I'm trying to wind down my (some would say excessive) election ranting, but I still have to say a couple things:
To my way of thinking the GOP lost not just because of some demographic miscalculation, or because of an act of god. They lost because their ideas are suspect. Their ideas are not going to be more appealing just because they're coming out of Marco Rubio's mouth.
The GOP is Pro-Birth, but not really Pro-Life.
The GOP is Pro-Military, but not Pro-Soldier.
The GOP is Pro-Dogma, but not Pro-Fact.
The GOP believes in conservation of a way of life, not conservation of the planet we live on.
The GOP believes in beliefs, not in logic.
The GOP is a plutocracy in everyman's clothing. Luckily people looked beneath the garb to see the underlying truth.
In many ways Obama is to the right of Eisenhower, yet they call Obama a socialist, communist, fascist, etc. They have gone over the edge in painting Obama as "other." The GOP has been dragged into the "reality" of the Tea Party, Religious Right, John Birch Society, Ayn Rand, white power, and other extremist fringe elements. Xenophobia, racism, and fear seem to be the driving forces. They view themselves as a righteous, persecuted minority. At least the "minority" part is fact-based.
I'm not anti-conservative. A "loyal opposition" is crucial. The parties exist in dynamic tension. The problem is that the GOP has been loyal to their party first, the country second, resulting in terrible governance. Politics is the art of the compromise, and Tea Party ideologues won't compromise. The current GOP suffers from a demographic shortfall (not making angry white guys fast enough), and from being beholden to too many disparate ideologies in their base. The big tent doesn't cover enough of America, so some of the ideas will have to change in order for the GOP to gain any relevance. They've driven most of the thinkers out of the party, leaving what, exactly? They deserve to keep failing until they can re-invent themselves. I'm all for a third party to absorb the crazies, so that the GOP can get back to being a party that is interested in governing a diverse country instead of defending an ideology at all costs.
