Republicans for Obama and the Future of the GOP?

Started by Faeelin, April 02, 2009, 12:17:36 PM

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Fate

Rockefeller Republicans will never take over a party based in the deep South.  :lmfao:

DGuller

Quote from: DisturbedPervert on April 02, 2009, 12:40:30 PM
Republicans for Obama should be drowned.
Eventually, but right now the Democrats still need them.

derspiess

Quote from: Vince on April 02, 2009, 12:39:16 PM
Republicans for Obama should be drowned.

QFT.

I wouldn't be overly upset if the GOP de-emphasized social issues & focused more on economic issues, but I reject the notion that seems to pervade here that socially liberal Republicans have been the heart & soul of the party in recent memory.
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

garbon

"I've never been quite sure what the point of a eunuch is, if truth be told. It seems to me they're only men with the useful bits cut off."
I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim.

Caliga

It prevails here because it fits the board demographic.  But you and I both know, given where we live, that board Republicans are drastically more progressive than "heartland" Republicans. :yes:
0 Ed Anger Disapproval Points


The Nickname Who Was Thursday

Quote from: Faeelin on April 02, 2009, 12:36:23 PM
[I follow it enough to know who bitches about it. I'm more interested not so much in the bitching as what it will do to the party in the long run.

I don't see a radical reallignment on the horizon. Republicans will stop talking about gays as much, but they'll still be the more socially conservative party. Both parties will continue their dance around the "center" of the electorate. There haven't been that many times in our history that the equilibrium between the two parties has been knocked completely out of whack. Off the top of my head, there's:

1812- killed the federalists
slavery/civil war- killed the whigs, brought the Republicans to life
Great Depression- gave Dems a huge majority for a generation
60s & 70s activism & backlash against it- realligned parties around social issues

The past 30 years have had a pattern of parties winning, overstepping, and then retreating or getting booted by the voters. Take Clinton for example- his first two years he tried to get nationalized health care and gays in the military. The public wasn't ready for those so they elected lots of Republicans in '94. Bush's foreign adventurism could be seen in much the same light as being responsible for GOP losses in '06 and '08. Congressional leaders have similar problems, if they push for too much they lose their majorities.

Voters like Berkut and your professor are coveted. Both parties try their damnedest to be as unobjectionable to them as possible, while still getting money and turnout from their core supporters. But they are too close to the center of the overall electorate to have a party centered around them and our system keep the bipolarity it's basically had since our nation was founded. (Would it work? I don't know. I suspect what would happen is the more extreme wings would break off and squeeze them. People in the middle would be less likely to donate time and money too I think, as the result wouldn't be much different than what we have now.)
The Erstwhile Eddie Teach

Martinus

Disclaimer: This is not a response specifically referring to American politics, but rather all politics (at least in the Western world).

As the political ideologies of the Left and the Right demonstrate, in order to have a political movement, you need to be populist to some degree. Historically, there have been two types, broadly speaking, of populist ideologies, and they are both based on a definition of the "Enemy". The Enemy is either "the Man" (as is the case with the Left) or "the Other" (as is the case with the Right).

In modern day, the Left has pretty much abandoned its visceral hatred of the Man - at least as far as the mainstream is concerned. Sure, it is mistrustful of the Man, but it does not seek to destroy him. The Right however, is much more vicious in its hatred of the Other.

Since I both represent the Man (because I am relatively well off and have a good job) and the Other (because I am gay), I choose to side with the Left because they hate me less. :p

katmai

Quote from: Martinus on April 02, 2009, 02:02:52 PM

Since I both represent the Man (because I am relatively well off and have a good job) and the Other (because I am gay), I choose to side with the Left because they hate me less. :p


Pretty sure it's a push on which side hates you. ^_^
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son

Admiral Yi

I don't get the Rockefeller love.  He (and the other Rockefeller Republican who preceded him) led NYC into bankruptcy.

The Brain

Women want me. Men want to be with me.

derspiess

Quote from: katmai on April 02, 2009, 02:06:11 PM
Quote from: Martinus on April 02, 2009, 02:02:52 PM

Since I both represent the Man (because I am relatively well off and have a good job) and the Other (because I am gay), I choose to side with the Left because they hate me less. :p

Pretty sure it's a push on which side hates you. ^_^

People like Marty who feed off of victimhood need to focus on one side.
"If you can play a guitar and harmonica at the same time, like Bob Dylan or Neil Young, you're a genius. But make that extra bit of effort and strap some cymbals to your knees, suddenly people want to get the hell away from you."  --Rich Hall

Martinus

Quote from: DisturbedPervert on April 02, 2009, 12:40:30 PM
Republicans for Obama should be drowned.

Only if we drown the Log Cabin Republicans, too.

katmai

Quote from: derspiess on April 02, 2009, 02:27:55 PM


People like Marty who feed off of victimhood need to focus on one side.

I'm trying to tell him he's an island adrift on his own dammit!
Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son