Republicans, what went wrong?

The loss suffered by the Republicans during the presidential election of 2012 has many in that party scratching their heads. The president won re-election by a large margin of electoral votes. By a slimmer margin, he also won the popular vote. So, what went wrong, I asked myself as the results were coming in on election night.

We were eating dinner, flipping from CBS to CNN and NBC as the returns came in. CNN was becoming jumpy and technical. NBC was a little slow on the updates. So, we ended up watching CBS.

As time wore on it was becoming clear President Barack Obama would lead us for another four years. The TV coverage began showing scenes of both camps gatherings of supporters in Boston and Chicago.

As the election went on and the vote went toward the president, the mood changed in the Romney camp from boisterous to silent gloom; just the opposite of the mood in the Obama camp. But by then people on both sides were beginning to wonder how this happened.

Watching the TV coverage, it became very clear to me that there was something very different about the makeup of people in these two camps. The Romney group seemed to be made up mostly of older, white people in suits, men and women dressed to the nines. Their faces looked pretty glum as each new round of returns led away from their preferred path forward.

On the other hand, Obama’s group was something else — or, maybe more precisely, everybody else. It was filled with people from all walks of life, dressed in all sorts of clothing from suits to saris to T-shirts and sequined dresses. In that group I saw people from varied races and ethnic origins. It was awash in the many differences that make up this country, united in the belief that their candidate represents the best path forward.

That is where the Republicans failed. Either through purposeful blindness or plain ignorance, Republicans failed to see that the demographic makeup of Americans as a people has changed in the last 15 to 20 years. That failure cost them dearly and blindness to its importance could continue to wound the party for generations.

Even now some Republicans are echoing my thoughts as they scramble to find the root cause of their failure. There are other factors that hurt them as well. Remember those remarks by some Republican candidates on the subject of rape that stunned many in the nation? To call those remarks stupid just doesn’t cut it. It stung the GOP like a baseball bat to the head.

Then there is that shotgun marriage to a powerful faction of the Tea Party, which in effect took over the whole GOP. That was a bad union from the beginning and now seems like the perfect time for a machine-gun divorce.

But it is the failure to account for the changes in our society that rang their death knell in this election. The GOP has failed to adapt to the fact that America is made up of many groups. Women and Latinos who were in the minority years ago are now powerful, vocal groups that wield substantial voting power. Immigrants from all over the world who have become U.S. citizens are very much involved in the vote.

Then there are those voters who believe in faiths other than Christianity who were offended by the ravings of some in the GOP, and voted against them.

If the GOP is to survive, it must adapt itself to these changes in the electorate. One of the most difficult changes will be ending their assault on gay rights, including the right to marriage.

To that end, moderates must remove “compromise” and “cooperation” from the list of GOP curse words. The notion of “my way or the highway” has not only crippled the Republicans. More than a few moderates have left the GOP as it got very toxic for them. That was a big mistake. Letting the extreme right take over has done nothing for the cause.

In the aftermath of this election, there must be a concerted effort to reach across the aisle and truly work with the other side. That means working with the president and the Democrats to address the needs of the people of this nation. It does not mean devoting further energy to the agendas of either political party or their corporate overlords.

Members of Congress have their work cut out for them. There are good ideas on both sides. I’m sure our senators and representatives will find ways to adapt and continue to serve. If not? Well, I would rather not think about that.

Wasilla resident Daniel D. Grota retired from the U.S. Army after more than 21 years of service.