The GOP is dying; let's pull the plug

[KamaAina]

http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/latest-columns/20160809-the-gop-is-dying-let-s-pull-the-plug.ece

Starting in the 1960s, the Republican Party made a conscious effort to win votes in the South by appealing to racists. As Kevin Phillips, a political strategist for Nixon, explained in 1970: "The more Negroes who register as Democrats in the South, the sooner the Negrophobe whites will quit the Democrats and become Republicans. That's where the votes are. Without that prodding from the blacks, the whites will backslide into their old comfortable arrangement with the local Democrats."

The cynical strategy has, sadly, often paid off. However, by appealing to the lowest common denominator, Republicans have become the party of white identity politics....

As it stands, the GOP is literally dying off. The growth of America's white population is already slowing; in a decade or so, it will begin to decline. On the other hand, non-Anglo populations already account for over 90 percent of population growth. By 2043, non-Hispanic whites will no longer be a majority of America's population....

The Grand Old Party hasn't been so grand in a while, but it has definitely been old, and only getting older. While the party has been waiting idly on its deathbed, Trump has sped up the process by setting fire to the whole Republican log cabin. Rather than splashing water on the flames, it's time for the GOP to come to terms with reality and wait for the party to burn to the ground.

Rest In Pieces. And no burial in a military cemetery!

[MichiganVote]

1. The last decent President the GOP put forth was Eisenhower. That's hell of a long time ago.

[PJMcK]

2. Just shoot the beast!

Of course, I'm only sarcastically joking.

[niyad]

3. I will happily toast their demise on 21 jan 2017.

[SCantiGOP]

4. Kevin Phillips

His book back then - The Emerging Republican Majority - was incredibly accurate in the trends he predicted.
He became a strong progressive later. His 2002 book "Wealth and Democracy" is great.

[KamaAina]

7. How can an architect of the racist Southern strategy become a "strong progressive"?

Okay, maybe move to the center like David Brock, but progressive?

[GulfCoast66]

9. Read up on Morris Dees

Went from successfully defending a Klan member to founding the Southern Poverty Law Center. People can change. I know because I did.

[SCantiGOP]

14. Right, people can change

I was chairman of my High School Young Republicans in 1969. I came back from college the next year as a member of the anti-war Student Mobilization Committee, and have gotten progressively more radical over the years.
Kevin Phillips had a conversion when he saw the direction the GOP was taking, and was concerned about the role he might have played in that change in the party.

[KamaAina]

23. I remember reading about an ex-white supremacist

who had a child with a disability. His fellow white supremacists suggested the child be euthanized. He told them to go fuck themselves, left the movement, and now gives talks about it to their opposition.

[jberryhill]

5. Ew. I'm not touching the plug

[central scrutinizer]

6. No, they should get the Terry Schiavo treatment

Forced tube feeding and every other indignity the "right to life" whack jobs mandate.

[nomorenomore08]

32. ...

[yeoman6987]

8. Let's hope. They have everything but president

That needs to end especially the 38 state congress'. That's where most of the crap is being done. Hopefully November will end a lot of down ballot elections.

[ErikJ]

10. Bring back the Whigs!

Republicans may be replaced by the Libertarians though.

[rusty quoin]

11. Libertarians have this philosophy they have been developing in which they explain in

academic ways, researched, with names for different levels of libertarianism ...oh...you agree with that...I can catagorize you as this type of of libertarian.

Oh fuck no...you are all crazy.

[lame54]

17. That's what I thought Trump was doing

[ErikJ]

19. good point. lol. or maybe the Prince of Orange

[Freddie]

28. That's not a Whig it's his real hair

sorry

[The Wizard]

12. Once they're on the ground

put a heel on their neck. They're just vicious scumbags filled with hate. They must be crushed and spat upon.

[SunSeeker]

25. Exactly. They let 45,000 Americans die each year for lack of health coverage.

No quarter.

