What do you suggest we do?
FIRST of all, THANK YOU for your civil, reasonable response. Those can be pretty tough to find around here.
I want two strong parties to keep each other in check. So if I could wave a magic wand and make the GOP learn a lesson here, I'd look at three things.
First, they're right, this country is slipping away from them. But they're refusing to look in the mirror, they refuse to control what they can control, they refuse to understand the difference between
message, messenger, and
messaging. Your message, no matter
what it is, is
ruined if you trot out a horrible messenger like Trump or Palin. The Democrats just LOVE it when you do that. The messaging of this party has been terrible for a decade or so, and the party has not learned its lesson. Meanwhile, the Democrats are great at messaging, tugging at heartstrings.
Second, you need to realize that you can't turn this ship around on a dime. The brilliance of Reagan's 80% Rule - which is now being
completely ignored by the absolutists in the GOP - is that it allows for
incremental growth and victories. The Democrats know how to take a
little victory here and there and patiently
build on it until it's a
big victory, giving them
momentum for
further victories. The GOP thinks it can toss a Trump or a Cruz out there without turning people off.
Wrong.
Finally, there are WAY too many people in the party who are listening to the wrong voices, the Limbaughs, Hannitys, Levins and Breitbarts of the world. These media guys have a
vested professional interest in keeping you pissed off and thinking in simplistic all-or-nothing terms. If Republicans started working with Democrats and we started seeing positive change, they're screwed.
They do not want it. They should be marginalized absolutely as soon as possible.
My two cents, worth every penny. And I'm certainly not expecting the party to do any of this right now.
.