As the 2012 election cycle ramps up, we may be bearing witness to a major party sell its soul. The current Republican frontrunner, Rick Perry, has documented ties to Christian extremists who represent the closest thing to homegrown fascism this country has ever seen. These are people who think people who believe in evolution have no place in society, that advocates of church and state are "terrorists," and that Democrats are controlled by demonic forces. And on and on and on. And yet, at this point Perry has a better-than-even chance of getting the Republican nod.
It's hard not to draw parallels to the mid-1960s, when the Republicans began actively courting segregationist Southern Democrats who were disaffected by the national party's firm embrace of civil rights for blacks. In a sane world, the Republicans would have told these people, "We don't want you in our party." But instead, these people were embraced with open arms--in the process, jettisoning the anti-slavery and anti-Jim Crow legacy on which they were founded. While the Repubs may have gained a short-term windfall, it's now apparent that this strategy is blowing up in their faces. And based on recent anecdotal evidence, we may be seeing a repeat.
Most of these Southerners were fairly conservative at bottom, but only voted Dem because of the legacy of the Civil War until they were pushed out by the national party's rejection of Jim Crow. As these newly-minted Repubs pushed the party further and further to the right, it is now apparent that the rightward turn alienated more moderate voters in the Northeast and Pacific Coast. It didn't really become apparent until 1992, when both regions swung heavily to the Democrats. They've stayed there ever since. The result? The Republican Party is more or less nonexistent north of the Potomac and west of the Sierra Nevada, while the Democrats at least have some infrastructure in the South. In the Electoral College, the Democrats now have 164 electoral votes locked up tight, and another 88 that will go their way in normal circumstances. Translation--the Repubs' courting of segregationists now means that under normal conditions, the Democrats start out of the gate needing only 18 electoral votes to take the presidency.
Early anecdotal evidence indicates that Perry's ties to dominionist elements could come back to haunt him in the general election. In the last month, CNN, the Daily Beast and NPR have all looked into Perry's ties to dominionism. Most of the commenters have been horrified to learn of this, and have said flat-out they will not vote for Perry if he gets out of the primary. And yet, given the collapse of the only two Republican candidates with a realistic shot at the White House (Pawlenty is already out, and Romney is rapidly sinking), it looks like the Repubs are willing to give their nomination to a guy with clear links to a movement that sees all opposition as demonic. While this may excite people who have been trained over the years to think Dems are gay-loving baby killers, does anyone seriously think it'll work in the long term with swing voters? Moreover, these people have been taught that compromise is not an option--yet poll after poll has shown that voters want their leaders to work together.
Jack Cafferty said last year that the Republican Party is on the verge of becoming a cartoon. If Perry gets the Republican nomination, "cartoon" would probably be a kind way of putting it.