Sunday, October 4, 2015

Needed: Truth-Tellers

We have written repeatedly about the disconnect between the GOP base and the party's large donors. Radio talk host Laura Ingraham describes the problem with her usual fluency, at the LifeZette website.

Ingraham nails the problem, but comes up short in trying to describe what could be done to ameliorate the situation. She writes:
It’s hard to see how a political party can prosper when a band of wealthy donors repeatedly forces it to take positions that are unpopular with its membership.

The time has come for Republican politicians to quit letting others pull their strings and do a better job of representing the voters who put them in office.
That is easy for her to say, but why will the big donors keep coughing up millions if the candidates won't represent their views? They won't do it.

So who will fund winning GOP campaigns? Us in the rank and file? You are dreaming if you think so. The real answer is finding candidates who level with donors, who explain they will have to give the voters much of what they want to get elected, and will also get as much for the donors as feasible without compromizing electability.

Such leveling with donors is obviously much more easily said than done. The fat cats won't like being told they can't have it their way, they have become accustomed to hearing "No problem, sir."