The Republicans are gearing up to fight the Obama agenda. The key battleground will be the Senate.
Paul Krugman took a look at the Republican Party of 2008, which is still using the same tactics it has used for 40 years. But, the country is different and the GOP is basically a clique of right wing Southerners:
But America in 1993 was a very different country — not just a country that had yet to see what happens when conservatives control all three branches of government, but also a country in which Democratic control of Congress depended on the votes of Southern conservatives. Today, Republicans have taken away almost all those Southern votes — and lost the rest of the country. It was a grand ride for a while, but in the end the Southern strategy led the G.O.P. into a cul-de-sac.The GOP Senate is controlled by obstructionist Mitch McConnell from Kentucky. Over the past few weeks, we've seen Louisiana's David Vitter (of D.C. Madam infamy) emerge as a leading voice, too.
Mr. Obama therefore has room to be bold. If Republicans try a 1993-style strategy of attacking him for promoting big government, they’ll learn two things: not only has the financial crisis discredited their economic theories, the racial subtext of anti-government rhetoric doesn’t play the way it used to.
Today's LA Times also looked at the GOP, with an eye towards the so-called moderates in the Senate. But, the moderates won't set the agenda, the hard core, right wing Southerners will:
The election results -- by depleting moderate Republican ranks -- leave the congressional GOP more dominated than ever by its more dauntless conservatives, such as Sens. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) and Tom Coburn (R-Okla.), who led the charge in the lame-duck session that killed an auto industry bailout.The GOP will wield the filibuster and do everything they can to obstruct the Obama agenda. It'll be interesting to see what the "moderates" like Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe do. They really have no place in that caucus.
Moderate Republicans worry that their party's conservative wing is not going to change its ways in response to the GOP's election drubbing.
"I would hope that the more conservative members of our caucus would take a look at these election results," Collins said. "It's difficult to make the argument that our candidates lost because they were not conservative enough."
It remains to be seen how aggressively Republicans will try to wield the filibuster threat. They have recently signaled they will fight Obama's economic recovery plan if it moves too quickly. But there are political risks if the GOP is seen as obstructionist at a time when voters are clamoring for economic relief and change.
I've written this before, but it's worth repeating. In 2006, there were 55 GOP Senators. In 2009, there are 41 GOP Senators. They've lost 25% of their caucus -- and they're keeping the same old strategy.
So, the GOP strategy is working -- for us, not them.
