Quote:

I, for one, hope the Republican Party implodes, as Gingrich warned during the Scozzafava debacle.

Quote:

An imploded Republican Party would be replaced with another party.

Quote:

Conservative blogger Charles Johnson of the site Little Green Footballs reported yesterday that Doug Hoffman, the Conservative Party candidate in the NY-23 special election, signed a pledge to uphold Glenn Beck’s 9/12 Project principles in Congress. The signed pledge is available online, and Hoffman touts his endorsement from the 9/12 organization on his website. Like the lobbyist-planned tea parties, the 9/12 Project is a creation of Beck, used to go after Beck’s liberal enemies and to organize hateful anti-Obama rallies.

Although there is a groundswell of far right tea party and Beck-inspired candidates running for office in 2010, very few Republicans running for Congress or Governor have signed the 9/12 pledge. Noting that he signed a document pledging his “sacred honor” to uphold Beck’s list of values and principles, Johnson aptly deems Hoffman “The Glenn Beck candidate.”

Quote:

The major U.S. political parties are quite hardy.

Cenedril_Gildinaur said:

When the Whigs fell apart, there was already a successor party standing to fill in the void, so that it basically took one election cycle for the Whigs to become Republicans, with barely a noticeable change. But back then the parties actually opposed each other as well.

The version of a party falling probably closer to what GM would want, but doesn't want it for obvious reasons, is when the Federalist Party fell. It took several elections for things to restructure, but in the meantime the disenfranchised Federalists all joined the Democratic-Republican party and people from opposing parties ran against each other under the same party label. To translate that into modern terms that means Sarah Palin seeking the Democratic Party nomination supported by Democrat Glenn Beck.

That's why GM was wise enough to wish for "permanent second place". But that ain't gonna happen. The current setup doesn't allow for that, and it will become either it regains strength or it collapses.

So, GM, which third party do you want to replace the Republicans? And don't say "The Green Party".

Quote:

If you want to see the destruction of American politics and the ability of folks like Barack Obama to govern, these will be fun times for you. If you want to see a nation united in purpose with a functioning government from bipartisan support then its going to be a bumpy ride.

Xhen said:





That number will probably rise since the Obama administration is helping to create a whole new generation of conservatives by demonstrating first hand the negative impact of liberal policies and thinking just as Jimmy Carter did in the 70s.

Quote:

Not realistic given the electoral structure of the United States.

Gandalf'sMother said:



If we are to accept that assumption (and I don't) then the GOP will reassert its authority, and put down the hyper-conservative rebellion.

Quote:

The electorate wants an alternative eventually, even if it takes twenty years.

Quote:

A string of defections by prominent Republicans who endorsed Democratic candidates, the biggest in decades, has exposed an ideological rupture in the Republican Party and demonstrated how difficult it has become for the major parties to enforce discipline.

While it is not clear how much effect the endorsements will have on this year's state and Federal races, the fissure exposed by the desertions points to trouble ahead for Republicans. . . .

If the campaign events are any indication, even if the Republicans make major gains next Tuesday, the party may have a hard time smoothing over differences between its conservative and moderate wings. . . .

Not since the nomination of Barry Goldwater in 1964 sent many Republicans scurrying to rally around Lyndon B. Johnson have so many prominent party members bitterly turned on the party's candidates. And that was in a Presidential contest. Just as in 1964, they are shifting in one direction: away from conservative Republicans.

"They're frightened about the movement of their party to a more right-wing conservative agenda," said Fred Steeper, a Republican pollster in Detroit.

Although most experts agree that one person's endorsement does not usually sway voters in numbers large enough to turn around an election immediately, candidates can seize on such events to show that things are turning their way. That seems to be happening in the closing days of the campaign, with Democrats using the endorsements as a sign of movement for their candidates.