Libertarians and the future of the Republican Party
Political Consultant Mike Murphy, a native Michigander and veteran of the Engler 1990 and McCain 2000 campaigns, was on this week’s edition of “Off the Record.” When asked by Skubick whether he agreed that the Republican Party needs to open itself up to gays and pro-choice women, Murphy agreed, noting the Republican Party is essentially a “free market party,” and that “the truth is [today’s youth] are culturally less conservative on social issues than they used to be…some corners of the party don’t understand that the country is changing demographically.”
When asked about the moderate/conservative distinction and former Governor Bill Milliken, Murphy further explained, “we’ve tended to define [conservatism] a little bit backwards…No, the old liberal-republican model is not the answer…I’m personally very sympathetic to the pro-life side, but if it’s the litmus-test of the party nationally, we lose votes we need.”
Kathy Barks Hoffman asked whether Murphy was suggesting that Republicans move away from social issues. Murphy responded, “I think totally going to a moderate position on all social issues is not necessarily the reframing of the party. Most elections are about economic issues, rather than social issues…In most places it’s true that younger voters are culturally a lot more libertarian than they used to be which is hurting us because we’re seen as being disconnected from that.”
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[...] and organization. I did not know about this organization until just a few months ago. One post, “Libertarians and the future of the Republican Party” from the RLC of Michigan sums up a few of my thoughts, but not all. A snippet from the RLC post; [...]
there are lots of social issues that we face these days due to hardships and disease.,:`