Maddow: Republicans have abandoned empiricism, leading to a governing philosophy that puts

[pampango]

ideological goals over pragmatic ones.

Appreciating empiricism would be a good start

For the Republican Party establishment, the only meaningful lesson to be learned from 2012 is rhetorical. Sure, polls show Americans rejecting the GOP line on every major issue, but, the argument goes, that's only because the party has failed to come up with persuasive sales pitches. Republicans believe they have a rhetorical problem, not a policy problem.

But it was this item from Bloomberg's Josh Barro, a self-identified "reluctant" Republican, that really got me thinking.

Correcting errors on positive questions should cause conservatives to revisit some of their top policies.... Conservatives say tight money and lower top tax rates would enrich middle-class families. But that's wrong, and if they figured that out, they might stop supporting tight money and lower top tax rates.

And that, right there, that very last sentence, helps shine a light on what I believe plagues the Republican Party more than anything else: they've abandoned empiricism, leading to a governing philosophy that puts ideological goals over pragmatic ones.

Barro presents a claim that seems self-evidently true: partisans and ideologues should be prepared to correct their errors. In this case, he points to monetary policy: Republicans are simply and demonstrably incorrect, "and if they figured that out," they'd adopt different policies. But therein lies the rub. They really wouldn't.

http://maddowblog.msnbc.com/_news/2013/02/21/17043961-appreciating-empiricism-would-be-a-good-start