The Republican Party in the shadow of Lincoln.
When George Petrik immigrated to the United States, the Republican party was quite different than it is now.
“The Republican Party is in a serious soul search right now,” said Log Cabin President Kevin Gilhooly.
That soul searching has been a major theme for the G.O.P. since Mitt Romney lost his presidential bid in 2012. While the former Massachusetts governor lost the popular vote by less than 4 percentage points, his loss in the Electoral College was a landslide, and he trailed President Barack Obama by more than 100 votes.
The campaign that led up to election night in 2012 was in part a result of a bitter and protracted primary season that ultimately gave Mitt Romney the party’s nomination.
In total, the G.O.P., along with various cable and network news outlets, hosted 20 primary debates over a nine-month period, opening the candidates to a painful level of public and media scrutiny. During that period of time, several candidates made statements that made national headlines and became infamous memes on the Web and on social media outlets. Former speaker of the House of Representatives Newt Gingrich famously referred to Barack Obama as “the food stamp president.” He also suggested that a top U.S. priority should be creating a living colony on the moon. When former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was asked a question by a gay soldier on deployment in Iraq, the was boo-ed by the audience before Santorum could answer. When asked about undocumented immigrants, Romney introduced the concept of self-deportation. Texas Governor Rick Perry was boo-ed for having supported in-state tuition for undocumented immigrants who had been brought to that state when they were minors. Following the primary season, Governor Romney was ridiculed for several more gaffes, including his statement that “corporations were people” comment on the campaign trail and his “binders full of women” response during a debate with Barack Obama. The most headline-grabbing statements included its messages toward women, racial minorities and gays. Still, nothing may have been as damaging as his “47 percent” remark, in which he stated that almost half of Americans pay no income taxes and that they are dependent on the federal government. The comment incensed the American public and may have cost him the election. Today’s Republican Party is quite different. That was 2012. After the election, Reince Priebus, chair of the Republican National Committee, gave the following assessment in a report: The report's 219 prescriptions include a US$10 million marketing campaign, particular aimed at women, minorities and gays; a shorter, more controlled primary season and earlier national convention; and creation the of an open data platform and analytics institute to provide research for Republican candidates. Ashley Swearengin, a Republican candidate for California’s state controller office, has doubled back on her views about gay marriage, asserting that she a supporter of LGBT equality. Swearengin also had previously put her support behind California’s Proposition 8 ban on gay marriage, a point that she addressed while speaking to a local chapter of the Log Cabin Republicans. "Like most Californians, I believe it is time to move beyond this issue,” she explained to a gathering of lesbian and gay conservatives. “[We need to] focus our public policy energies on addressing the mountain of debt and outstanding liabilities that threaten the financial future of the next generation." "She came out for marriage equality,'" said Kevin Gilhooley. Swearengin’s platform this time around, according to campaign manager Tim Clark, is focused on fixing California’s economic problems and promoting job creation. Swearengin insisted that despite her past with homophobic legislation, the office of controller has no real bearing on social issues like marriage equality, and the evolution of her views was a reflection of her new-found political goals. "As state controller, I wouldn't have any influence over this issue. But I am very concerned about the legacy of debt and outstanding obligations that we're leaving for our children and our grandchildren. I will do everything in my power to try address those two most important issues. That's what my campaign is about, and as mayor that's what I'm focused on as well." “Today’s Republican party is quite different,” said Log Cabin Republican President of the Los Angeles Chapter, John Musella. “Marriage equality is off the table…it’s no longer an issue.”