How do you run against a pragmatist?

By now most people except those on the right wing fringe recognize that President Obama can best be described as a pragmatist rather than an ideologue. As we've seen that play out over the last 4 years, we can also define the ingredients of that pragmatism. First of all, he identifies his North Star.

I've got one mandate. I've got a mandate to help middle class families and families that are trying hard to get in the middle class.

And secondly, he evaluates solutions based on two criteria:

1.  What will work to solve a problem, and
2. What can actually get done

What we've seen from the President over and over again is that he proposes solutions he thinks will work. But he always indicates that he's open to alternatives - any alternatives - as long as they will work to address the problem.

That leaves the Republicans with a dilemma...one they resolved for the first 4 years of his presidency by simply attempting to obstruct any solution to problems.

Now that President Obama has been re-elected, what we are witnessing is a Republican Party adrift...trying to figure out what they actually stand for that has a possibility of winning over voters. Their challenge is that in order to do so, they're still left with the problem of having to come up with an actual platform of ideas. And the reality is that the ideas they've depended on in the past fit into two categories: (1) on fiscal policies (ie, taxing/spending) we know that their ideas don't work, and (2) on social policies (ie, women's rights, LGBT rights, immigration) the majority of the country has rejected their ideas. 

And so the Republican Party is floundering. As various conservative columnists and politicians write and talk about the future of their party, they have 3 options to chose from: (1) they can simply continue to obstruct, (2) they can to try to fool the public about ideas we all know won't work, or (3) they can try to come up with ones that do. The minute they consider #3, President Obama will be ready to engage the conversation and they know that. 

And so, the question for Republicans these days really is: "How do you run against a pragmatist?" The only real answer to that question is that you can't. When/if they ever wake up to that reality is the day WE all win!