Is the Republican elephant just a dinosaur?

“If you believe in freedom, liberty, self determination, free enterprise, I don’t care if you’re a Muslim, Jewish, Agnostic, Christian, gay, straight, Latino, black, white, Irish, whatever. Join us.”

Those are beautiful words from Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.
If only it was that simple.

A 2012 Washington Post/Kaiser Family Foundation survey showed that fiscally conservative, socially liberal voters constitute a significant and persuadable voting bloc.

A Reason poll released this year showed that 60 percent of Americans aged 18 to 29 would be open to electing a president reflecting such values.

And while those Americans are not the voting majority today, they will inevitably be in the future. The sorry shape of the economy is of utmost importance in this election.
But money isn’t everything.

Listening to the GOP talk about freedom, liberty and self determination can be a lot like listening to President Barack Obama talk about transparency, peace and prosperity shortly before he invokes executive privilege to protect his attorney general, kills an American citizen with a flying robot and runs up a deficit in excess of $1 trillion.

Which voters might be tempted to vote Republican but have serious reservations about the GOP’s stance on social issues?

Nearly every group that Ryan mentioned.

I have a few ideas to help the GOP win the future.

First, repudiate the idiotic drug laws that help put one in three black men in jeopardy of incarceration at some point in their lives, many for victimless offenses, and that essentially criminalize half of Americans.

Second, stop suggesting the federal government restrict marriage, a melding of personal relationships and legal contracts, between consenting adults.

Whether you’re for or against same-sex marriage, the idea that the federal government could prohibit such a personal and controversial activity across the board should repulse those wary of big government.

Third, for the sake of both immigrants and business owners, let’s actually have a discussion about having a regulated but fundamentally open labor market in which healthy foreigners without criminal histories can work here temporarily with ease.

There are a lot of people who would like to vote for the GOP, but there are some serious roadblocks in the way of getting those votes.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and Ryan can make this election about economic freedom and responsibility all they want.

But taking the right tack on economic issues does not relieve them of addressing others.

­— danoconn@indiana.edu