What do you think will happen to Republicans?

[Cary]

Michael Steele hinted at some meeting that some will have this week. I have a hard time imagining a third party. They would.draw maybe 20%? And how many would they draw from Democrats?

My best case scenario is that we turn out en masse, vote the traitors out as they die off and fade away. I'm.an optimist.

[Leith]

1. I'm more worried about what will happen to the rest of us

The rethugs have been falling apart so fast that we're getting hit by the shrapnel.*


* Quote shamelessly taken from Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

15. Our party could move to the right, with all the Rethug refugees,...

... like Mitt Romney, Liz Cheney, Joe Manchin, etc

[everyonematters]

2. Their loss in 2024 will be epic.

If those with a conscience share the view that the current state of the Republican Party is a danger to our democracy, what do they have to lose with a third party run. After 2024, things will start changing dramatically. The polarization will start to ease.

[Cary]

3. If they draw away Democratic votes,

they could make the cult a plurality.

[PortTack]

6. I agree! The qgop are not poised to regain the senate in '22, and if we work hard and keep the house

As well, their fate..especially the deposed idiot king will be pretty obvious

[Atticus]

4. "My best case scenario---". From your lips--------- nt

[Hippo_The_Pointer]

5. Dear Lord

Dear Lord - I know it has been a while since I was last in touch, but in answer to Cary's thread I pray for a schism. There has been lots of schisms throughout history and another to split the GOP right now would be great. But make sure both parts are still hyper right wing so they don't take democratic votes. Ahmen.

The Hippo

[Laura PourMeADrink]

7. But there are pockets that trump has infected big time. Notp

Enough of us to stop that.

I truly don't understand why more left Republicans have not switched to Dem.

[Hippo_The_Pointer]

8. Because they are the masters of smear

No matter what some may think of the GOP they are the masters of one thing: The smear. It's a reflex to them. They can do it without thinking. The smear is a powerful force that stands in the way of those who would consider a party switch - The Hippo

[Claustrum]

9. I agree. Just go back to 2015 and you see how many hated and said bad things about Trump.

It didn't start off that they loved Trump. It's just that they hate Hillary (or any democrats for that matter) more. Of course, as time goes on, our hate for Trump makes them love Trump more.

[Hippo_The_Pointer]

10. Good point

Good point Claustrum - Trump out-smeared all other runners in 2015. The GOP instinctively understands the power of the smear and hence when they themselves were smeared they fell into line. Perhaps that was Bannon's insight. Smear, smear, smear. A smear for you, a smear for you, one for you and heck, everyone gets a smear! Pretty quick to avoid the damage they fell into line. An interesting line of thought - Thanks - The Hippo.

[Cary]

14. The political psychology theory of authoritarianism is the best answer that I have seen

A demagogue like the former guy triggers their authoritarianism. Most of them are high right wing authoritarian followers and ever so they shall remain.

They need a large group for approval, and a demagogue like the former guy triggers their authoritarianism. Accepting their nonsense enables them. We must reject them in the harshest terms, demoralize them, and de-normalize their lying and corruption.

[Mr.Bill]

11. I am holding out for a mass suicide.

I don't just mean the politicians, I mean everyone who voted for them.

[BlueTsunami2018]

12. You might not want to hear this.

Honestly, I think they complete their goal of fascist rule before 2030. This whole “Republicans are dead” thing that some are deluding ourselves into thinking is ridiculous. They never go away. They never die. Nixon should have killed them, they came back with twelve years of Reagan/Bush. W should have killed them, but they came back stronger with the Teabaggers only two years later and then we had Тяцмр. This stuff isn’t killing them, it’s helping them. They’ve been on this quest for sixty years and more and they are winning the long game. They’ve packed the courts, the statehouses, they’re enacting these voting laws and gerrymandering the House back into their favor.

We’ve gotten a reprieve but it’s not going to last. They’re going to get back into power, it’s inevitable. And the next time will be the last time.

Why certain members of our party can’t see this is beyond me. One or two senators refusing to advance the legislation we desperately need out of some bullshit reverence for procedure is going to be the death of the country.

I hope I’m wrong and we get a decade or more of majority rule but I don’t see it. This country isn’t smart enough to keep them out of power. We keep letting them back in and it gets worse every time. I have a hard time being optimistic about the future based on the patterns of the past.

[smirkymonkey]

17. I fear that you may be right.

They are like cockroaches. No matter how hard you try, there is no eliminating them entirely. They'll survive a nuclear holocaust. Something about being evil and hate filled seems to make you indestructible.

[ananda]

13. If those votes actually count.

Remember, election officials no longer have autonomy
in many states.

[DFW]

16. In a word? Nothing.

Whatever support they may lose in numbers, they will make up in financial support from those whose interests are maintained by having Republicans in power. They have seen in no uncertain terms that a majority of the voters in the country don't want them. They don't consider this to be cause for a crisis. They consider this to be grounds for more blatant tactics of power seizure.

The blatant and undisguised suppression of voting rights for those they think might oppose them, the gerrymandering of districts to maintain Republican majority delegations in the House and state legislatures that hail from states with Democratic majorities--none of this has shown any signs of abating. "Voting to suppress the rule of democracy" is not a crime for which anyone can be prosecuted. Fox "News" lying to their viewers is neither "news" nor forbidden by law.

Republicans are like cancer cells in someone in remission. They may be suppressed for a while, even reduced to the point where the patient can once again function normally for a while. But they usually linger, increasing their number quietly until they are in a position to do some serious, possibly fatal damage to the host, which in this case, is the USA.