# Will The Republicans ever figure out why they lost? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [December 26, 2012, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224 "2012-12-26T21:33:49Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 75
**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:** [July 16, 2013, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1481 "2013-07-16T16:24:10Z")
> [@rEVOLutionary](#): > > Well, these are all rhetorical questions, so i’m guessing you have nothing further to add? "rhetorical "? I don’t think that word means what you think it means, etc. These are questions that should have easy, definite, objectively verifiable answers. You seem to be weaseling to avoid answering the question. for example, **Gigo** makes a great start there, very quickly. Thanks, **G**. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1482 "2013-07-16T16:25:14Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > CJJ, we’ll know that conservatism has failed when they have to change the name. We know what that looks like because liberals had to abandon their identity. > > We’ll know conservatism has failed when Republican candidates in national elections deny they are conservative and try to sound more like their Democratic opponent. So when tea partiers continue to put pamphlets denying Anthropological Global Warming, even though you know they are false, you will continue to distribute them? Do tell. ---
**Author:** ![rEVOLutionary](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revolutionary/32/7311_2.png) [@rEVOLutionary](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rEVOLutionary)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1483 "2013-07-16T16:26:38Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > 1. Voter fraud in the **primaries?** That’s a new one. > > 2. By “voter fraud” you do mean what is usually meant by the term, right? That is to say, persons casting votes who are not legally eligible to vote, or voting more than once under different names, etc. Both. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1484 "2013-07-16T16:42:55Z")
> [@rEVOLutionary](#): > > Both. Both what and what? ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1485 "2013-07-16T16:45:05Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > CJJ, we’ll know that conservatism has failed when they have to change the name. We know what that looks like because liberals had to abandon their identity. > > We’ll know conservatism has failed when Republican candidates in national elections deny they are conservative and try to sound more like their Democratic opponent. No, we know conservatism has failed because it has **died** and RWs have appropriated the name. I repeat: No **conservative** would ever shout things like “End the Fed!” or “Drown it in a bathtub!” or “Molon labe!” ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1486 "2013-07-16T16:58:00Z")
Well, it’s alive and kicking for now, and I’d say it even governed successfully. Problem is, it was a Democratic President that made it work, so we’ve still got some work to do. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1487 "2013-07-16T17:00:31Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Well, it’s alive and kicking for now, and I’d say it even governed successfully. Problem is, it was a Democratic President that made it work, so we’ve still got some work to do. So Obama is **not,** in fact, more liberal than Clinton. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1488 "2013-07-16T17:01:24Z")
Here’s a new wrinkle. I’d be interested in your thoughts, folks. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are teaming with Kristen Gillibrand to deal with the military sexual assault problem. Paul and Cruz are Tea Party darlings. Cruz in particular looks like he’s done some homework on the issue > **[Paul, Cruz join Gillibrand on military sex-assault bill](https://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/rand-paul-ted-cruz-kirsten-gillibrand-sexual-assault-push-094244)** > > They throw their support behind her proposal to create a new system for prosecuting such crimes. Several of our strongest allies such as Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany have made similar reforms to their military justice systems, and seen marked improvement,” Cruz said in the statement. He also commended Gillibrand for her efforts to “modernize” the forces. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1489 "2013-07-16T17:07:47Z")
So Cruz is coming out \*against \*rape, unlike a number of his colleagues. Are you asking if he deserves \*praise \*for that? Has it really come to \*that \*now for you people? ---
**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:** [July 16, 2013, 5:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1490 "2013-07-16T17:34:15Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Here’s a new wrinkle. I’d be interested in your thoughts, folks. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are teaming with Kristen Gillibrand to deal with the military sexual assault problem. > > Paul and Cruz are Tea Party darlings. Cruz in particular looks like he’s done some homework on the issue > > [http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/rand-paul-ted-cruz-kirsten-gillibrand-sexual-assault-push-94244.html](http://www.politico.com/story/2013/07/rand-paul-ted-cruz-kirsten-gillibrand-sexual-assault-push-94244.html) > > Several of our strongest allies such as Israel, the United Kingdom, and Germany have made similar reforms to their military justice systems, and seen marked improvement,” Cruz said in the statement. He also commended Gillibrand for her efforts to “modernize” the forces. I hope I’m not so blindly partisan that if they are looking for workable, real-world solutions to real problems, that I wouldn’t support that. At least it’s not another impeachment/turn back obamacare resolution. Sexual assault in our military appears to be a very serious problem. I hope to be able to applaud their suggested solutions. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1491 "2013-07-16T17:51:33Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So Cruz is coming out \*against \*rape, unlike a number of his colleagues. Are you asking if he deserves \*praise \*for that? Has it really come to \*that \*now for you people? It’s not coming out against rape, anymore than the Al Franken bill was. It’s simply trying to find a better way to handle the rape problem. That’s like saying that giving the death penalty to rapists would be a stand against rape, whereas opposing the death penalty for rapists would be pro-rape. Members of both parties are reluctant to remove the chain of command from military justice, and with good reason. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1492 "2013-07-16T17:58:48Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Here’s a new wrinkle. I’d be interested in your thoughts, folks. Rand Paul and Ted Cruz are teaming with Kristen Gillibrand to deal with the military sexual assault problem. That should be quite a DVD . . . ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1493 "2013-07-16T18:03:36Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Members of both parties are reluctant to remove the chain of command from military justice, and with good reason. That being? ---
**Author:** ![YogSothoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/8edcca/32.png) [@YogSothoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/YogSothoth)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1494 "2013-07-16T18:11:56Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > CJJ, we’ll know that conservatism has failed when they have to change the name. We know what that looks like because liberals had to abandon their identity. > > We’ll know conservatism has failed when Republican candidates in national elections deny they are conservative and try to sound more like their Democratic opponent. We know the GOP has already failed. That’s why we have the Tea Party. But they’re failing too ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1495 "2013-07-16T18:16:46Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > That being? Because the military has its own justice system, removing one class of crime from them undermines that. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1496 "2013-07-16T18:17:58Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > We know the GOP has already failed. That’s why we have the Tea Party. But they’re failing too Maybe. On the other hand, liberal Democrats failed, thus the DLC came into being. The DLC not only won two Presidential elections, but had the most successful Presidency of the post-war era. So of course Democrats reject the DLC until it disbands due to lack of interest. That’s Democrats, reward failure, punish success. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1497 "2013-07-16T18:22:39Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Because the military has its own justice system, removing one class of crime from them undermines that. Except that the military justice system is part of the _problem_, not part of the solution. Hence the proposed legislation. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1498 "2013-07-16T18:23:41Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > So of course Democrats reject the DLC until it disbands due to lack of interest. How’s \*that \*workin’ out for ya? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1499 "2013-07-16T18:25:53Z")
> [@YogSosoth](#): > > We know the GOP has already failed. That’s why we have the Tea Party. But they’re failing too Or at least they appear already to have peaked. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2013, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224/1500 "2013-07-16T18:26:58Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Except that the military justice system is part of the _problem_, not part of the solution. Hence the proposed legislation. And so was the DLC, for that matter. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224.md?page=74) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-the-republicans-ever-figure-out-why-they-lost/645224.md?page=76)