Will we EVER have another Republican president????

[rightwinger]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

 

[Delia]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

Hopefully, the midterms, just as they did in 2010 but on a more logical platform that is actually reality-based.

 

[nodoginnafight]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

Hopefully, the midterms, just as they did in 2010 but on a more logical platform that is actually reality-based.

Another former Republican here.

I sincerely hope you are right. I'll never join another party again and I won't be attending any more Lincoln Day dinners, but i might vote republican again, if they can come back to reality.

 

[candycorn]

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

Hopefully, the midterms, just as they did in 2010 but on a more logical platform that is actually reality-based.

Another former Republican here.

I sincerely hope you are right. I'll never join another party again and I won't be attending any more Lincoln Day dinners, but i might vote republican again, if they can come back to reality.

I take exception to that sort of...

The GOP central committee, HQ, braintrust, whatever you want to call it puts out a platform that would make a great many Republicans unelectable. Ninety-nine percent of sexually active women practice contraception yet for the GOP, if a woman practices contraception, they are called a slut outright a lot of the time and are merely thought to be a slut the rest of the time.

The GOP wins when it does by simply not bringing it up.

Coming back to reality, I fear, for many GOP voters means just not talking about their radical stances; not really morphing into a smarter person.

 

[dblack]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

Exactly what I said. Democrats will tell themselves they have a "mandate" for every new power grab they and their corporate sponsors can dream up and push it as hard as they can. It will scare or anger enough people to open the door for the Republicans to do likewise.

 

[rightwinger]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

Exactly what I said. Democrats will tell themselves they have a "mandate" for every new power grab they and their corporate sponsors can dream up and push it as hard as they can. It will scare or anger enough people to open the door for the Republicans to do likewise.

Democrats have a mandate to do whatever they can to keep Republican policies from taking effect

America has spoken

The free ride for the wealthy is over

 

[squeeze berry]

Given the state of the economy, there was no logical reason Romney should have lost in 2012

But Republicans insisted on being Republicans and pushed ideological positions that were unelectable

What will change in 2016?

Exactly what I said. Democrats will tell themselves they have a "mandate" for every new power grab they and their corporate sponsors can dream up and push it as hard as they can. It will scare or anger enough people to open the door for the Republicans to do likewise.

Democrats have a mandate to do whatever they can to keep Republican policies from taking effect

America has spoken

The free ride for the wealthy is over

Obama is taking away their Obama phones?

 

[George Costanza]

The problem with the Republican Party isn't people. It's ideas. They have way too many unpopular, mean-spirited ideas about where they want the country to go and how to get there. Openly anti-gay policies. Antagonism towards virtually all minorities except the very wealthy. Opposed to universal health care (there's a real winner). Opposiition to climate change remedies. Disbelief in science. Want to do away with Social Security. The list goes on and on.

This is not the kind of stuff that is going to win elections, it doesn't matter how qualified a person their presidential candidate may be.

 

[bucs90]

The problem with the Republican Party isn't people. It's ideas. They have way too many unpopular, mean-spirited ideas about where they want the country to go and how to get there. Openly anti-gay policies. Antagonism towards virtually all minorities except the very wealthy. Opposed to universal health care (there's a real winner). Opposiition to climate change remedies. Disbelief in science. Want to do away with Social Security. The list goes on and on.

This is not the kind of stuff that is NOT going to win elections, it doesn't matter how qualified a person their presidential candidate may be.

Yep. Very true. They dont understand that offending and attacking little groups one at a time add up.

The momentum they had from the Tea Party was real. But sometime in 2010/2011 they went very far with it. They began bitter, mean spirited attacks on government workers....including cops, firemen and teachers. And while some secretary or bureaucrat in some grey office isn't that risky to go after......cops, teachers and firemen are. And the GOP began the attack on those folks. And each has a spouse, GF/BF, family, mom, dad, siblings. And the numbers added up in the millions of people that they offended by attacking those groups. And it wasnt even that the message was that bad- govt overspending is a problem. It was the arrogance and bitterness they used in sending that message.

And, along with all those you listed, they alienated and drove away millions of previous conservative voters in the fields of public safety and education. Most of those folks are middle class, family oriented and live in suburbs, and yes, many are white. Prototypical conservative voters. And the GOP pushed them away.

 

[Charles_Main]

They just keep digging the hole deeper, and deeper, and deeper. The election was laid out on a silver platter for them, and the right wing couldnt even reach for it, much less take it. How in the Holy Hell did they blow it THAT badly?

And they KEEP doing it? They are digging into their foxholes, and holding on to the ideology that cost them the election. And thats a good thing. Thats who they are, so it would be wrong to pretend to be anything else. They should be applauded for that.

So I wonder....if Republicans stay true to who they are, will they EVER have another Republican in the White House? Because the country is slowly drifting away from them, and that gap is only gonna get bigger with time. They severely underestimated how big of an affect it would have to piss off every subgroup of society....one at a time. All the people the right wing turned away from them- blacks, hispanics, gays, lesbians, teachers, cops, firemen, women, union workers. Really, the only people the GOP embraced are rich people, white Christians, and the military. They calculated that those three groups would be enough to win the election. They were wrong, and keep getting wronger!

You guys are to fucking funny.

 

[Delia]

They just keep digging the hole deeper, and deeper, and deeper. The election was laid out on a silver platter for them, and the right wing couldnt even reach for it, much less take it. How in the Holy Hell did they blow it THAT badly?

And they KEEP doing it? They are digging into their foxholes, and holding on to the ideology that cost them the election. And thats a good thing. Thats who they are, so it would be wrong to pretend to be anything else. They should be applauded for that.

