Kilmer17's roadmap to fix the GOP

[Larry]

Well lets not blame the Entire Republican party for nominating a James Dean like moment: One had a Screaming fit, the other was taped saying he doesn't care about 47% of the Americans and it I heard it 28 times a day.

Yeah, the Republicans problem was that Romney got caught actually saying what the entire GOP media operation had been saying for years.

Not 2 years ago the Republicans Historically took over every House/Senate/Governor etc. seat in the country with an actual message.

Wow, really?

I don;t know which of your assertions is better proof of your delusion-hood:

That the GOP took over every House/Senate/Governor seat in America.

Or that they had an actual message. (Well, I suppose "Look, we managed to screw things up for the country, for two years! It's Obama's fault! Vote for us!" is a message.)

Burgold: Normal people see the petitions as just an extension to the kill list.. all will be added and sorted, President Santa knows who is naughty or nice.

Mister, I admire your notion of normal people. [/movie reference]

[Larry]

Yahoo: Rep. DesJarlais admitted to affairs with patients, supported abortions: Report

Winning re-election has failed to quiet scandals surrounding Rep. Scott DesJarlais.

Court transcripts from his 2001 divorce trial obtained by the Chattanooga Times Free Press and reported on Thursday revealed that the Tennessee Republican tea partyer, a former physician, had admitted to sexual relationships with patients and supported his wife's abortions.

DesJarlais reportedly also admitted to having affairs with co-workers and a drug representative while serving as chief of staff at Grandview Medical Center in Jasper, Tenn. "During one affair with a female patient, DesJarlais prescribed her drugs, gave her an $875 watch and bought her a plane ticket to Las Vegas, records show," the newspaper wrote.

DesJarlais also reportedly supported his wife's two abortions before they were married, one of which occurred while she was on medication that carried risks.

More at link.

Noticing some signs in the article (like "while she was on medication that carried risks") that, to me, cause me to suspect that the author is intentionally twisting things to be more inflammatory.

[luckydevil]

For a supposed libertarian, he sure supports a lot of govt intrusion on liberty. ok, hes anti patriot act and starting to come around on mj. I'll give him credit for that. But on all other social issues he's a typical GOP conservative. pro life, supports an amendment banning gay marriage, conservative on immigration, etc. a true libertarian should be more socially liberal than this.

I have a lot of issues with Rand and I do think he sold out ( I remember him campaigning for his father during his first run- he is more of a libertarian than his father), but in fairness he pretty much came out for amnesty the other day and has always opposed the drug war. I wish we could get the real Rand, the guy that was trying to make alliances with the left.

[mistertim]

I have a lot of issues with Rand and I do think he sold out ( I remember him campaigning for his father during his first run- he is more of a libertarian than his father), but in fairness he pretty much came out for amnesty the other day and has always opposed the drug war. I wish we could get the real Rand, the guy that was trying to make alliances with the left.

Half of the GOP has come out ostensibly in favor of amnesty since they got thumped so bad in the election and lost the Latino vote by so much. That doesn't mean they necessarily believe in it. Perhaps some of them do, but I'm more inclined to believe that, at this point, it is the mass reflexive pandering of a political party that is frantically attempting to stay relevant and find some direction.

[Larry]

Half of the GOP has come out ostensibly in favor of amnesty since they got thumped so bad in the election and lost the Latino vote by so much.

I certainly haven't noticed that.

I've seen lots of Republicans saying they support "immigration reform".

But then, I've seen Republican proposals for "immigration reform" that mostly consist of "well, American middle class workers, like doctors, nurses, and engineers, make too much money. So we think it would be a great idea if we vastly expanded things like the H1B program, where we import foreign doctors, nurses, and engineers, and drive labor costs down. All them illegals who are already here? Ship them back (somehow)."

[Bliz]

start paying MUCH less attention to conspiracy theorists.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012...tions-takeover

President Obama is using a Cold War-era mind-control technique known as "Delphi" to coerce Americans into accepting his plan for a United Nations-run communist dictatorship in which suburbanites will be forcibly relocated to cities. That's according to a four-hour briefing delivered to Republican state senators at the Georgia state Capitol last month.


