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Feb

24

[video] Choice of Jindal for GOP response: More image is everything


Am I the only one who is amazed at how, only six months ago, John McCain and Sarah Palin were the image of the Republican Party and wanted to be and were supported by their party to be the image of the White House and now, Republican National Committee chair Michael Steele and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal are the image?

Frankly, the choice of Steele as chair and Jindal as the person to deliver the GOP response to President Obama’s speech this evening, could not be more emblematic of just how true it is for the GOP that changing the image has absolutely nothing to do with changing their basic tenets – which is exactly what Steele said would be what he would do when he took the helm.

And damn if he isn’t doing just that. Problem is: How does anyone believe that this is going to be the way back to winning minds and votes?  Does Steele really think that his image and Jindal’s image are more persuasive than McCain’s and Palin’s? Is this an admission of how wrong McCain and Palin are as images for the GOP? What on earth does the GOP actually look like?

I know – I’m just a blogging left of center something or other. But I haven’t even gotten to the hip-hop makeover Steele wants to deploy. And I can tell you, based on firsthand experience with my very respected friend jimi izrael, I know what it is to not understand what a hip-hop makeover even means, and I’d put good money down on the fact that a whole lot of people who call themselves members of the Grand Old Party don’t have a clue about what it is either. jimi, you might be able to make some extra money translating, just like I had to ask you to do for me way back when (oh, okay – and still once in a while).

Do people even realize that if the GOP could at least accept that democracy means sometimes you don’t get to control everything, a lot of this stuff wouldn’t even be happening? Re-organizing, getting better, understanding what people want – that’s all well and good. But part of the problem for the GOP also is the fact that it absolutely refuses to accept that Obama is president and that the Democrats are in the majority in the Congress. I mean, they actually literally are in denial about how it happened and that it’s the way it is and they just, don’t, like it.

Well – the Dems didn’t like it for all those years either – but you didn’t see them rejecting everything left and right – they just kept on working.

Anyway, I’m starting to ramble more than usual. If this meaningless messing with image interests you, for more evidence that that’s all the GOP cares about (image), read and/or listen to these two NPR pieces:

A Defining Moment for Jindal-And GOP’s Future?

GOP Looks to Minorities for Leadership (interview with Juan Williams)

The GOPs actions remind me of the video for the song “Cry” where the faces change all the time but the song stays the same:

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By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:04 am February 24th, 2009 in Barack Obama, Bobby Jindal, Government, Marketing, Politics, Social Issues, Voting, Whitehouse09, conservatives, democracy, leadership 

Comments

3 Responses to “[video] Choice of Jindal for GOP response: More image is everything”

  1. 1 Jason R. on February 24th, 2009 11:21 am

    You had me until you said that the dems didn’t reject everything left and right. I’d disagree. Both parties are far too ideological and neither one seems capable of working well with the other. Its a shame!

  2. 2 The Reverend on February 24th, 2009 2:31 pm

    Jason quickly forgets how Democrats voted for GOP legislation.

    Good stuff here Jill.

    I honest-to-god believe that the Jindal, Steele thing…..like the Palin, Joe-the-Plumber thing….is more of the same effort to hold the GOP base together in the face of a popular Democratic president.

    That signifies a very deep problem for the GOP going forward.

  3. 3 Jason on February 24th, 2009 5:14 pm

    Well Reverend, stop and think about it. Obama has been in office for about one month. Do you think that the left-wingers can give the Republicans a chance to work with him? And working with him does not equate to giving up your principles. Left-wingers can’t say that the Republicans won’t work with Obama when they are providing an alternative.

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