I find it really funny listening to all the RW know-it-alls proclaiming the problem as "branding"...

[Stinky The Clown]

. . . . . and "messaging".

They *really* don't get it.

Which is a good thing.

[BlueStreak]

1. Their core is scared old white men. They can't really expand

because that core of scared old white men is just not compatible with any of the other demographics they would need to reach out to.

As it stands, with a billion dollars of advertising and control of the election apparatus in key states, they can manipulate almost enough people to win an election over the best candidate in modern history running a great campaign that was well financed. So the GOP can still win because we won't have Obama the next time. And if the election had been held a couple of days after the first debate, Romney would have won this time.

But that base of scared old white men is getting a little smaller each year as our population evolves. So fundamentally the GOP faces a structural problem deep into the future.

[KurtNYC]

2. Those 2 things ARE a problem for them

The GOP is shedding voters faster than the Democratic party is. Americans shop on price and brand and that has been their recipe for success -- tough military and no new taxes (at least that was the promise).

But I think the real problem for any political movement is that it has to be FOR something. Kerry lost in 2004 because he didn't stand strongly for something. Likewise Romney was unbeleivable when he said 12 million new jobs (or whatever number it was) so his campaign attracted mostly people who were voting AGAINST Obama.

In a world that is increasingly full of complaining spectators, the way to stand out is to DO something.

[kwassa]

3. The GOP is really stuck.

The idea that their loss is only a branding issue is delusional. The electorate knows exactly what they are selling.

To attract more voters, the Republicans really have to change basic positions, and they are incapable of doing that, and will continue to be incapable of doing that for a long time.

This is excellent.

[ancianita]

4. They've adopted their owner/donors' values. Thus, they speak their owners' rhetoric.

[dogknob]

5. B-b-but... Turd-polishing is ALL WE KNOW!!!