Xfinity News: Jindal: GOP must stop being 'stupid party'

[KAOSkins]

He will be a player,but the star to be pushed is Rubio........Steady as ya go....full speed ahead

I understand white, middle aged folks from back east thinking that - but really, Mexican Americans (en-mass) will vote for a right wing Cuban American when that dead horse wins the derby. Hispanic is why think the right wants him as a poster boy. Hispanic as a voting block and as a homogeneous group of people is a figment of our national imagination. Mexicans have a whole nother agenda compared to Cubans and are a separate block IMO.

Guess when you got nothing else you have to make do.

[Riggo-toni]

You'll take our stupidity when you can pry it from our cold dead hands!

[Duckus]

The problem isn't that some members of the GOP keep saying offensive and bizarre things - it is that they truly believe deep down that those offensive and bizarre things are right.

It is not a few people - it is hundreds of elected officials across the country, especially on a local level. I can name probably 30 just here in Texas - birthers, racists, anti-science, conspiracy theorist, etc. It is like that in every state across the country.

The "new" GOP seems to think the solution is just to get their crazy members to stop talking. 1) That not going to happen 2) The problem is they exist and are a big part of your party.

[twa]

in macro, this out of touch, hardline base that keeps them from nominating moderates is causing real damage every single cycle.

sounds like a weak argument when Mittens ran away with the nomination....if he ain't moderate enough for you ,well damn

KAO they can pull in as many or more than the old white guys

besides the Americans will

[Leonard Washington]

I don't understand why the GOP had to make this news. I don't think calling yourself the "stupid party" in public is a good move. They should have these frank discussion in private and maybe issue a press release that is more complimentary.

The Republican party needs young leadership in the worst way. They need to stop focusing on the way things were and focus on today. Use your "values" to create plans all Americans can live with vs. your "base".<---both parties should do that

Jindal still looks too methodical and like he practices every gesture.

[Duckus]

You are honestly going to ignore the fact they already are doing so?

how did Rubio and Cruz become Senators in the two most populous red states w/o getting votes?
the Gov of NM?

watching Cruz is gonna be entertaining

Curz is interesting. He is smart. He has phenominal debate and public speaking abilities and can comes across as likeable. But he is also insane. He makes Rick Perry look rational and honest. He has zero appeal nationally in my opinion. I think he will be in the Senate for a while, but I don't think Cruz could ever win an election outside of Texas. He is far to tea party extreme. He is a Hispanic Rick Santorum.

Cruz didn't exactly have impressive support with Hispanics in Texas. I will see if I can find the exit polling, but I was surprised that he got such a low % of the vote.

Edit. Found it: Cruz got 6% better than Romney did with Hispanic in Texas. Obama won 70-30. So, I wouldn't say the Texas GOP is doing a great job appealing to Hispanics. They are doing better than national, but still far below what I would consider impressive. There is a difference between running a Hispanic and winning based mostly on base voters (white, rural) than appealing to Hispanic voters and winning based on a big new universe of voters and supporters into your base. The election of Ted Cruz, by the numbers, doesn't indicate that happening, yet.

http://blog.chron.com/kuffsworld/201...r-republicans/

[Vilandil Tasardur]

I don't understand why the GOP had to make this news. I don't think calling yourself the "stupid party" in public is a good move. They should have these frank discussion in private and maybe issue a press release that is more complimentary.

The Republican party needs young leadership in the worst way. They need to stop focusing on the way things were and focus on today. Use your "values" to create plans all Americans can live with vs. your "base".<---both parties should do that

Jindal still looks too methodical and like he practices every gesture.

I don't know. As a moderate liberal who would like to vote Republican (because of fiscal issues) but can't (because of social issues and religious craziness), I appreciate the party attempting to come to reason for people like me. I appreciate the party looking me in the eye (sort of) and saying "Hey, we can cut spending and be financially responsible without denouncing science desperately clinging to the idea of religion in our politics despite religious freedom being a tenant of our nation."

I appreciate them saying it. But they won't get my vote until they do it.

[twa]

Curz is interesting. He is smart. He has phenominal debate and public speaking abilities and can comes across as likeable. But he is also insane. He makes Rick Perry look rational and honest.

