With the 2012 election in the rearview mirror, the Republican Party is in the midst of large turnover. Mitt Romney—the GOP’s torch-bearer for much of 2012—has faded into the political background, busier watching boxing than offering words of leadership for his party. Paul Ryan has been nowhere to speak of during debt negotiations. Karl Rove and Dick Morris’ optimistic GOP platitudes have disappeared from the airwaves. John Boehner is the most visible face of the party during the fiscal cliff standoff but there are already murmurs about replacing him as Speaker of the House.
The party—which has been dominated by Tea Party spokesmen in recent years—is in need of a new voice. 2016’s golden crop of presidential candidates has lost luster in recent weeks. Chris Christie’s emphatic support of Obama in the wake of Hurricane Sandy has led many conservatives to disavow him from the party. Marco Rubio’s comparison of evolution teachings to Communist indoctrination bodes ill for his attempts to reach swing voters. Rick Perry has three.. err two… things to fix before he gives the national circuit another chance.
Large gaps among not only Hispanics and African Americans but Jews and Asian-Americans must trouble Republican leadership. The GOP suffers in the media from its loudest voices, and it needs not only a change of tone but a change of face. Ted Cruz, the incoming senator from Texas with impressive judicial laurels, is a step in the right direction. Ryan has been silent recently, but his presence on the ticket galvanized the party.
