Has the GOP lost all of their sanity?

[Republicans Losing to Obama Twice]

What are the rock's positions?

Down-to-earth.

Likely pro-stoner.

[Shan Yue]

Down-to-earth.

Likely pro-stoner.

Bet his pappa was a rolling stone. You know, wherever he laid his head was his home, and when he died all he left them was alone.

[TomKirk]

I would elect a rock over Donald Trump

What are the rock's positions?

Solidly against liquidation.

[TomKirk]

Sanders isn't insane.

Compared to Hillary, his policies and notions are a lot more far-fetched.

By the standards in any other First World country, he is a centrist. Hillary is center-right. Some of the Republicans are out on the far right, others off the scale.

[Kincoboh]

Compared to Hillary, his policies and notions are a lot more far-fetched.

By the standards in any other First World country, he is a centrist. Hillary is center-right. Some of the Republicans are out on the far right, others off the scale.

Yep. They are pretty much like on the scale of Pinochet or Franco level fascism.

[Arach-Naga Combine]

By the standards in any other First World country, he is a centrist. Hillary is center-right. Some of the Republicans are out on the far right, others off the scale.

Yep. They are pretty much like on the scale of Pinochet or Franco level fascism.

To be fair to franco, he WAS willing to take in refugees fleeing war-torn countries.

[Kincoboh]

Yep. They are pretty much like on the scale of Pinochet or Franco level fascism.

To be fair to franco, he WAS willing to take in refugees fleeing war-torn countries.

Franco was a piece of shit and deserved to die/be indefinitely in prison, just like the rest of the European fascists.

[Tmutarakhan]

I hate to break it to you, but: Francisco Franco is still dead.

[Kingdom of the Carolinas]

the government in general is a bunch of clowns

[Luziyca]

The common people? No, they're mostly fine. The candidates and a Fox News though, they've gotten worse.

A bit.

[Kincoboh]

I hate to break it to you, but: Francisco Franco is still dead.

Yes, he should have died in prison, or with a bullet through his brain. Either one would have been good, but he died of old age.

[The Hobbesian Metaphysician]

I hate to break it to you, but: Francisco Franco is still dead.

Yes, he should have died in prison, or with a bullet through his brain. Either one would have been good, but he died of old age.

Which means the troll will be forever remembered as one of the few lucky ones who got away.

[Republicans Losing to Obama Twice]

I hate to break it to you, but: Francisco Franco is still dead.

The infamous Franco SNL News Update joke. Are you aware of it? It also takes a nice shot at Nixon, using his quote about Franco's death. Very memorable.

https://screen.yahoo.com/snl-political- ... 00128.html

[Alien Space Bats]

The GOP has gone through various changes throughout their history. From a Hamiltonian party which stood for a strong federal government and the union, to the party of populism and free blacks in reconstruction, before moving to be the party of free-markets in the 20s, to the party of moderates up until the 80s and 90s, and in the 2010s, the GOP is in a new era, where incredibly energetic and bombastic, or completely comical individuals are leading national polls in the GOP nomination. Many of these comical, or completely bombastic candidates include unelectable people such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

Even though its very likely that both of them will be decimated in the general election, the electorate loves them, and if trends continue, one of the two will become the Republican Presidential candidate. On the other hand, reasonable and intelligent people are relegated or scared from running. The most prominent being Jon Huntsman, who the Obama campaign was the most fearful of in the 2012 election. Now, he is lamenting about a third party and has literally been scared from running for office in 2016.

Has the GOP lost their sanity? Have they given up their odds of being elected for the sake of their comical relief?

In my opinion, the GOP has grown insane, and is consistently going for the weirdest or seemingly most belligerent, but not necessarily the most likable or electable candidate. The GOP hates people like Jon Huntsman or Rand Paul, who would cross over most of the moderate vote, and help win the general, and replaces them with people like Donald Trump or Ben Carson, who will likely bring the end to the GOP as a whole. The GOP, whilst having the establishment and the opposition is no longer about establishment and opposition, very insane vs not insane, and unfortunately, the sane element of the GOP is dying out, fast.

You know how seldom I agree with you, but here I really have to concur: The GOP really HAS lost its mind.

The problem with the Republicans is simple: They're far more interested in being "right" than in winning, and have mistaken poor impulse control and/or demagoguery for "courage".

I lay most of the blame for this on the bloviating mediarchs of the right, who have repeatedly foisted upon conservatives the truly idiotic idea that they constitute a clear majority of the country by and of themselves (IOW, Democrats only win through voter fraud and/or Republican apathy), and that all the GOP needs to triumph and bring about the Millenium is a Great Leader™ who is a Fearless and Genuine Conservative™. It's an obscenely self-serving idea, I might add: It's no skin off Rush Limbaugh's nose if Hillary Clinton wins the White House; indeed, it'll be far better for his ratings if that happens than if ANY of the current crop of Republicans manage to pull off an Election Day miracle.

