# Predictions for the future of the GOP? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [November 8, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354 "2012-11-08T14:18:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/21 "2012-11-08T18:42:50Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Sadly, it was a serious post. > > We’ve become a “what will you give me if I vote for you?” society. You’re right. It’s horrifying that the Republicans blatantly pander to the wealthy by voting them tax cuts in exchange for campaign contributions. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/22 "2012-11-08T18:49:51Z")
Letting the wealthy keep their money is hardly the same as giving free stuff to the masses. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/23 "2012-11-08T18:53:20Z")
As to the election results, the part that I can’t figure out is how about 3 million voters LESS voted for Romney than McCain. How is this possible? Romney wasn’t a terrific candidate, but he was certainly better than McCain. I don’t think anyone expected that. Maybe it was evangelicals who stayed home rather than vote for a Mormon? I look forward to reading more exit polls. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/24 "2012-11-08T18:57:51Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > As to the election results, the part that I can’t figure out is how about 3 million voters LESS voted for Romney than McCain. How is this possible? That Paul Ryan is no Sarah Palin. ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/25 "2012-11-08T19:03:02Z")
You guys are missing a few basic points. 1. Many of the leadership, McConnell, Boehner, Ed Rogers and others, already know the problems inherent in their messaging. But they don’t have control over their caucus sufficient to control it. Boehner, in particular, has to fear his non-leadership cadre because if he pisses them off enough he’ll be out and we’ll be looking at Speaker Cantor. 2. Congressman like their party to have the White House. But much MUCH more than that they like keeping their own seats. With gerrymandered districts it pays to be a little nutty and extremist. Further, it’s self-reinforcing in that the way the districts are drawn encourages the extremists to run while preventing moderates from bothering. As long as those seats are drawn that way there will be little incentive to moderate the Republican party. Their activist base, which to a large extent controls the primary process, doesn’t want it and that controls who gets in. ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/26 "2012-11-08T19:33:46Z")
In what universe was Romney a better candidate than McCain? My god, the thought that anyone could even think that is horrifying. McCain was an honorable, reasonable war hero. Romney is a sleazy, good for nothing multi-millionaire. Yeah, McCain is wealthy too, but he actually has some principles. The only reason Romney did as well as he did is because Obama was a vulnerable incumbent. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/27 "2012-11-08T19:38:54Z")
McCain, REASONABLE? Are you joking? You think the guy who picked boring Paul Ryan (who seems to have been abducted by aliens since the VP debate) is more erratic than the guy who picked Sarah Freakin’ Palin? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/28 "2012-11-08T19:41:53Z")
> [@Ravenman](#): > > McCain, REASONABLE? Are you joking? You think the guy who picked boring Paul Ryan (who seems to have been abducted by aliens since the VP debate) is more erratic than the guy who picked Sarah Freakin’ Palin? To be fair to McCain, he probably didn’t realize how batshit crazy Palin was back then. Nobody knew her, and she was an extremely popular governor to boot. She seemed like a decent choice on paper. But yeah, after it became apparent how terrible of a person she was, I bet he regrets picking her every day of his life, turning her into the national poster child for insane republicans. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/29 "2012-11-08T19:42:26Z")
Didn’t want to. Wanted to pick “Fightin’ Joe” Lieberman. ---
**Author:** ![Merneith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/57b2e6/32.png) [@Merneith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merneith)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/30 "2012-11-08T19:49:11Z")
> [@](#): > > To be fair to McCain, he probably didn’t realize how batshit crazy Palin was back then. You think this make McCain look _reasonable_? ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/31 "2012-11-08T19:50:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > Perhaps they will recognize the changing demographics and attempt to appeal to African-Americans, Hispanic-Americans and other minority groups? They’re already talking this way in the GOP, but the problem is that they can’t do that so easily. They are still counting votes in Florida right now because GOP efforts to block minority voting with confusing ballots and long lines; Romney’s “self deportation” was the kindest of GOP approaches to illegal immigration; the GOP in Alabama and Arizona supported legislation to demand documentation from dark skinned people; and the anti abortion zealots regularly offend anyone without a penis. I just don’t see the GOP being able to flip the off switch on all the resentment they have built up. It will take a lot of outreach and work, but before they can even get to that point, they’ll have to get control of the party from the crazies who want to double down on extremism. I don’t see them getting all that done by 2016. ---
