What is the future of the Republican Party?

Scarlet

Scarlet

Active member
There's no way the current state of the Republican Party is sustainable.  It's become an empty shell, morally bankrupt.  Dissenting views within the party are squashed and those holding those views are threatened politically or worse. I suppose the current incarnation can grab power and try to suppress democracy but is that sustainable in our country?  Odds are that would collapse, hopefully quickly.

What becomes of those like the Never Trumpers?  Do they stay and fight for the direction of the party or do they leave?  If they leave, then what?  Do they join the Democrats even though they aren't really welcome under the "Big Tent".  Do they try to form their own party?  Those never seem to fly but maybe it's enough to pull votes away from to the core Republicans à la Perot.

What is the Democrat's strategy?  They have internal fighting issues of their own. The thing is, most of the country appears to be somewhat centered.  Is a third, centrist party even a possibility in our two party system?

Whether you're right, left, or centrist the future of the Republican Party is critical to you.  If you're left and the Republicans gain the White House again there may never be fair and free elections in the future.  If you're right, your party is teetering on the edge of collapse.  If you're centrist you really have no place especially in the new Republican Party and this entire s#!t show has to be wearing you out.

There has to be some sort of solution for that small percentage of Republicans who believe in science, facts, the rule of law, democracy and our constitution.  By leaving the party they can have an impact on the balance of power in our country.  I gotta believe this is not an insignificant amount of people who are tired and embarrassed by the path their party has taken. So, what are they to do and can anything be effective enough so we don't wind up just another banana republic?

 
Scarlet said:
If you're left and the Republicans gain the White House again there may never be fair and free elections in the future. 
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My most ardent conservative friends say this exact same thing about this current election (about the left of course) and that is why there is such vocal pushback about cheating and fraudulent votes for Biden. They say, if Biden is actually sworn in, that Dems will have learned the playbook to never allow another Repub win for President. 

 
I don't know the answer to these questions at all, as I'm totally disheartened by the direction our country took in the last 4 years. Back during election season in 2016, I thought that the GOP had a golden opportunity to redefine their party's values. As soon as Trump won the nomination, and it looked like (at the time) that he was going to lose handily to Hillary, I thought the smart Republicans should have stepped back and said, "Wait, this man does not represent our values as conservative Americans." They could have withdrawn their support for Trump's divisive and racist rhetoric (effectively forfeiting 2016 to Hillary) and regrouped the GOP to emerge as a stronger party with actual principles.

But the Republicans chose not to do that and hitched their wagon to a horrible man with horrific ideology. I overestimated the number of smart Republicans with actual values. Unfortunately, the pollsters were also wrong and did not accurately calculate how many "Americans" were willing to buy in to Trump's nonsense. (I put "Americans" in quotation marks because I believe that Trump and Trumpism in no way reflects actual American values)

Then, after 4 years of seeing this horror show on display, I expected an overwhelming majority to reject it. But the Democrats didn't do nearly as well as they should have. Once again, I overestimated the values of the American people. And I'm not alone, but my personal values are apparently not part of enough of a majority to sweep away the things that Trump represents. 

Where does the GOP go from here? As long as they can hold on to some semblance of power by catering to the racist and uneducated, and using a system (of gerrymandered districts and the antiquated electoral college) that can win them elections despite not representing the majority of Americans, I don't see them changing. Unfortunately, I also do not see the Democrats being able to get their $h!t together enough to reach more independent voters, rural voters, or religious voters with lasting confidence. A centrist party would be great if they could actually win, but moderate politics don't stir up the primal emotions the way radical politics do.

We need responsible leadership (which will never come from the GOP in its current form), we need an educated public, we need the ability to compromise (on some issues) and engage in real dialogue, and we need to care about our fellow Americans. But those things seem like foreign concepts.

 
DevoHusker said:
They say, if Biden is actually sworn in, that Dems will have learned the playbook to never allow another Repub win for President. 
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That's why conservatives are so adamant about Biden packing the court being the end of society, it would've ensured Democrats win forever.  I don't exactly agree with that doomsday scenario myself, but it would be a pretty unfair advantage.  But I suppose that's the infinite game of chess the two parties play, gain the upper hand for as long as possible.

 
hopefully it can exorcise the demons now possessing it and return to a more right of center party rather then a far right party led by the extremists in it's midst

 
I think we are f#&%ed and it’s only a matter of time, and there is no turning back. I think there’s a 50% chance we will be like Russia (best case) by 2050.

 
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DevoHusker said:
My most ardent conservative friends say this exact same thing about this current election (about the left of course) and that is why there is such vocal pushback about cheating and fraudulent votes for Biden. They say, if Biden is actually sworn in, that Dems will have learned the playbook to never allow another Repub win for President. 
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But they're saying that with zero proof of election fraud.  They're just parroting the right wing talking points.  That's the problem.  No data, no science, no facts.  Just spew lies until the masses believe it.  So your friends are wrong.  

 
Ulty said:
As soon as Trump won the nomination, and it looked like (at the time) that he was going to lose handily to Hillary, I thought the smart Republicans should have stepped back and said, "Wait, this man does not represent our values as conservative Americans." They could have withdrawn their support for Trump's divisive and racist rhetoric (effectively forfeiting 2016 to Hillary)
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Trump won more minority vote than any of the so called “good people” like Romney and McCain since the 60’s

 
Redux said:
That's why conservatives are so adamant about Biden packing the court being the end of society, it would've ensured Democrats win forever.  I don't exactly agree with that doomsday scenario myself, but it would be a pretty unfair advantage.  But I suppose that's the infinite game of chess the two parties play, gain the upper hand for as long as possible.
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Yep, both parties just try to prolong their power for as long as possible while in charge. Most of the time the voter gets screwed.  
 

And most of the time, the voter won’t vote their politician out of power in the primary because they worry about losing the general 

I wish there were term limits for Congress.  Many problems would be solved with that simple legislation. 

 
DevoHusker said:
My most ardent conservative friends say this exact same thing about this current election (about the left of course) and that is why there is such vocal pushback about cheating and fraudulent votes for Biden. They say, if Biden is actually sworn in, that Dems will have learned the playbook to never allow another Repub win for President. 
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That narrative is being pushed by Rush and the Fox evening crowd of commentators plus a host of radio commentators.  So yes, the current Trumpists believe fair elections won't occur again.  Fair elections are defined as  "WE WIN,  YOU LOSE"

 
Redux said:
No parties.

Then we have to vote on people as individuals instead of as a representative of a false group of corruption.
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Sounds simple and that was the original thought of the framers.  But things quickly evolved into the Hamilton wing of politics and the Jeffersonian wing of politics.  The ruckus election of 1800 was the result.  Adams out, Jefferson in.

 
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