On October 11, at a closed-door meeting of the Republican caucus convened by the body's majority leader, Chip Rogers, a tea party activist told Republican lawmakers that Obama was mounting this most diabolical conspiracy. The event—captured on tape by a member of the Athens-based watchdog Better Georgia (who was removed from the room after 52 minutes)—had been billed as an information session on Agenda 21, a nonbinding UN agreement that commits member nations to promote sustainable development. In the eyes of conservative activists, Agenda 21 is a nefarious plot that includes forcibly relocating non-urban-dwellers and prescribing mandatory contraception as a means of curbing population growth. The invitation to the Georgia state Senate event noted the presentation would explain: "How pleasant sounding names are fostering a Socialist plan to change the way we live, eat, learn, and communicate to 'save the earth.'"

[video of the presentation at the link]

[Predicto]

start paying MUCH less attention to conspiracy theorists.

http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012...tions-takeover

Ok. That story is a really, really sad indictment of the Georgia GOP. Not the voters, but the actual leaders of the party. Good lord.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

Ok. That story is a really, really sad indictment of the Georgia GOP. Not the voters, but the actual leaders of the party. Good lord.

Well, you're assuming its not true.

[Predicto]

Well, you're assuming its not true.

[DogofWar1]

I had hope for the future of the GOP, and American politics in general, a few days ago when it sounded like Boehner was willing to deal.

After listening to Romney's remarks about buying votes, and the Republicans out at that conference in Nevada, I'm much less hopeful.

I mean, many of them are seemingly doubling down on the same things that lost them the current election. Bob McDonnell was talking about how they didn't get their message across effectively concerning their values, which translates to "we're going to run on the same things, but be even louder next time."

But you know what, that's fine. The Republican strategy of "here's the platform, get on board or get out" used to work because their platform won them whites (and white males) by large enough numbers to compensate for losing minorities (and women). That era is over. If they don't realize that, it's entirely on them. Democrats will probably hold onto the Senate in 2014, win the White House and House back in 2016 (and might even expand their lead in the Senate since all the 2010 Republicans will be up), and we'll actually be able to get something done once Reid makes some minor changes to the filibuster.

Big tent has officially won the electoral war, small tent is dying a slow painful death.

[Predicto]

The Republican strategy of "here's the platform, get on board or get out" used to work because their platform won them whites (and white males) by large enough numbers to compensate for losing minorities (and women). That era is over. If they don't realize that, it's entirely on them. Democrats will probably hold onto the Senate in 2014, win the White House and House back in 2016 (and might even expand their lead in the Senate since all the 2010 Republicans will be up), and we'll actually be able to get something done once Reid makes some minor changes to the filibuster.

Big tent has officially won the electoral war, small tent is dying a slow painful death.

The GOP will not lose the House until 2022. The gerrymandering of 2010 was too effective for that.

[Tulane Skins Fan]

The GOP will not lose the House until 2022. The gerrymandering of 2010 was too effective for that.

Can you only redraw district lines after the census? I think that if the dems increase their governors they could redraw the districts earlier, right?

there's always lawsuits too.

[DogofWar1]

The GOP will not lose the House until 2022. The gerrymandering of 2010 was too effective for that.

I think there's enough seats in play that Democrats have a good shot *IF* Republicans double down on their current strategy. There will definitely be a near majority for the next few election cycles, but I think they'll start seeing a chipping away of their numbers bit by bit, especially if the economy improves at all. Many Republicans are holding on in close districts because of economic hardship, if things start improving over the next two years, they swing back to the Democrats.

Maybe 2014 is too soon, but I think it's very possible, if the Republicans don't alter their platform, that we'll see a slim Democratic majority prior to 2022.

[Predicto]

Can you only redraw district lines after the census? I think that if the dems increase their governors they could redraw the districts earlier, right?

there's always lawsuits too.

It generally happens after the census. And there is no way that a state legislature controlled by either party is going to vote to allow the districts to be redrawn (thus costing them their own seats) unless they have to.

Lawsuits only work in limited circumstances. Gerrymandering for political advantage is not illegal - only when it crosses over into racial discrimination does the Voting Rights Act come into play.

[Rdskns2000]

.

Maybe 2014 is too soon, but I think it's very possible, if the Republicans don't alter their platform, that we'll see a slim Democratic majority prior to 2022.

Actually, it depends on how the immigration thing plays out. If the Repubs halt any reform; then they will suffer in 2014. Maybe not enough to tip control away but just enough to put them in position to have control again in 2016.

I can see the Dems winning big in 2016. Hillary winning the White House, The Dems recover from whatever losses they had in 2014 in the Senate and taking over the house in 2016.