The Strengths and Weaknesses of the Republican Party

I personally do not identify myself as a Republican. I believe that the Republican Party in general is often like an ostrich with it's head in the sand. They frequently refuse to recognize problems even as they are blowing up around them. Many Republicans refuse to raise taxes even when it is the only possible solution, many Republicans refuse to recognize that global warming is occurring and whether or not it is entirely man made, it needs to be addressed. I do recognize however that these points do not represent all Republicans and I also recognize that the Republican Party has valid strengths along with their many weaknesses.
The main problems that I have with the Republican party are as follows:

1.) The Republican Party has in many ways become "The Party of NO!", in that they simply turn down or stone wall any ideas the Democrats have. In an Op Ed Column in the Washington Post, columnist Harold Meyerson discusses the health care bill (the column was published in January, but it supports my point well). Meyerson says that as their main contribution to the bill, the "Republicans will attack the law's weaknesses (and strengths)". No where does it say that they will offer constructive criticism. The Republicans as a party do not offer solutions it seems, they only attack the solutions of their opposition.

2.) The Republican Party is, in many respects, driven by it's fringe. The most vocal representatives of the party in the media are men like Glen Beck, Bill O' Reilly and Rush Limbaugh, who do not seem to be at all well educated about the issues they are broadcasting to a public who laps up everything they say. In an article in The Daily Camera, writer and author Lou Dubose is quoted as saying "They're entitled to their own opinions, not to inject falsehoods and outright lies into the news cycle", and this is very true. Some of the main news sources for Republicans nationwide are not even news sources, they are opinion shows. In the same article a program is discussed called "Beck, Hannity, Limbaugh and O'Reilly: The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse". All I have to say is that they seem about equivalent to war, pestilence, famine and death...


However, enough knocking the Republicans! They do have their strengths, one of their main positive aspects being that they have faith in their constituents. While recently reading an article in The Washington Post about the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, I realized something. Although it was not at all the main focus of the article it became apparent to me that the Republicans trust the people to play a larger role than the Democrats trust them to in many respects. This faith in the intelligence of citizens is heartening, although it is counter intuitive since media outlets like FOX news are feeding people big servings of idiot pills every day..