Responsible Republicans

When Sarah Palin chose to state her case before the country on the same day as President Obama spoke in Tucson last week, she cast herself as the de facto head of the Republican party. It was a stunning move and, from accounts across the political spectrum, it was a stunning failure. Fortunately.

As I listened to her speech that morning, I was struck by the defensive, angry tone that others have noted, and I was struck by her lack of gravitas, her lack of reflection, and her inability to move beyond herself.

Is this the Republican party at its best? I wondered. Where is the reasonable, dignified leadership that we need from this party? It's a leadership that fails to condemn the extremist wing of its own party, allowing violent rhetoric to fill the airwaves. Almost no one speaks up against the vicious lies circulated about President Obama and the anti-government hatred spewed daily.

The only incident I can recall when any Republican pushed back against the vitriol occurred in the 2008 presidential campaign. A supporter of candidate John McCain derided Barack Obama as "an Arab," to which McCain responded, "No ma'am, he's not, he's a decent family man--a citizen." (Well, sure, many Arabs are decent family men, too, but McCain at least sought to dispel the myth of Obama's citizenship.)

We need more censoring like this from our Republican leadership. Even those of us who are ardent Democrats lose out when the opposing party fails repeatedly to show wisdom and restraint. We need thoughtful, educated people at the top, proposing solutions to real, serious problems, not people who spout slogans and tout tax relief.

I hope that Sarah Palin's shallow presentation last week wakes up the sleeping giant--or rather, the sleeping elephant--of responsible Republican leadership. God knows we need it. As long as Sarah Palin and her ilk constitute the face of the Republican party, we'll remain stuck in hatred and recrimination.