The Republicans can only win the White House again by lying

[louis c]

It's not that I'm saying that they are liars, by nature. The Republicans must lie in order to have any chance of winning back the Presidency.

Let's look at the facts and the logic.

The loyalists within the Republican Party are committed to issues that no longer can build a majority coalition in the general election. The 30% or so who consider themselves Republicans will be the voters who press the nomination in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. By then, the nomination is basically over. Does anyone believe that the Evangelical vote that dominates the Republican primaries and caucuses is going to moderate its positions? Positions like the extreme "pro-life" stance which condemns the party to a gender gap on abortion rights and contraception. Does anyone think that the Christian Coalition is going to change their minds on Gay rights? Does anyone think that the right wing that assails immigration reform will abate in a Republican primary? If a Republican Presidential candidate even refers to "undocumented immigrants" rather than "illegal aliens" he (or she) will be run out of the party. Compromise will continue to be a dirty word. They will have to continue to assail planned parenthood, labor unions and any kind of immigration reform that has amnesty at it's core.

The only way to win a general election for Republicans is to lie to their base and then change their tune, within weeks, and contradict themselves on issues that they have had to make public statements on. If the candidate doesn't, due to the demographic changes, he (or she) is doomed to a defeat. Math doesn't lie.

On the other hand, Democrats can actually espouse what they believe in during the primary process. Equal pay for women, immigration reform, workers' rights, choice for women, gay rights. All of our positions are not only viable in our primaries, but also garner majority opinions with the general public when the November election rolls around.

I feel the Republicans are in a position of being damned if they do or damned if they don't. They are the new Whig party of the 21st century.

[bluestateguy]

1. Only Obama could have handled all that they threw at him

the billion $ in Koch/Adelson funded ads, the Superpacs, Fox News, the Citizens United regime.

I don't think any other Democrat, save for maybe Hillary Clinton, could have beaten all that back.

[bluestate10]

3. I agree. The 2016 election will be a test for us. Right now, only Clinton can compete with the

top of their bench. But if we win in 2016, republicans are done, because then we begin to have an enviable bench with names like Kennedy, Castro 2x and some of the new faces just elected to the House.

[AndyTiedye]

7. Not Hillary Either. We Don't Have Anyone Else Who Could Do It

We have a problem going into 2016, especially if they nominate someone who is a really smooth liar, like Huckabee.

[Jamaal510]

2. Bill Maher talked about this on last week's show.

He suggested that GOP should adopt drug legalization into their platform. That wouldn't be a bad idea because the Drug War has affected millions of minorities (voters who they've struggled with), and has been an issue that has been up for grabs where neither party has wanted to address it thus far. And he also mentioned the point that it could complement the GOP's message about "freedom" in the sense that the Drug War has clashed with people's freedom to do whatever they want with their bodies.

Of course I don't see that becoming part of the mainstream GOP platform in the immediate future. They're too much at the mercy of special interest groups.

[RKP5637]

4. Hopefully the R's will move further to the right thinking we just weren't RW enough

to appeal to more voters.

[BlueMan Votes]

5. that's how they've always done it.

but so have some Democrats.

[pipoman]

6. They can and will win the Whitehouse when they appeal to the vast middle...

as every winning president has done..let them promise to reevaluate/renegotiate US trade agreements requiring participating countries to dramatically improve working conditions and see what happens. No, Dems better pay attention and not believe they are invincible..

The problem is that all of the labor related examples in your writing are nil because the Democratic party has abandoned labor...the labor vote is officially split.