The party's identity shifted greatly in the final months of Obama's presidency, generally swerving away from standard conservatism and delving straight into right-populism. Hopes for immigration reform were traded for wholesale deportation. Expansion in global trade and support of democracy in the world was pushed aside for isolationism. Repealing the ACA became "repeal and replace". The reasons for this transition are rather complex, as the underlying sense of dissatisfaction and anger had been slowly rising for decades, only to burst when Donald Trump came onto the scene. Unsurprisingly, the loss of Reince Priebus spelled doom for Republicans garnering an effective strategy to either win new seats or retain old ones. Furthermore, the association between Republican politicians and Trump himself was proven to be a toxic relationship in the eyes of voters.
Katie Glueck described the unfamiliar climate that the GOP must now navigate if it wishes to survive in the future.
For Republicans, who have won all of the marquee special congressional elections of the Donald Trump era to date, Tuesday's results across the country were a reminder that Democrats are, in fact, capable of translating liberal anti-Trump energy into actual votes. It was evidence of the environmental perils that often await a president's party in the midterm elections - especially when the president has historically low approval ratings.
Source: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... spartanntp
Despite controlling the federal government, it is entirely possible that Republicans will continue to lose at the local level as Democrats did under Obama. Without a unifying force to either gather around or oppose, the party's innumerable splinter groups have begun openly fighting each other. Moderates, neoconservatives, libertarians, the aforementioned populists, and the religious right that previously aided Ronald Reagan's ascent to the White House no longer have the same charismatic leaders to follow. For Democrats, the emphasis on diversity has benefited it greatly. However, the GOP primarily (and increasingly) relies on white rural voters and this fact of demographics partially contributed to Mitt Romney's loss in 2012 and Trump's failure to earn the popular vote.
At the federal level, it says, the party is “marginalizing itself,” and, in the absence of major change, “it will be increasingly difficult for Republicans to win a presidential election in the near future.” Young voters are “rolling their eyes at what the party represents.” Voters’ belief that “the G.O.P. does not care about them is doing great harm.” Formerly loyal voters gathered in focus groups describe Republicans as “ ‘scary,’ ‘narrow-minded’ and ‘out of touch’ and that we were a party of ‘stuffy old men.’ ”
https://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2 ... sy-report/
In my honest opinion, the RNC has an obligation to do some soul-searching. They can bask in the victories they accomplished in 2016, but those memories are fading fast as the Democratic Party revitalizes itself. Reform to the party agenda is crucial. More needs to be done to spread the conservative message to minorities, women, and the college-educated. Additionally, there needs to be a greater acceptance of science. At the moment, I see no indication that party officials are willing to undertake this challenge. While I do not believe that the Republican Party will collapse, it will become irrelevant if it stays the course it travels on now. Only time will tell if a new coalition will take shape in the future.
What say you, o NSG? Do you think that the GOP can recover, or will it simply fade away?
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