The Republicans are melting down. The George W. Bush presidency was a debacle and no Republican presidential candidate will want to own it for a generation. And, at the same time that the US is becoming more diverse and more tolerant, Republicans are hunkering down with their white men rule motto.
If there is any chance for the Republican Party in the near future, it will be with someone like Michael Bloomberg, Mayor of New York City, and, as Forbes reports, the 10th richest person in America. It will take his money to wrest the Republican Party out of the clutches of the Tea Party. He dares to talk about guns, immigration and health care.
To be relevent, the Republican Party must talk about these issues. But it won't in the short term. It will only occur to do so when the party is on the verge of complete irrelevancy.