Fractionalization, GOP Style

Back on October 23, 2012, I wrote my Country Values vs. Urban Realities? blog. The gist of the message is well summarized with this excerpt describing the conflict and transition of American values from rural and farm-centric to urban: “What is particularly interest then is how Republicans and Democrats address this difference. In his editorial on October 6^th, Kevin Baker analyzed the differences in an astounding piece in the New York Times. His conclusion? That the Republican Party overwhelmingly embraces these ‘country values’ at the almost total exclusion of concerns for urban problems.”

On December 30^th, I addressed The Hidden Price of Redistricting, noting how so many Gerrymandered House districts have been structured so as to be overwhelmingly Republican such that the local candidates are not running against Democrats in the election but against conservative Republicans in the primaries. The lack of sufficient swing voters in these districts has literally tanked these elected representatives from embracing the kind of Congressional compromise most Americans think they deserve, and dug in the underlying constituency into a rural value proposition that flies in the face of America’s obvious transition into an overwhelmingly urban society. Four fifths of Americans live in or around cities. But as long as these Gerrymandered districts sustain (which will endure until Democrats overcome this restructuring to win the House), and as long as there is a right to filibuster in the Senate, we are only deepening the divide between urban and rural factions.

Even within the Republican Party itself, there is a strong disdain for anything that smacks of city-orientation. Nothing could have highlighted this massive disconnect more than House Speaker John Boehner’s decision to table pending legislation that was to provide federal aid to the victims of Superstorm Sandy during the last minute machinations to keep the nation from going over the fiscal cliff. While he was forced to reverse direction under pressure from Republicans elected from impacted states (particularly New York, New Jersey and Connecticut), his incredibly callous initial reaction to providing such aid reflects this deep urban-vs-rural schism that may ultimately destroy the GOP ability to generate a national consensus. For anyone watching, it was clear that the GOP doesn’t really believe it represents the heavily urbanized (and generally perceived as liberal) Northeast.

After the House Speaker failed to take New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie’s initial telephone calls, when the governor did get the speaker on the line, the rage was less than subtle. “Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, a potential Republican presidential contender in 2016 [pictured above], said Mr. Boehner had refused to take his calls on [January 1^st] night. He accused the House leadership of duplicity and selfishness, saying the inaction ‘is why the American people hate Congress.’ … After finally getting through to Mr. Boehner on [January 2^nd] morning, Mr. Christie expressed doubt in the speaker’s word in his characteristically blunt way…‘I’m not going to get into the specifics of what I discussed with John Boehner today,’ he told reporters in New Jersey. ‘But what I will tell you is there is no reason at the moment for me to believe anything they tell me. Because they have been telling me stuff for weeks, and they didn’t deliver.’” New York Times, January 2^nd.

Other Republicans, who later retreated and suggested that they were happy with the speaker’s willingness to place the legislation back onto the House priority list, were equally nonplussed: “Representative Michael G. Grimm, a Republican whose Staten Island district was among the hardest hit, threatened not to vote for Mr. Boehner in the election for speaker this week. Representative Peter T. King, a Long Island Republican whose constituents also suffered huge losses in the storm, urged New York’s well-heeled donor community not to contribute to Mr. Boehner’s Republican majority… The anger that surfaced seemed to come as a bit of a shock to Mr. Boehner, who quickly sought to contain any political fallout…

“As much as the outcry spoke of the extraordinary dissension within the Republican ranks, it also underscored another political reality: the relative lack of clout that Northeastern states like New York have in the House, a chamber dominated by conservatives from the South and Midwest… In many respects, lawmakers from the region must frequently contend with the perception, whether fair or not, that the region they represent is a liberal bastion that is politically and culturally out of touch with the rest of the country.” NY Times. Republican lawmakers from impacted states were forced to call the influential Wall Street contributors and supporters of the Republican Party to enlist their aid in the battle to achieve aid for their constituencies. They couldn’t do it on their own.

Today, the Republican Party is bitter, angry and divided, seemingly pledged to return the United States to the rural “apple pie” values that hardly represent the urban-heavy mainstream anymore. Diehard GOP gun owners scream that the Second Amendment allows them to retain their mini-weapons of mass destruction (oversized magazines and assault rifles), people-killing systems, precisely because it gives them power to overthrow a government that they believe may oppress them… even if that oppression comes from a majority vote. Does this mean that if this angry minority doesn’t get to dictate their mandate for America, they will feel justified in killing those who disagree with them?

“Infighting has penetrated the highest levels of the House GOP leadership. Long-standing geographic tensions have increased, pitting endangered Northeastern Republicans against their colleagues from other parts of the country. Enraged tea party leaders are threatening to knock off dozens of Republicans who supported a measure that raised taxes on the nation's highest earners… ‘People are mad as hell. I'm right there with them,’ Amy Kremer, chairman of the Tea Party Express, said late last week, declaring that she has ‘no confidence’ in the party her members typically support. Her remarks came after GOP lawmakers agreed to higher taxes but no broad spending cuts as part of a deal to avert the ‘fiscal cliff.’… ‘Anybody that voted `yes' in the House should be concerned’ about primary challenges in 2014, she said.” Huffington Post, January 5^th. Think there will be Congress that can find a path to move forward through compromise? Neither do I.

With global climate change equally impacting rural regions with unprecedented drought and with southern states vulnerable to storm surges and hurricanes, the fact that the GOP was so completely “against” a part of the land (as opposed to being “for” helping devastated areas) shows how deep and fractious their bias is. To Republicans seeking a new path to embrace a larger constituency, the attitude of this GOP contingent is a wake-up call to Party organizers. The trend toward non-white, urban voters is unstoppable. Former Utah governor and Republican presidential candidate, Jon Huntsman, put it this way on December 30th, criticizing his party’s obstructionist stance and accusing them of being “devoid of a soul.”

I’m Peter Dekom, and at a time when we should be figuring out how to work together, our elected representatives seem to be trying to figure out how to divide us further.