectful ratings. They do not necessarily want to run against the Democratic Party, but want to discover an alternative agenda. They have proposed a new program called "America Speaking Out." With this, lawmakers will be listening to Republican supporters, who will be indirectly dictating their new agenda. In the fall, the party will take all of its supporters' ideas and transform them into policy proposals for the upcoming Congress. Republicans still maintain much in their favor, considering the fact that many voters have widespread feelings that government has become too expansive (after Obama's health care bill). Altogether, the economic recovery has not shown huge signs of success, with the unemployment rate still very high. Last month, Republicans raised more more than Democrats, possibly foreshadowing that they will be able to fundraise more money by the time November comes around. According to Thomas M. Reynolds, former New York Congressman, "We still have an angry electorate that both Democrats and Republicans face and our candidates need to talk abut what matters at home and what they are going to do about it from an unpopular Washington." Clearly, as we had discussed in class, our candidates are not receiving sufficient support from the public because they are not using grass-roots politics. They are representing majority opinion and not the views of the local areas they represent. That explains why many small, local areas in the country are underrepresented and suffering from this. Altogether, the Republicans have an extensive battle to fight. They left a very poor impression when they were in office recently, and lately the Democrats have generally pleased the American public. Supporting the public's ideas are essential to being an adequate politician, and if these parties become overly interested in their own personal views, our country's general state will suffer.