May 26, 2009

Colin Powell doesn’t like conservative Christians. He thinks they are a drag on the Republican Party. On “Face the Nation” Sunday, Powell said the GOP must expand “it’s very, very narrow base.”

OK, how would he do it? What does he stand for that sets him apart from Democrats? Powell thinks Americans want more government in their lives, not less. He favors abortion and affirmative action. Why vote for a Republican, as these positions are embraced by most Democrats?

How does Powell explain those Reagan and Bush victories? And how does he explain all of those Republican losses when secular Republicans ran the show? The GOP was a minority party in the House for 40 years with his kind of people in charge.

Powell admitted he voted for John Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Jimmy Carter.  He didn’t say which time Carter ran, but in 1976, he ran against Gerald Ford, who is Powell’s type of Republican. And in 1980 Carter ran against Ronald Reagan who gave Powell the prominence he now enjoys. Colin Powell is not the future of the GOP. Republicans will have to decide who and what is.

Cal Thomas is a nationally syndicated columnist based in Washington, D.C.