**Author:** ![Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7ba0ec/32.png) [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omg_a_Black_Conservative)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/32 "2012-11-08T19:53:08Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You’re right. It’s horrifying that the Republicans blatantly pander to the wealthy by voting them tax cuts in exchange for campaign contributions. Better to pander to the wealthiest among us than to the poorest, right? ---
**Author:** ![drewtwo99](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d07c76/32.png) [@drewtwo99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drewtwo99)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 7:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/33 "2012-11-08T19:57:19Z")
> [@Merneith](#): > > You think this make McCain look _reasonable_? No, I don’t think it means anything. I have no doubt that if McCain had known Palin better, if she was already the national figure she is today, that he would not have picked her. That’s all I’m speculating. His history of working out bi-partisan bills in the senate and being a generally good man despite some personal moral failings with respect to his marriages is what made him reasonable to me. Don’t get me wrong, I still voted for Obama, but McCain would have been a fine president in my estimation. Romney would have been a disaster. That’s what I’m feeling. Now, we’ve derailed this thread enough so let’s drop it. ---
**Author:** ![Tristan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tristan/32/18058_2.png) [@Tristan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tristan)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/34 "2012-11-08T20:11:03Z")
> [@Omg\_a\_Black\_Conservative](#): > > Better to pander to the wealthiest among us than to the poorest, right? Why? What makes Joe Millionaire better than me, Joe Middleclass? I think that is one of the biggest issues with the monied shot-callers in the GOP. Romney said that 47% of American’s won’t vote for them, but then trotted out the stupid canard (that you also seem to buy) that a big section of American’s don’t want to work, and want to live on welfare and government handouts. Even if it were POSSIBLE for someone to live on Welfare for their whole life (short of being disabled, it’s not any more, and hasn’t been since Clinton if I recall properly), I think the folks that think that way are a tiny tiny minority. Hell, you work full time and even at minimum wage you make more than welfare (though you will still need foodstamps if you are going to feed a family). ---
**Author:** ![Truman\_Burbank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ecc23a/32.png) [@Truman\_Burbank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Truman_Burbank)\ **Post date:** [November 8, 2012, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/35 "2012-11-08T20:21:28Z")
I’d shift all of my energies into making up with the Hispanics. I already do OK with the Cuban-Americans, they’ve become pretty reliably right-wing, and a lot of Hispanics come from religious/cultural values (ie Catholicism) that the ‘moral majority/anti-abortion’ planks of the platform might not be toxic, and if I shift on immigration I can easily fold that into a ‘self-made Juan Algerio’ small government narrative. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 10:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/36 "2012-11-09T10:18:35Z")
And so the shift begins… [Sean Hannity has “evolved” on immigration and supports a “pathway to citizenship”.](http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/11/hannity-ive-evolved-on-immigration-and-support-a-pathway-149078.html) That was quick. ---
**Author:** ![tagos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@tagos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tagos)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/37 "2012-11-09T10:25:04Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > And so the shift begins… > > [Sean Hannity has “evolved” on immigration and supports a “pathway to citizenship”.](http://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2012/11/hannity-ive-evolved-on-immigration-and-support-a-pathway-149078.html) > > That was quick. His Step 1: First control the border. Only then can there be a path. Control the border? What does that mean? Presumably it means the Repubs will be reaching out to the Hispanic vote by promising to build a giant wall along the border. ‘Vote for The Giant Wall and then we can talk.’ Winning! ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/38 "2012-11-09T12:15:13Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > You’re right. It’s horrifying that the Republicans blatantly pander to the wealthy by voting them tax cuts in exchange for campaign contributions. Not just tax cuts. Corporate welfare by the Kochload. Not to mention, we all drive on the same highways, yadda yadda. The meme spouted by OMGABC is one if the few that makes me truly stabby. It’s vile and insulting and wrong on multiple levels. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/39 "2012-11-09T12:17:32Z")
> [@tagos](#): > > His Step 1: > > First control the border. Only then can there be a path. > > Control the border? What does that mean? Presumably it means the Repubs will be reaching out to the Hispanic vote by promising to build a giant wall along the border. > > ‘Vote for The Giant Wall and then we can talk.’ > > Winning! Wow. Did he mention that Obama has “controlled the border” way more than his predecessors? (And that there also was a natural slowdown of illegal crossings, thanks to the Bush-caused Great Recession?) ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [November 9, 2012, 12:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354/40 "2012-11-09T12:21:33Z")
> [@Truman\_Burbank](#): > > I’d shift all of my energies into making up with the Hispanics. I already do OK with the Cuban-Americans, they’ve become pretty reliably right-wing, and a lot of Hispanics come from religious/cultural values (ie Catholicism) that the ‘moral majority/anti-abortion’ planks of the platform might not be toxic, and if I shift on immigration I can easily fold that into a ‘self-made Juan Algerio’ small government narrative. I agree with you in general, but you’re off in your Cuban-American timeline. It was the rich Cubans who lost their power when Castro took over in 1959 who cane to the US and voted reliably Republican (the anti-communist party, relatively speaking). But those folks are old and dying now, and their 20-to-40-year-old grandchildren don’t feel the same hate toward Castro – so many of them are voting Democratic these days. ETA: I was going to correct my typo (“cane” for “came”), but I’ll keep it as is – the richest Cuban Americans I know were sugar cane barons in Cuba who rebuilt their sugar cane empire in Florida swamps, with the help of some subsidized civil engineering. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/predictions-for-the-future-of-the-gop/640354.md?page=3)