Repub party is dead.... just look at what happened to them after Nixon

[groundloop]

We all know what happened to the repub party after Watergate don't we.... (i.e. - not much). We held the White House for 4 years and then Ronny Rayguns made a deal with Iran to doom Jimmy Carter's reelection.

Look, I'm thrilled that the truth is beginning to find the light of day with these latest developments involving Manafort and Cohen. HOWEVER, I'm not for an instant letting myself think that we have it made in Presidential and Congressional elections for the next decade. I believe these developments most certainly give us a good chance in the mid-terms and in 2020, beyond that I'm not holding my breath, repubs are pretty damned sly about cheating and stealing elections.

[phleshdef]

1. In a lot of ways, Nixon's downfall was the death knell for the Republican party of that era.

[C_U_L8R]

2. They couldn't help themselves.

They are totally corrupt. Given a little power, their worst instincts immediately kicked in. It’s going to be a long winter in Siberia for them. Doubt they’ll survive at all.

[ZZenith]

3. Well, this is worse than Watergate by quite a ways

And if it plays out the way I think it’s going to, the death of a thousand cuts is gonna leave a lifeless mess on the floor, and you’ll be hard-pressed to encounter anyone who’ll admit to having been a member of that loathesome party.

[Awsi Dooger]

4. Demographic shifts in that era favored the right

Emerging Republican Majority was printed in 1969 and the bottom line realities survived Watergate and thrived during Reagan. The electorate was 90% white in that era.

Now it is 72% white and dropping. Young people are registering either Democratic or unaffiliated, far above Republican.

Very promising terrain ahead but yes with old white people still stalwart in favor of Trump and Republicans, the short term impact won't be as dramatic as most posters here propose

[Hoyt]

5. White wing racists will always prefer GOPers, no matter what they do to stay in power.

Question is, how many white wing racists are out there? I believe there are a lot of them, and they'll elect another trump at some point.

[Caliman73]

6. Republicans are the party of White Supremacy...and that is a powerful force.

I know that most people on DU are not racist, but there is a difference between overt racism and falling into the lull of White Supremacy. The entire country is permeated with it. Whether you are White or not, you grow up steeped in the normalcy of White Supremacy. It is the norm, the fashion, the language, the music, etc... It is a powerful force even for those who actively try to fight its effects.

It is the doubt that creeps up in people's minds that makes them think, "They aren't really trying to suppress Black votes in Georgia, they're just trying to stop voter fraud." It is that momentary thought at the tragic new today in Iowa where people think, "Well, I guess there is something to the outcry against 'illegals' if they are killing us" compared to the silence when White kids and adults go on mass shooting rampages.

Republicans have been riding the wave of racial resentment at the changing demographics of this country. We are losing "American" culture, they say. Many people fall for it, especially if Black people are moving in to their neighborhoods with their Rap music, or Latinos are moving in to work the slaughter house jobs that White Americans won't do.

Republicans have no real ideology except staying in power to protect White America or simply ... America. Meanwhile Democrats fight each other over taking money from a big company, or saying something that was too radical, or not radical enough; or whether the leadership is too old, or too new, or whatever.

As you said, Republicans will cheat at the drop of a hat, then say that Democrats are cheating with a straight face. If the Blue Wave does hit, be prepared for the avalanche of claims that the Russians were hacking for the Democrats' sake. They will say it without a hint of irony or shame. We should be happy at Trump's downfall, but you are right, we need to understand that the Republicans will not stop.

[Kensan]

7. Watergate was the death of a legitimate conservative party...

The lessons "learned" from the downfall of the Nixon administration were to cover your tracks better. In addition to backdoor negotiations to time the release of the hostages in Iran, Reagan's henchmen stole Carter's debate notes (the first computer hack).

Bush the elder pardoned everyone he could remember that played a bit part in Iran/Contra. Then Bush oversaw the meltdown of our banking system (craptastic real estate lending - Part I). The Resolution Trust Corp gave away a lot of taxpayer money trying to prop up failing S&L's, not to mention selling off mortgage pools at pennies on the dollar. The fat cats got a lot fatter.

His dipshit sons stole the vote in Florida, even resorting to Republican staffers rushing the door of the recount room and terrorizing everyone inside. The strategy worked so well, they used Ohio in 2004 as the state to work their magic. Lying the country into a preemptive war, and destabilizing the most oil-rich region in the world while showering their cronies with defense contracts was icing on the cake. Oh, and I shouldn't forget the 2 separate tax cut bills that W signed. That put the transfer of wealth and income inequality into "ludicrous speed."

Trump...well, he certainly took the concept of dirty tricks to a new level.

A lot of the same characters that were around in the Nixon years resurfaced in later administrations. What they brought was a single-minded focus to make sure they didn't get caught. They are still up their old tricks, but they learned where they previously made mistakes. They also have a lot of new tools at their disposal: voting machines, gerrymandered districts, stringent ID rules, a complicit USSC, and a 24/7 propaganda news/radio network.

Thankfully, Trump has hired the "best people", and is going to see there's a huge step up from AAA to the majors. He's been lucky that others (Congress) have been covering for him. His inevitable downfall can't come soon enough.

[Recursion]

8. They're out of southern white people to win over

Now, I don't buy the "GOP is DOOOOOMED" arguments, because I think 3rd- and 4th-generation Latino immigrants will increasingly vote like non-Hispanic whites. But the GOP is still going to have to devise a "Southwestern Strategy" to take advantage of that.

[JI7]

10. it would mean running more "moderate" type candidates

and that would be a good thing.

[JI7]

9. Demographic Changes is what is Really going to Hurt Republicans

it's why democrats have done well in presidential elections. since 1992 winning popular vote except for 2004 and even that was very close.

someone like Reagan would not appeal to minorities as much as he did to whites.