SSN forum on the future of the Republican Party

[Statistikhengst]

Scholars Strategy Network


SSN stands for Scholar Strategy Network.

There are a number of articles there that could be interesting stuff for a thread like this.

As a Democrat, I am usually pretty interested to know what Right-leaning scholars think of my party, so I think there might be a Republican or two out there who could be interested to see what Left-leaning scholars think of their party. Well, I'm assuming that these scholars are left-leaning, but I don't know their full bios yet.


I find this article from the website to be particularly interesting:

Republicans are Deferring to Tea Party Funders and Activists | Scholars Strategy Network

...The Republicans' swerve to the far right is a recipe for local victories but national defeats. Eventually, this version of the Republican Party will discover it cannot attract majorities in national or many state-wide general elections. But much harm can happen in the meantime. Wins in conservative strongholds have been enough for ultra-right Republicans to prevent or delay action on many of the major issues facing our country. For the foreseeable future, we can expect more of the same – pressures for the GOP to move right from above and below.

At the elite level of the Tea Party field of forces pushing on the GOP, the investments made by wealthy conservative ideologues are continuing to pay dividends. Since the 1970s, conservative elites have invested heavily in strengthening right-wing ideology via think tanks like the Heritage Foundation and Cato Institute, and also by reshaping parts of academia. Observers have stressed that Brat's challenge to Cantor did not have immediate election funding from Tea Party political action committees. But despite his campaign rhetoric excoriating Cantor's ties to investments bankers, Professor David Brat's career has been furthered by the corporate ideological right. His research and pedagogical efforts have been supported by the Branch Banking and Trust Corporation, one of the largest financial holding companies in the United States, which has spent millions to advance libertarianism in many universities. This corporation's money comes to professors and campuses with strict stipulations, like the requirement that faculty not only teach Ayn Rand but have "a positive attitude" toward that philosophy, as their agreement with Western Carolina University insisted.

Brat's funder is a lesser-known member of a small club of ultra-conservative donors – a club whose most prominent members include the Scaife and Olin families and, of course, the Koch brothers. Such sources of largesse for far-right advocates, policymakers, and academics are not waning, and as money flows from the wealthy ideological extremists there is no true countervailing force within the Republican Party donor class. Moderation is not fashionable in high-roller GOP circles these days...

Interesting stuff, if for no other reason than to swear about it...




Have fun.

 

[Old Rocks]

The far right in the GOP are creating a blowback that will damage that party considerably. Some of the approved actions by the far right, the armed insurrection at the Bundy ranch, actions like Coal Rolling, may even affect the outcome of the 2014 elections.

 

[The Rabbi]

We need more academics telling us we have to be like Democrats to win elections. How did that work out for President McCain or President Romney?

 

[Pete7469]

So....

Where are the "scholars" advising the democrook party that they've gone too far left?

When Rand Paul got a standing ovation from bed wetting moonbats at Berekley when he discussed the messiah's NSA program, you'd think someone might get the hint that the left's takeover of the democrook party may have led to some authoritarians alienating people.

What has pissed us off about the republicrats? The "Patriot" Act for one. The bed wetters wailed about it right up until their messiah was elected, and grossly expanded it. I don't hear any egg heads telling the democrooks they need to moderate their leftwing extremism though.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

We already have one Party that wants to Progress to somewhere between Calcutta craphole and European Socialism, we don't need a second