“.....The extremists are in charge in the RAT party...the ones who are leaving are the more conservative members.”
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That will mean that there will be more hard-left extremists in charge of the democratic party. The democratic party will not be able to mirror the electorate and simply not be able to maintain its size and collapse. The DNC is a socialist party but now, the mask has been removed. It is going to be very hard to hide it especially when you have leaders like Obama-Reid-Pelosi and their ilk in charge.
I believe you are correct in the Tea Party gaining strength. But I also believe that what the democrat party is doing now is simply not sustainable.
The GOP will reflect the TP or the TP will become a new political party. It won't take long, one or two election cycles.
If Palin runs in 2012 and the Empire strikes back, the GOP will not survive 2012 intact.
As for the RATs...a cr@p sandwich on rye still tastes like cr@p. The problem isn't the packaging, it's the product...and the product will not change.
IMO, the TP can be the majority party for 30 years if they run as fiscal conservatives, and DO NOT TOUCH social conservatism.
I believe that will get us where we want to go, because the entitlement class will not survive the death of welfare programs and shrinking government...and social liberalism will not survive the death of the entitlement class.