Naturally, these same blowhards have so castigated the Republican establishment (which would under normal circumstances be the principal voice of sanity) by the universal condemnation of compromise as treason to the conservative cause that it is probably impossible for said establishment to get the ship back in hand before it rolls completely over. If I were a conservative I'd be livid, because between Obama's natural tendency to compromise, the Democratic Party's reflexive spinelessness, and majorities in both houses of Congress, I can only imagine just how far the GOP could have advanced several key portions of the agenda if they'd only been will to still play the Great Game of Politics by the old rules.

But the GOP is now in the hands of fanatics, and the Party has become so radicalized that it pretty much looks like a right-wing version of Lenin's Bolsheviks back in 1919. This in turn has created a huge opportunity for the Democrats to finally shed the deep insecurity they've been suffering under since 1988, and at last lay out a bold, yet practical path towards a kind of progressivism that, in its own way, might form the basis for a new kind of conservatism 50 years from now. Hillary Clinton herself said it best: "Sometimes we need to intervene to save capitalism from itself"; and she's since gone on to beginning speaking of a "New New Deal". There's room for an agenda that sits somewhere between European-style democratic socialism and traditional liberal economic stewardship over a mixed economy that fundamentally leans towards capitalism at its core, and the GOP has foolishly elected to abandon any effort to shape that agenda in favor of extremism.

My gut tells me that's going to be a choice that will go down in history as one of the greatest missed political opportunities of all time.

[Republicans Losing to Obama Twice]

The GOP has gone through various changes throughout their history. From a Hamiltonian party which stood for a strong federal government and the union, to the party of populism and free blacks in reconstruction, before moving to be the party of free-markets in the 20s, to the party of moderates up until the 80s and 90s, and in the 2010s, the GOP is in a new era, where incredibly energetic and bombastic, or completely comical individuals are leading national polls in the GOP nomination. Many of these comical, or completely bombastic candidates include unelectable people such as Donald Trump and Ben Carson.

Even though its very likely that both of them will be decimated in the general election, the electorate loves them, and if trends continue, one of the two will become the Republican Presidential candidate. On the other hand, reasonable and intelligent people are relegated or scared from running. The most prominent being Jon Huntsman, who the Obama campaign was the most fearful of in the 2012 election. Now, he is lamenting about a third party and has literally been scared from running for office in 2016.

Has the GOP lost their sanity? Have they given up their odds of being elected for the sake of their comical relief?

In my opinion, the GOP has grown insane, and is consistently going for the weirdest or seemingly most belligerent, but not necessarily the most likable or electable candidate. The GOP hates people like Jon Huntsman or Rand Paul, who would cross over most of the moderate vote, and help win the general, and replaces them with people like Donald Trump or Ben Carson, who will likely bring the end to the GOP as a whole. The GOP, whilst having the establishment and the opposition is no longer about establishment and opposition, very insane vs not insane, and unfortunately, the sane element of the GOP is dying out, fast.

You know how seldom I agree with you, but here I really have to concur: The GOP really HAS lost its mind.

The problem with the Republicans is simple: They're far more interested in being "right" than in winning, and have mistaken poor impulse control and/or demagoguery for "courage".

I lay most of the blame for this on the bloviating mediarchs of the right, who have repeatedly foisted upon conservatives the truly idiotic idea that they constitute a clear majority of the country by and of themselves (IOW, Democrats only win through voter fraud and/or Republican apathy), and that all the GOP needs to triumph and bring about the Millenium is a Great Leader™ who is a Fearless and Genuine Conservative™. It's an obscenely self-serving idea, I might add: It's no skin off Rush Limbaugh's nose if Hillary Clinton wins the White House; indeed, it'll be far better for his ratings if that happens than if ANY of the current crop of Republicans manage to pull off an Election Day miracle.

Naturally, these same blowhards have so castigated the Republican establishment (which would under normal circumstances be the principal voice of sanity) by the universal condemnation of compromise as treason to the conservative cause that it is probably impossible for said establishment to get the ship back in hand before it rolls completely over. If I were a conservative I'd be livid, because between Obama's natural tendency to compromise, the Democratic Party's reflexive spinelessness, and majorities in both houses of Congress, I can only imagine just how far the GOP could have advanced several key portions of the agenda if they'd only been will to still play the Great Game of Politics by the old rules.

But the GOP is now in the hands of fanatics, and the Party has become so radicalized that it pretty much looks like a right-wing version of Lenin's Bolsheviks back in 1919. This in turn has created a huge opportunity for the Democrats to finally shed the deep insecurity they've been suffering under since 1988, and at last lay out a bold, yet practical path towards a kind of progressivism that, in its own way, might form the basis for a new kind of conservatism 50 years from now. Hillary Clinton herself said it best: "Sometimes we need to intervene to save capitalism from itself"; and she's since gone on to beginning speaking of a "New New Deal". There's room for an agenda that sits somewhere between European-style democratic socialism and traditional liberal economic stewardship over a mixed economy that fundamentally leans towards capitalism at its core, and the GOP has foolishly elected to abandon any effort to shape that agenda in favor of extremism.

My gut tells me that's going to be a choice that will go down in history as one of the greatest missed political opportunities of all time.

This sort of thing happens to both parties. Miss steps. Miscalculations. Missed opportunities. Miseries. The worst part for partisans in the dysfunctional party, is that it usually takes decades to play out.