I think I like him now.....gonna drive ya'll bat**** crazy.

[Buford]

I don't know. As a moderate liberal who would like to vote Republican (because of fiscal issues) but can't (because of social issues and religious craziness), I appreciate the party attempting to come to reason for people like me. I appreciate the party looking me in the eye (sort of) and saying "Hey, we can cut spending and be financially responsible without denouncing science desperately clinging to the idea of religion in our politics despite religious freedom being a tenant of our nation."

I appreciate them saying it. But they won't get my vote until they do it.

So, when you say the party is attempting coming to reason for people like you..... who else do you mean? I would look at their leaders. Boehner, McConnell, Cantor, Rush, Beck, etc. Are they evolving their stances socially? Do any of them have a career of practicing what they preach fiscally?

[Duckus]

I think I like him now.....gonna drive ya'll bat**** crazy.

Actually, no problem with me.

I don't hate him. He says what he believes and he doesn't hide his intentions. I can respect that more than some conservatives. He is crazy, but at least he says it.

But, he is going to drive the national GOP establishment much crazier than Texas progressives. He is in Washington now and really has very little effect on our state - he is not our problem now! His power is marginalized and will mostly spend the next several years trying to slowdown national legislation.

It is the GOP that Cruz has to work with, and he has already shown he is not willing to budge from his more extreme social conservative tea party (even a few conspiracy theories) ideas which I am sure is giving the GOP heartburn. He doesn't help the "stupid party" problem.

[zoony]

I think I like him now.....gonna drive ya'll bat**** crazy.

Since when is Stupid considered edgey?

Perry didnt drive anyone crazy. Everyone stood in awe that someone could be that dumb and be the Governor of a large state and a candidate for the GOP

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Agree or should they stay the course?

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/...S.Republicans/



Odds on Jindal regaining some of the headliner status he had a few years ago? I think Paul Ryan has already fizzled as a Young Lion for the GOP.

Its nice to hear, but I don't think Jindal understands the difference between smart and dumb. I think a lot of these speeches are coming from guys who are saying nothing different policy wise from any other republican. And, I'd be pleasantly surprised if Jindal was going to actually offer something different, and smart.

[thebluefood]

Not going to pile on here.

Just want to say that this is a welcome development. The country needs the competent, intellectually honest GOP back.

Even though I am a liberal Democrat and the current trends in the GOP are very welcome to my party from an electoral/demographic point of view, I would rather have good intelligent Republicans in there even if we end up losing a lot of elections to them.


as an aside, anyone who thinks that GOP base voters will not vote for Rubio or other conservative minorities is out of their minds. Hell, Herman Cain was the GOP frontrunner for a while, and he was mindbogglingly unqualified to be President.

I've said it many times before: I'm a Republican in exile. I love what the Republican Party was: a sensible party that had lively liberal, moderate and conservative wings.

I want to be a Republican, but there's no way I can do that when they're in their current state and they don't look to be getting any better.

Republicans need to ask themselves: would Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Nelson Rockefeller or even Nixon, Barry Goldwater or Reagan have anything to do with their party today? A party that believes Rick Santorum and Rick Perry (apologizes to our resident Texans) are viable candidates in national elections? A party that made a moderate like Romney sprint to the right in order to win primaries?

The Republican Party is living in their own little fantasy world. Until they join the rest of us in reality, they can forget about taking the White House or the Senate back. They're lucky to have the House of Representatives.

[alexey]

...
in short, the problem is that the GOP has a big enough pool of crazies to skew their primaries so far right that the winner often can't get elected in the general even in otherwise-favorable situations.
...

Well, actually they have a plan B - legislation to allocate Electoral College votes based on congressional districts. This takes full advantage of 2010 gerrymanderring which favours the GOP.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolit...-college-rules

[GoSkins561]

Odds on Jindal regaining some of the headliner status he had a few years ago? I think Paul Ryan has already fizzled as a Young Lion for the GOP.

Jindal is correct, Rand is drawing some positive attention after he smacked Hilary around a little the other day, he might actually end up being one of the front runners.