Once Trump is out of the picture I wonder if the deplorables will give up on politics?

[Quixote1818]

I don't think Republicans can win if they run anyone as crazy and right wing as Trump is again and a moderate is going to do nothing for the base. So where does the Republican Party go after this? You have guys like Lindsey Graham trying to reinvent themselves to be attractive to the deplorables but that is only going to get him so far. Guys like DeSantos and Cory Stewart who have totally embraced Trump are going to get wasted in General Elections this year.

I wonder if Trump goes down in flames as Mueller closes in and the economy turns south what these people who have never voted before will do? There won't be a glorious wall, they will still be just as poor and their hero will look like a fool. Not to mention the demographics keep shifting making it harder and harder to run on a white nationalist platform.

I seriously think they will just go back to shooting guns and tune out of politics. Maybe not completely tune out but not be inspired to actually turn off Duck Dynasty, put the chips and dip down, get off the couch and actually go vote.

Thoughts?

[Sneederbunk]

1. No. Will turn over other rocks to see what they find.

[TheCowsCameHome]

2. They'll fall apart.

They need a ringleader like Trump to lead them around by the nose. Once he's gone, the party will be over.

[AlexSFCA]

3. deplorables didnt turn out in numbers for mitt romney

so if gop returns to romey types of candidates then it is possible that deplorables will lose interest in voting. However, they are the majority of rep voters and they decide who wins primaries.They’ll probably go for most extreme candidates each and every time.

[mobeau69]

4. NASCAR needs to extend their season.

[Laf.La.Dem.]

5. Go the way the TEA PARTY went!

[sfwriter]

6. The Trump model is out there now.

It will be monkey see, monkey do after this. They will be fair game for every hate-filled would-be dictator, and the scary thing is, they might find one that is competent.

[HopeAgain]

7. The religious right will fill the void

I remember hearing Eugene McCarthy say during the Carter Administration that the arch-conservatives were on their way back under the ungrowth of politics...

I take nothing for granted anymore.

[dameatball]

8. He's been hooked. He will try and stay "in the picture" somehow no matter what happens.

Best alternative for the rest of us is if he sees jail time. But I am convinced that he loves the spotlight too much to stop basking in whatever kind of public adulation he can scrounge up. There will be a smaller but still loyal base that will feed his ego.

[MontanaMama]

9. I wish but I don't think they will go away.

Maybe some of them will get distracted and go away. Some other cult leader will fill Dump's shoes.

However, it dawned on me today that the momentum leading up to today's midterm election must be perpetual. We can never let up again if we want to keep our democracy. So much damage has been done and will continue until we get both houses of congress back in Dem control. It isn't my intention to be a Debbie Downer - it's just true. We have to be hyper vigilant. Forever. It is daunting.

[marylandblue]

13. If we can get back all our government, we need a series of strategic initiative

To maintain checks and balances. New Voting Rights Act; admit DC, PR, and Guam as states; require candidates to release tax returns and form blind trusts and much more.

[MontanaMama]

17. Sounds good to me.

Yes. Dem leadership will go a long way towards those goals.

[Wintryjade]

10. Eat their own. That is what I am looking for. Lol.

[marylandblue]

11. They will not go away they are activated

They will look for a smarter, more acceptable Trump.

[Flaleftist]

12. Maybe another white nationalist will take his place,

go third-party and split the GOP.

[NewJeffCT]

14. Somebody new will come along to appeal to them

That was how Reagan got elected in 1980 - blatant appeals to racism (Welfare Queens driving Cadillacs, starting his campaign off in Philadelphia, Miss, etc)

Then, W Bush appealed to a lot of them in 2000 as well (big turnout in rural Florida, similar to Trump 16 years later)

[mtnsnake]

15. I think the best we can hope for is that it sends them all back into their holes

where they can go dormant for more than a few decades and let the rest of the country enjoy some peace and dignity again.

[GulfCoast66]

16. The republicans got nothing else.

For a brief moment almost a decade or so ago some of them pointed out that for long term viability over the next 30 years they needed to find a way to appeal to non-anglos. They the next election cycle they went full racist. No walking that back.

Even with cheating it will get more and more difficult for them to win with their current message. But as I said earlier, they now got nothing else.