ELEPHANT’S EDGE, The Republicans as a Ruling Party

[Frank Bellamy, MAP Masters of Applied Politics]

ELEPHANT'S EDGE
The Republicans as a Ruling Party
Taylor, Andrew J., 2005, 319 Pages
////////////
Introduction & Theme

Upon selecting this book, it was my interpretation that I would be wowed by how the Republican Political Party has become the majority party of America.  And to the contrary, my knowledge of political domination through majority rule was turned on its ear.  The author did a masterful job of detailing the many facets of how a political party [The Republicans] of the minority could rule the political atmosphere of our nation. 


The author's support his thesis "the Republicans as a ruling party" surpasses the mere notion of that,  a political party's occupation of elected offices gives them instant political rule.  This book notes how political tactics, constitutional advantages, judicial governing, high tech electioneering, foreign and domestic policy shifting has helped in giving the Republican party its political edge.  In 2002  Karl Rove, said that "something is going on out there" and that party politics "are moving in a new direction" also, Terry McAulliffe's sentiment that, in the election, "if the Republicans had an edge...it was tactical rather than ideological".


The political edge that's enjoyed by the Republican party as stated by the author, is partially rooted at the federal constitutional levels of equal state senatorial representation, other statute and electoral rules .  This equal federal level of representation gives the smaller populated states the same political policy advantages as that of larger populated states.  The Republican party's  pursuit and appeal of voters in smaller populated states has proven to be the factor that solidifies its rule at the federal and federal judicial levels of government.  "Individual residents of smaller states consequently have quantitatively greater representation in the Senate than those of larger
ones.  At its most dramatic extreme, this means that a voter from Wyoming has about 67.5 times as much influence on the body than does a person from California". 


Also, the Democrats who were once very successful at controlling House levels of government thought congressional redistricting is now being beat at their own game.  The Republicans in states where "gerrymandering" is controlled by its state legislature are showing strong consistencies in retaining Republican elected officials.


The Republican party has also very cleverly altered American governmental practices through its envelopment in the selection of Federal Judges,  hence creating the possibility for more conservative judicial governing ["Governing Stealthily"] through public policy applications. 

This Republican rule effects the implementation of public policy laws with a conservative edge.  The Republican rule as the author notes,  also encompasses Domestic and Foreign Policy practices and appearances. This Republican rule on the Domestic Policy side has in affect gutted all constituency and political supporter benefits for Democrats.  The Foreign Policy rule of the Republicans are simply an appearance of being the stronger and more unified political party
during this period of global unrest and Americans seem to like that unity.                         


The Criticisms of this book


One of my major criticisms of this book is that the author failed to fully explore the ideological underpinnings of the Republican party.  Much of the Republican party's rule and the perpetuation of this ruling nature in politics today,  is centered around its stern adherence to its publicly perceived ideology.   The Republican ideology is often viewed and subtle projected as; God is on our side, we are right and mostly comprised of whites [God, Guns and No Gays]. 


This ideology is considered to be more important than the deluge of political corruption within the Republican party and its officeholders that spans many years "In 1974, Republican violations of campaign finance laws as well as evidence of other misdeeds led to the resignation of President Nixon to avoid impeachment, making him the first American president to resign from office" Morin, Isobel V. Politics "American Style", 1999, Pages 144


Its often politically incorrect to mention race as a luring factor in politics, but we all know that it is present.  Often, just a simple wink and a nod is needed to reaffirm this ideology of superiority to new and staunch Republican Party Members.  This unspoken perception is the magic that can swing elections.  The Republican party is starting to show signs of overt ideological recruitment rallying on elite levels and suggesting cultural exclusiveness at its lower ranks.  Subtle political inferences within the Republican party are giving rise to a growing suggestion for exclusion of others based on race, religion and life styles.  By no means is this a bad thing.  The Republican
party is playing to its Right Wing strengths as a means to grow its membership and the Democrat party is conversely doing the same.


The Discussion & Conclusion


My internship experience is related to this book in Chapter 7, "The Well-Oiled Machine: The Republican Party Organization, Allied Interests, and Political Money".  My internship at the Mahoning County Republican Headquarters exposed me to the local party structures as well as involving me in RNC [Republican National Committee] and ORP [Ohio Republican Party] voter identification surveying.  Voter identification surveying is only one ingredient of the Republican Party's Voter Vault repository of potential Republican voters.  The Republican party is not only embarking on voter identification methods but also using basic consumer information to generate party political platforms, media framing and candidate talking points.


The following statement by the author best describes the Republican Political Party Organization's atmosphere today; "It is today, a mammoth institution made up of myriad interlocking parts each consisting of diligent and motivated activist led skillfully by a cadre of savvy and sometimes-inspirational elites".  One example of the Republican dogmatic political style even at the primary levels is noted as; "In late May 1976 Ronald Reagan had Gerald Ford
on the ropes in the Republican race for the presidential nomination...An unsigned White House memo distributed after the Texas [Ford] loss concluded, We are in real danger of being out-organized by a small number of highly motivated right-wing nuts" Kline, Joe "Politics Lost", 2006, Pages 256.


In my opinion, the Republican party's organizational, political and fundraising methods should be required reading for all political candidates and officeholders seeking re-election.  The ideological views of the Republican party is almost secondary to the winning political/fundraising methods used by this party.  It is truly obvious to me that the Republican party will be winning more elections across our nation regardless of concerns about the War on Terrorism and economic conditions.       


Citation of Works Reviewed

Morin, Isobel V. Politics "American Style", 1999, Pages 144

Kline, Joe "Politics Lost", 2006, Pages 256