Republican Dilemma: Extreme Factions of GOP Thwart Party’s Efforts to Build National Base

[Jessy169]

The GOP is now fractured into at least five tribes — two of which staunchly refuse to tarnish their ideological purity.

Across the nation, not just in Washington, there are ever more signs of a Republican Party veering to the right edge of the right wing of the political spectrum. With prospects for a comprehensive immigration bill fading, what will it take to bring the GOP back at least to the right edge of the center of the spectrum, to compete to win national elections on its own merits and not just when the Democrats fail or the economy falters?

<snip>

So here’s the Republican dilemma: The House and Southern Republican parties are more concerned with ideological purity and tribal politics than they are with building a durable, competitive national party base to win presidential and Senate majorities. In most cases, they are in no danger of losing their House seats or their hegemony in their states. They will be resistant to changes in social policy that reflect broad national opinion; resistant to any policies or rhetoric, including but not limited to immigration, that would appeal to Hispanics, African-Americans, or Asian-Americans; and resistant to policies like Medicaid expansion or Head Start that would ameliorate the plight of the poor. They also will be more inclined to use voter-suppression methods to reduce the share of votes cast by those population groups than to find ways to appeal to them. I see little or nothing, including a potential loss in 2016, that will change this set of dynamics anytime soon.

http://www.nationaljournal.com/columns/washington-inside-out/republican-dilemma-extreme-factions-of-gop-thwart-party-s-efforts-to-build-national-base-20130710

[zbdent]

1. I want to see a shooting war between the

"No illegal immigrants whatsoever allowed in this country" and the

"Business can't survive by paying U.S. Citizens to do work" crowds ...

[WovenGems]

2. I will become an arms dealer!!!!!!

[Jessy169]

3. I want to see a cage match between the five different factions,

a fight to the death with only one sole survivor walking out. Then, finally, we'll have somebody to negotiate and compromise with. The way it is now and has been for a long time, nothing can get done because there are just too many cooks in the kitchen, each with their own psychotic recipe. As the world hurdles toward end-of-oil and global warming, we really need some solid consensus on how to meet the challenges, but with the five G.O.P. factions all pulling in different directions, consensus is just exactly what we're not going to ever get. Something has to change.

[zbdent]

4. Hmm, good idea ... here's how to improve upon it ...

Make sure they have to pay CASH for the health care they'll need at the end of the battle.

And make them wait months to see their primary care physician, to boot, like the "free market" allows.

True story ...

Mrs. ZBDent had a mammogram. History, her father passed away due to cancer.

Her doctor never calls. Except after this mammogram.

The office said "Call as soon as possible!"

She called, was told they saw something on the mammogram that they needed to investigate more in depth. When could they see her? Oh, in a month. (How's that for "free market" efficiency? Pay for a private health plan, and you get the "Death Panel" deciding if you might live long enough to get to your doctor.)

Turns out, thankfully, that she didn't have anything wrong ... but for her doctor to say "Call back as soon as possible!" got her scared, and then SHE HAD TO WAIT!!!

[Doctor_J]

5. as shown for the last 20 years

they are able to get everything they want without any national base, and without even a majority. So I don't see a problem for them

[xtraxritical]

6. "The GOP is now fractured into at least five tribes" If this is the thesis

and your first sentence maybe you could take the effort to describe "five tribes" and not just two. The link does not have "five tribes" that I can see. I would like to know how "fractured" they are.

[Jessy169]

7. From the link:

That is because I see at least five Republican parties out there, with a lot of overlap, but with enough distinct differences that the task is harder than usual. There is a House party, a Senate party, and a presidential party, of course. But there is also a Southern party and a non-Southern one. The two driving forces dominating today’s GOP are the House party and the Southern one—and they will not be moved or shaped by another presidential loss. If anything, they might double down on their worldviews and strategies.

The article then goes into describing and characterizing each of the five divisions in greater detail.

[xtraxritical]

10. Ok, I'm prematurly critical!

[bluedeathray]

8. What?! Religious fundamentalists not playing well with the MIC who aren't playing well

With anyone outside the good old (white) boys club?

Calling them factions is being generous. These are narrow minded bigots. Each fringe group may be unique in their brand of hatred, but it boils down to hatred.

It seems incredible to me that the GOP can garner ANY significant portion of the vote, beyond the 1%.

[Jessy169]

9. It seems incredible to me that the GOP can garner ANY significant portion of the vote...

It seems incredible to any of us that have a brain and know how to use it. The problem of course is that there are legions of low-intellect people spread around the U.S. who's brains are hardwired to Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, Glen Beck and all the rest. They don't think for themselves, they let the G.O.P. propagandizers do their thinking for them. The people spreading the propaganda are, of course, taking their cues from higher-ups. It is incredible, and disturbing.

[bemildred]

11. Come come, there must be plenty of people out there who want to be treated like cattle.

[yurbud]

12. it's the monkey trap. Drop a nut in bottle, the monkey reaches in to grab it, and ...

can't get his hand out to grab anything else because he can't let go of the nut.

In this case, it's a Jesus Jim Crow loving, foreigner hating, old, white lynch mob nut.