So I wonder....if Republicans stay true to who they are, will they EVER have another Republican in the White House? Because the country is slowly drifting away from them, and that gap is only gonna get bigger with time. They severely underestimated how big of an affect it would have to piss off every subgroup of society....one at a time. All the people the right wing turned away from them- blacks, hispanics, gays, lesbians, teachers, cops, firemen, women, union workers. Really, the only people the GOP embraced are rich people, white Christians, and the military. They calculated that those three groups would be enough to win the election. They were wrong, and keep getting wronger!

You guys are to fucking funny.

In what sense.

 

[George Costanza]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

What you characterize as "authoritarian power" being wielded by the Demorcats is just as easily interpreted as the thwarting of Republican attempts to force unwanted programs and idealogical positions on the citizens of the United States.

The problem the Republicans will face in 2016 is, that if they continue on their present path, there will be far more voters against them than with them.

 

[squeeze berry]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

What you characterize as "authoritarian power" being wielded by the Demorcats is just as easily interpreted as the thwarting of Republican attempts to force unwanted programs and idealogical positions on the citizens of the United States.

The problem the Republicans will face in 2016 is, that if they continue on their present path, there will be far more voters against them than with them.

I have decided to do the exact opposite of what you do

 

[dblack]

I assume you thought it was a safe bet that Romney would win? This issue has got to stop being about boomeranging the blame back to the Democrats. We have to do something with the party we have.

You assume wrong

 

[Noomi]

America has slowly become more liberal over the years. Its possible you may have another Republican President, but its more likely that the next President will be a liberal, too.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

Moderate Democrat-Lite ran in 2008, we lost

Conservatism ran in 2010, we shellacked the Dems

Moderate Democrat-Lite ran in 2012, we lost again

I'm Joe Namath Guaranteeing another Shellacking of Dems in the Midterms

See a pattern?

 

[Dr Grump]

I think it's a safe bet that the Republicans will win the next presidential election. And the reason has nothing do with the virtues of the party. It's just that the Dems won't be able to stop themselves from pushing for every new authoritarian power they can manage, and voters, forever under the spell of the "lesser-of-two-evils" delusion, will turn to the Republicans.

What you characterize as "authoritarian power" being wielded by the Demorcats is just as easily interpreted as the thwarting of Republican attempts to force unwanted programs and idealogical positions on the citizens of the United States.

The problem the Republicans will face in 2016 is, that if they continue on their present path, there will be far more voters against them than with them.

I have decided to do the exact opposite of what you do

Won't help in 2016. Your brand of conservatism is slowly dying thank goodness...

 

[JoeB131]

Moderate Democrat-Lite ran in 2008, we lost

Conservatism ran in 2010, we shellacked the Dems

Moderate Democrat-Lite ran in 2012, we lost again

I'm Joe Namath Guaranteeing another Shellacking of Dems in the Midterms

See a pattern?

That you're clinically retarded and don't understand the system?

Midterms are merely a vehicle for expressing disdain for the status quo.

Out of power parties gained in many midterms and STILL lost the next general. Not only 2010-12, but also 1994-96, 1986-88, 1982-84, 1954-56...

I can find other examples.

All that this proves is that in off-year elections, the incumbant party gets complacent while the out of power party is a recepticle for angst.

Here's the problem. Trying to claim that McCain and Romney weren't conservative enough is pretty much the "No True Scotsman" Fallacy. They were everything you asked them to be, to the point of them losing moderate voters.

The GOP majority in the House ONLY survived because of Gerrymandering. Might save you in 2014, but by 2016 or 2018, Demographic shifts are going to shift a lot of districts...

 

[Dr.Traveler]

I have to say, I recall the Republicans tossing around terms like "Permanent Republican Majority" back in 2004. Then 2006 and 2008 came and they were shown the door. Then the Democrats tossed around the idea of the GOP being a "Regional Party" and in 2010 they were shown the door in the House.

We will likely have a GOP comeback in my lifetime, just as we had a Democratic comeback after the whooping they took in 2000 and 2004. It's inherent in the two party system.

I think a useful thing to do is to look though at WHY the GOP lost in 2012, and see if they're working on fixing those problems for 2016. From what I understand it boils down to:

1. Obama has a high personal likability factor: This won't be an issue in 2016, as Obama won't be on the ticket.

2. Obama had a better get out of the vote machine: This could change by 2016 with work. In 2000 and 2004 the GOP had the better machine, but in 2008 and 2012 the Democrats adapted to smart phone tech faster and built a better system. There's articles all over the net about how badly Romney's get out the vote machine failed.

3. Romney was a terrible candidate: Debate this if you want, but he was. He was out of touch and a liberal from a liberal state running for the party of the Conservatives. However, in 2016 you're going to see folks like Rubio, Jindal, and Christie making a play for the nomination. I personally detest Jindal, but any of those three would make a stronger candidate in the general than Romney.

4. The GOP was actively working to alienate large blocks of the voting base: I think if you have one of the younger guns like Rubio or Christie running, this won't be as much of an issue. There will be a lot of pressure by the party to reign in the loose cannons who get the GOP in trouble and I don't think Jindal, Rubio, or Christie would tolerate a radio host saying stuff that could hurt them in the General. I think in 2016 you're going to see a lot of the crazy in the GOP kicked to the curb.

If all that happens, you could have a real shot at a GOP POTUS in 2016.

 

[regent]

America needs a conservative party, the problem is that this one has become goofy. Using the fears of the American people and scare tactics instead of laying out a plan that makes sense and is beneficial to the nation the Republicans present gun control, moochers, entitlements, gridlock, socialism, and other appeals to America's easily excited. Those arguments make the Republicans look as nutty as the people they are appealing to. If they would just put that paranoid junk aside and make reasonable and valid arguments for a conservative party they might do better. America needs a rational conservative party.