We talked earlier about former Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and his recent criticisms of his Republican Party. On MSNBC this morning, former Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) was asked whether she agrees with Dole's concerns.
"Well, I certainly do agree with the former Majority Leader Bob Dole with whom I worked when I first entered the Senate and who was a consensus builder and understood what was essential and what was important for the Republican Party and what was important for America. And that unfortunately has been lost today, on Capitol Hill.
"And yes, Republicans do bear responsible, as do the Democrats. You have to work together. And obviously, the Republican Party is undergoing some significant and serious changes and they're going to have to rethink their approach as a political party, and how they're going to regroup and become a governing majority party that appeals to a broader group of Americans than they do today."
That's a sensible assessment, which Republican officials will deliberately ignore. Indeed, they feel like they have no choice -- if GOP leaders "rethink their approach as a political party," becomes a "governing" party, and "appeals to a broader group of Americans," they will face primary opponents and lose.
It's why Republicans have no use for the policy ideas embraced by the GOP during the Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan eras, and it's also why Republicans have even less use for officials like Lugar, Bennett, Specter, Inglis, and Crist, who prioritized governing so much, they lost their jobs, lost their role in the GOP, or both.
