Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said Sunday on NBC’s “Meet The Press” that the GOP cannot merely represent the “far right wing of the political spectrum” if it wants to remain a viable party into the future.
“I think the Republican Party right now is having an identity problem,” he said. “And I’m still a Republican.”
“In recent years there’s been a significant shift to the right, and we have seen what that shift has produced: two losing presidential campaigns,” Powell said. “I think what the Republican Party needs to do now is take a very hard look at itself and understand that the country has changed. The country is changing demographically. And if the Republican Party does not change along with that demographic, they’re going to be in trouble.”
“There’s also a dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party,” he said. “They still sort of look down on minorities.” He pointed to Republican figures issuing racially-tinged slurs at President Obama and the GOP’s tolerance of the birther movement.
The former secretary of state said the GOP needs to come up with constructive solutions to problems like health care and climate change.
“I’m a moderate, but I’m still a Republican,” Powell said. “And until I voted for Obama twice I voted for seven straight Republican presidents.”
