For the purposes of this thread, make an assumption off the bat that Obama is going to win big in November. If you are someone who very much wants the Republican party to lose in November, which of these two unlikely scenarios would actually be preferable to you?
“Moderate” Mitt Romney is the nominee. He loses badly and pundits and voters claim that what the Republican party needs to do is nominate a “true conservative” and they attempt to push the party even further right, resulting in a Republican party that is even more beatable in 2016, or
“Conservative” Rick Santorum is the nominee. He loses badly and pundits and voters decide that they need to rethink this whole crazy gallop to the right. They make a course correction and dump some of the more radical elements and become more mainstream and moderate, resulting in a Republican party that is more competitive in 2016.
Public poll to keep people who aren’t invited to answer from answering.
All posters are invited to post, just not to answer the poll.
I expect #1 to happen but I’d prefer #2. There are going to be places which elect Republicans, and the inhabitants of those places are going to be better off if their officials are not driven to the crazy by their party. I’m old enough to remember when both parties compromised and worked for the good of the country, not for their own power, and would like that country back.
FYI, Joe Nocera suggested this in his column the other day. He likened it to the situation in the Democratic Party after George McGovern and Walter Mondale were nominated but went down in big defeats. Edited to add, that after those defeats, he argued, the Democratic Party moved more toward the center and elected Bill Clinton to two terms.
Agree with others, that #1 is certainly likely. I’m torn between the two options, because a moderate Republican will win more than the crazy variety. Even a “moderate” Republican–in recent memory, at least–is not so moderate. I’ve spent too much time in front of Reagan, Bush I and Bush II-appointed federal judges to ever want another Republican in the White House.
In the short term, I prefer #1 to happen because it will lead to #2. The Republicans will only begin to come back to the center after they are shut out of this election. Believe me, I want our politics to have functional parties that keep each other in check, but the Repbulicans need to stop being hate filled bigots for that to happen, it will take at least a decade.
I want whatever it takes to discredit the Religious Right and relegate them to the “lunatic fringe,” where they belong. I don’t think secular Conservatives are so bad, but the Religious Right is very much of a threat, and anything that prevents them from gaining power is a good thing.
Just wondering … for those of you saying that situation #1 seems likely, how do you account for the fact that John McCain was a moderate candidate? If the Republican party were to claim that they needed a more extreme candidate, why are they electing the most moderate candidate in the running? Is it just because one loss could be a fluke, but two indicates a pattern?
FWIW, I think the election of moderate candidates indicates the Republican mindset. Just because the extreme right is the most vocal does not make them the majority, and I doubt moderates would change their value system purely out of disgust for the opposing party.
But Palin was not. Furthermore, scenario #1 was partially in effect for this election cycle, as some were saying that they need a “true” conservative in order to win and they have come pretty close to making the nomination of one a reality (even though they most likely won’t in the end.)
I want #1. I am convinced that the Republican Party has no interest in governing responsibly. When out of power, they will gladly sabotage the Democrats and bring the economy crashing down if it means getting back in power. When in power, they will do whatever it takes to stay in power. Power for its own sake is all they care about. The Democratic Pary needs a responsible opposition party, but the GOP is not it. They need to die out and let another party emerge to challenge the Democrats.
It makes me incredibly sad to think that a majority (albeit small majority) of the country might agree with Santorum enough to vote for him, enough that he would become president. What he stands for is so hateful and wrong…I don’t know any other Catholics who are so hateful. He’s awful and he disgusts me. It would break my heart if it turned out that he was who Americans wanted to represent them.
I’d rather see people shrug and vote for Romney because they’re against Obama than people vote for Santorum because they are behind him.
While the idea of a more beatable presidential candidate is appealing and desirable, people have to remember that not only is the presidency on the line, but scores of Congressional seats. The GOP may not be able to beat an Obama, or a Hillary, but through gerrymandering, they will be able to beat a Tom Daschle, a Henry Reid, or Alan Grayson. With the gridlock we’ve experienced over the last couple of years, it is absolutely necessary for the GOP to become less fucking insane
I’m refusing to vote in this poll. I’m with Procrustus in wanting to never again have a Republican in the White House. And I’m with BobLibDem in wanting the Republican Party to go away entirely and let another party emerge.
So I’m not comfortable aligning myself with the statement “I just want to win,”. However, while I DO want to have two reasonable parties, I don’t think the GOP is capable of being one of them, and I will never believe they are.
I actually want both options. The GOP swings far too far to the right, gets trounced. The Dems get to enact some good legislation, while the Pubs have to moderate their fringes for future elections.
I think that is what is about to happen: the GOP is going to lose the Whitehouse, by 2016 the demographics will have shifted enough that the Republicans ususal schtick won’t work. They will realize that in order to appeal to more voters they will have to come back to the center.
As this election shows, they won’t change easily, though; first they will continue to go to the right appealing to certain demographics, but turning off everyone else. Then their cohesion will begin breaking (already seeing this with Murkowski and Snowe) then there will be a revolution within the party. The will be viable candidates for the WH again by 2020.
In the meantime, they’ll probably hold the house for a while and continue to grind government to a complete stoppage for the next couple of cycles.
I like guns and I hate the environment, everything else the republicans stand for makes me a little sick. I hope they cut off the fringe and move back to the middle.
On facebook this morning, one of my friends posted an image that said:
If you take birth control you’re a slut
Homosexuality is an abomination
Corporations are people
American car companies should go bankrupt
Latinos are illegal until proven otherwise
The bible trumps the constitution
Obama is a secret Muslim from Kenya
Vote Republican.
Granted, it’s not the sort of message to invite rational discourse, and some of the positions are intentionally mis-stated, but posting even a ‘fair’, neutral wording of the positions they refer to leaves me in disbelief.