This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Oct. 8, 2013: In November of last year I wrote a letter that appeared in this publication explaining my decision to abandon the Republican Party and suggested what it would take to get my vote in the future.
I cautioned that I was not alone, and that a number of other moderate Republicans shared my view. I specifically addressed my concerns to a number of Republicans leaders I had known for years. My premise was quite simple, the so-called tea party was ruining the moral compass of the GOP.
Now that premise has become a reality. The tea party is more than problematic for the GOP.
It consists of ideologues who think government has no role in this country. The money backing the tea party no longer comes from big business or Wall Street, each of which has a pragmatic agenda. Tea party backers are fellow ideologues, who have either inherited or have been able to accumulate wealth in the very governmental system they now stridently oppose.
Many of the actual representatives in Congress are low-information voters who have been elected in gerrymandered districts by peers. Few, if any, tea partiers realize that in 1856 when Lincoln was elected president their party was actually named the Democratic Republican Party. Their political views seem closer to those of the Whig Party or the 1850s. Many get their news only from right-wing radio, far-right publications or blogs, and Fox News.
I have never heard a clear message of what the tea party supports. I know its adherents are against taxation and any program that addresses the needs of a social democracy.
They seem to acknowledge that this country is founded on Christian beliefs. To what extent this includes religious tolerance, I have no idea. I clearly understand they are strongly opposed to immigration reform. I am also unclear about their views regarding women. They seem intent on re-litigating Roe vs. Wade. Clearly they do not support equal pay for women.
In recent days, it has become clear that the art of compromise is viewed as a sign of weakness by these zealots. The former Republican ruling class now realizes the danger to the GOP that the tea party poses. The question is how to put this uncontrollable genie back in the bottle. It will clearly be a messy exercise for this fractured party. Unfortunately, the country is being forced to watch this process as it unfolds.
I expect that this schism will not finally be settled until the 2014 elections. I have no doubt that reason and moderation will ultimately prevail. I will be fascinated watching what befalls those who tacitly encouraged this movement in the beginning. Many of these self-interested leaders remained silent when colleagues such as Lugar and Specter boldly opposed this movement and were defeated by it.
Will Mitch McConnell, who himself faces a formidable tea party-backed primary opponent be a casualty of this process? He has already reached out to his Kentucky nemesis Rand Paul for help. My bet is that is that 2014 will not be a good year for the GOP. The question is, will it survive in any relevant form?
Already there is talk of a Huntsman/Bayh ticket in 2016. If that happens, it will not be under either the R or D banner. Their slogan might even contain the word compromise. If they also embrace the recommendations of Simpson Bowles, I might take a real hard look.
John Levis is an investment banker with his own firm.