the gop faces the very real fear that if they lose the crazies that they lose any chance at actually competing against the democrats as a party.
abandoning the social values sect would very likely split the party. the only way the gop remains viable at that point is to draw enough independents to compete with the democrats. which invites the old adage, if offered the choice between a democrat and a republican who sounds like a democrat, people will choose the actual democrat (and vice versa).
i think that eventually a socially moderate/fiscally conservative party will emerge, but it would require writing off at least one and as many as three national elections in order for the party to gain enough traction to be viable. most people are not willing to make that trade. plus, the media are violently opposed to having to demonize the candidates and positions of two parties as opposed to one, so that will be tough too.
i think that eventually later we will also see a true social conservative/christianist party established because as the current population ages those views will have less and less influence in the party.
but i am waiting to see how 2010 goes before i write the gop off completely. 2006 saw the socons sit on their hands and it handed congress to the democrats. 2008 we sent earl grey up against red bull after 8 years of hearing that tea was the worst thing on earth. i am not convenced that we don't take back a decent amount of seats on disillusion alone.
r.i.p. marco, my guardian angel.
...global warming can manifest itself as heat, cool, precipitation, storms, drought, wind, or any other phenomenon, much like a shapeshifter. -- jim geraghty
pray to st. jude
i'm a sonic reducer
he was the gimmicky sort
fenchurch=mejusthavingfun=magwildwood=mmousefan=bkcollector=bradmajors=somethingtotalkabout: the fenchurch mpd collective
