General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Whigs... for a couple years I have written here [View all]Gore1FL
(21,132 posts)If you look at the southern strategy, the immigration strategy, the morals strategy, the fear strategy, etc. you'll notice they quit working so well after a while. Each one of these things has a consequence at the end of it:
southern strategy -- Alienates African Americans
immigration strategy -- Alienates Hispanics
morals strategy -- They can't live up the ideals, and the ideals are less and less societal norms
fear strategy -- You get immune to fear. (The nuclear arsenals and the cold war numbed me.)
The funny thing about wedge issues is that once you wedge someone away, they aren't likely coming back for a long time. When those people end up making majorities, it's done.
A "Civil War" in the GOP is not the beginning of the GOP's decline. It is rather a consequence of the GOP decline. I think the recent examples of over-reaching is a consequence, too.
I suspect there will be a natural re-alignment of parties, but that is hard to predict with the current state of things exactly how that will fall out.
At least there is a slim chance that we can pull the nation out of the gleeful decline we've been in since we stopped going to the moon.