[geek tragedy]

13. The GOP isn't going anywhere. There are enough racist white people to give them

a virtual lock on the House of Representatives.

[Jim Lane]

29. Sad but true.

It's not just the racist white people. There are social conservatives and religious fundies, many but not all of whom are racist. Add in all the people who've been brainwashed against "socialism" and "big government" (but want to keep their Medicare).

The GOP survived the Goldwater debacle of 1964. Even if Trump loses big, the Republicans will keep the House, will probably control the Senate after the 2018 midterms, and will be competitive in future presidential races.

[geek tragedy]

31. I don't mean to say that they're immune to their own poor decisions, of course,

they will have to adapt to the country's changing demographics at some point, but it seems very premature to state that a party with a massive congressional majority is dying.

[SHRED]

41. Gerrymandering did that

Just sayin.

[geek tragedy]

42. In part. It's also a matter of their voters being more spread out while ours

are concentrated in cities.

[NurseJackie]

15. Nah! Let it suffer.

[nomorenomore08]

33. Oh, they'll linger on painfully without our "help," I'm pretty sure. n/t

[randome]

16. It's been brewing for a long time, just as the Soviet Union's demise was.

And just like then, it seems to happen quickly, almost out of the blue. In one Presidential contest, the GOP has lost control. No one can pretend differently any longer.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Meredith McIver approves of this post.[/center][/font][hr]

[KG]

18. not even close. last time I looked, they still own capitol hill.

mostly coz the dems are too timid to take it. or too incompetent.

[Matrosov]

20. It's only a matter of time

As the number of white people in the US relative to the number of People of Color will continue to decline over the coming decades, so will the number of Republicans decline.

[TheDonnasRule]

21. The GOP already died. What we have now are the undead ZOMBIE remains of the GOP

[proud patriot]

22. poetic extinction

[Mme. Defarge]

26. Definitely too late

for death with dignity.

[keithbvadu2]

24. Only the name 'republican' may die. It will emerge as another name.

There will always be the liberals/conservatives, progressives/traditionalists, haves/have nots, bourgeoisie/proletariat and whatever opposing ideas may come about with whatever titles they may claim.

[Warpy]

27. The hard part is that they could have survived the bigots

What they couldn't survive are the Evangelicals Reagan handed the party to, it's why they're no longer capable of compromise on any issue. Goldwater warned them about that but Reagan couldn't be stopped once he'd declared himself born again as an antiabortionist.

[nomorenomore08]

34. Ironically, their demise was brought about in part by ignoring the advice of an arch-conservative...

n/t

[Third Doctor]

30. If wishes were horses.

Maybe after this one (hopefully) self destructs another more sane party will emerge. Still conservative but not this insane ,bigoted ,anti science cult it has become. We actually need 4 parties or more imo.

[SleeplessinSoCal]

35. They are shrinking it to the size it can be drowned in a bathtub.

[Angleae]

36. Where have I heard this before?

Oh yea, early 2000s by republicans about the democratic party who's future was looking pretty dismal. Welcome to the two-party system. When one party falters, the other moves up and as there is not 3rd party that has a realistic chance to unseat one the big two this is the way it will continue to be. But as far as the GOP dying, keep in mind that while they can't seem to put forth a presidential candidate, the currently have 54 of 100 senate seats, 247 of 435 house seats, 31 of 50 governors, complete control of 31 of 50 state legislatures (an partial control of 8 others).

[Cosmic Dancer]

37. Let's not go hi five each other -

They have the house, the senate and about 30 states. They are inflicting a lot of damage on the country and Clinton is a very weak and unpopular candidate for president.

[Nitram]

38. Nah, keep the GOP on life-support.

A brain-dead GOP on life-support will keep conservatives impotent and in confusion long enough for us to make some real progress,

[Shankapotomus]

39. They can either convert

or go down with the ship. Or join the extremist's backing Trump.

No reason to feel sorry for any of them.

[NBachers]

40. May the screaming banshees of the suffering dead rend the body and scatter it to eternal torment.