The Issue the GOP Should Campaign On in 2012

It's not the economy, it's not Obamacare, it's not social issues, it's American decline:

Republican activists in this key presidential state have a dark, foreboding feeling that America is in decline. They believe the nation is hurtling in the wrong direction and, worse, on the brink of losing its unique place in the world.

That sentiment is hardly new to American politics, but it’s one that’s been reanimated by the presidency of Barack Obama. Some see him as hostile to the notion of American exceptionalism. Others simply don’t believe he’s an American at all.

Together, it’s fueling the rise of an emerging debate on the right that could overshadow the traditional focus on social and fiscal issues and create an opening for a candidate who can speak to a still inchoate but clearly volatile element that is roiling the conservative grass roots.

It’s not that culture wars and tax revolts are about to be displaced in GOP presidential politics by an abstract discussion on what ails Uncle Sam. Rather, the very issues that have typically energized GOP primary voters — such as abortion, faith, gay marriage, debt, military power — are being subsumed into a larger debate about a country in decline.

It’s the idea, held by many conservative activists, that America is becoming too European — weak, feckless and faithless — a spendthrift nation in hock to China and led by an irresolute president who is accelerating the process, either by design or effect.

“Economically, we are not the nation we once were, and we may be overextended in foreign commitments,” explained Thomas Eller, a retired attorney who attended a GOP luncheon featuring former Sen. Rick Santorum at a local cafe in this western Iowa town last week. “It’s a very difficult time. We cannot continue our slide.”

Asked to sum up what worried him most, Eller said: “the decline of the United States.”

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Too many conservatives get caught up in single-issue politics. They're focused on the deficit, or abortion, or Obamacare, or illegal immigration, or who knows what, but they don't look at the big picture. In 2012 the big picture is American decline. Fix that and the other stuff comes along for the ride.

I think this is a very winnable strategy for the GOP. We were told that George W. Bush had destroyed America in the eyes of the world and once we elected Obama all would be right again. Is it? Are we as influential in the world as we once were? Does the world respect America's leadership? Does the world even know if we have a leader?

This is a subject which resonates with people from all parties and all cultural and economic backgrounds. Reversing the years of American decline should have wide appeal to voters and instead of concentrating on all the little things, it's time to focus on the big picture.