Yes, it's that bad for the GOP

Chuck Todd Chief White House correspondent and political director • Profile

WASHINGTON -

There are a number of ugly debates going on inside the Republican Party right now.

There is the debate over whether or not there is even something wrong; there’s the debate over whether or not RNC chair Michael Steele should be trusted with making financial decisions for the party; there’s the debate over whether or not the party should come up with an alternative to being just a party for conservatives; and there’s the debate over whether or not all of this is just an over-reaction.

I have no stake in this other than as a junkie who enjoys a competitive political landscape.

And that is what is sad right now for junkies: things don’t even look that competitive anymore.

Barely glimmers of hope
I have yet to find a race where Republicans seem to be on the upswing just for being Republican when the Democrat in the race is an incumbent in some form. Sure, there are some glimmers of hope for the GOP but only in places where Democrats have unique problems.

Think about it: the New Jersey governor’s race is competitive because of a disastrous Democratic situation; the Virginia governor’s race is competitive because Democrats are in a nasty primary food fight and may end up nominating their most polarizing candidate; the Illinois senate race is competitive thanks to Roland “Blagojevich” Burris; the Delaware Senate race is also competitive thanks to more appointment shenanigans; and the Connecticut Senate race is competitive because Chris Dodd continues to self-destruct.

Things for the Republicans are bad, very bad. It is worse than just about any Republican wants to admit.

The party is defined too much by social issues and the brands of Bush and Cheney, rather than by what some in the party wish to define it by, mainly, limited government, personal freedom and a strong national defense.

One could argue the GOP made no progress on limiting government in their four years of total control, from 2002 to 2006. If anything, government expanded like never before.

From the Medicare prescription drug plan, to the creation of the Department of Homeland Security, and the passage of No Child Left Behind, President Bush presided over a major expansion of the reach of government.

Individually, strong cases can be made for all of these programs. But the big picture is clear for all to see: Under Republican rule, government got bigger and more intrusive.

Which brings us to personal freedoms: From the legislating of morality (Schiavo as the prime example), to the various conservative-led state bans on gay marriage, the Republicans did very little to expand personal freedoms and if anything looked like the party trying to take freedoms away.

Sure, on certain issues, like guns, the GOP stood by their personal freedom mantras, but there are few other examples.

And then there's the issue of national defense: George Bush's Republican Party did more to hurt the GOP’s historical advantage on national security issues than any Republican president in modern times.

In fact, if President Obama is able to get some big concrete successes on the foreign policy front during his presidency, he could relegate Bush to LBJ status -- the Democratic president, who along with Jimmy Carter, created the public perception deficit for Democrats on national security. To this day, the perception dogs Democrats.

But Obama has an opportunity to make foreign affairs a party strength, just as Bill Clinton helped push the economy into the hands of the Democrats.

So the GOP has a long way to go. To the credit of some inside the party, there is a serious awareness of this problem.

Battle around 'New America'
One effort getting a ton of attention is called the National Council for a New America. I’m not sure the title makes a lot of sense, as it feels a bit like it was created by a C+ student in an undergrad business program. But it’s something.

The only thing that surprises me about the concept is that it is the first major attempt by a prominent Republican or two to actually address the issues of the party. In fact, I can't believe we're not seeing more efforts like this one. It is being launched by Eric Cantor, the Republican Whip from Virginia, and former Governors Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney.

And yet, the level of ridicule some Republicans, particularly social conservatives, are throwing at them seems completely counterproductive.

Wake-up Republicans of all stripes: You are losing confidence with every part of the American political landscape, even among true believers. Anyone who doesn’t believe the party needs to change in some form needs their head examined.

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