[neverdem]

With all the damage Obama is doing, the rats could go the way of the Whigs.

[rawcatslyentist]

>"and since the GOP is a center-right party, the political implications are supposedly clear."

Tell that to Juan, and Jorge.

[madprof98]

The supposedly “changing public attitudes” referenced here are what? That Americans are getting increasingly “moderate”???? And the proof for this is . . . Scott Brown? HUH????

[Fee]

In September 2008 the global financial system lost 37 trillion dollars (Britain and US were the main instigators of the worldwide collapse with toxic assets). Today the US government will guarantee 11 trillion of the liabilities plus paid 1 trillion in bailouts. There is approx 55 trillion liabilities from AIG derivatives/swaps/cds that derail the private financial systems. Given these financial damage/frailities and its impact on stagnating the US economy until most of these liabilities are paid off or taken off the books, the US will face stagnation in employment/weak economic expansion for a long long time. Even if we can get some GDP expansion, it must exceed the natural increases in the US working population as college graduates and high school graduates enter the workforce. The US will be lucky just to barely keep up. This means unemployment will be stuck at the current levels. No matter who becomes POTUS, things will not improve fast enough for the impatient Main Street Americans, and the party in power will be booted out every four year. We will end up like Italy, where governments rise and fall creating a vaccuum of power and inaction at the national level. If stagnation lasts too long, the public will long for strong action. Extremists will take over the political parties or start new competing parties. Question is will it be Communist or Facist Populism???? Either way, days of the rich are numbered.

[wardaddy]

Lincoln also got elected in a four way race with 39.8% of the vote.

The opposition was fractured..if it hadn’t been we might have saved 2M lives overall

and then again maybe not

we cannot divide the Right...the Left will win as easily as Lincoln did

PS...yes I know Abe won the electoral vote before ya’ll get in a hissy fit

see Nader in 2000...w/o that Gore woulda won

[Cicero]

This is what I’ve been saying here for some time.

We all agree that we don’t want another third party adventure. But we also agree that the Republican Leadership has been absolutely clueless and stupid. At this point, they have less than a year or two to straighten themselves out, if they want to survive. There’s no time to mess around any longer with the Stupid Party than these next two elections. They’ve had a run of 150 years, and that’s about as long as a political party can be expected to last.

Either they come to their senses and welcome the base back in—instead of once more trying to use the base and then kicking them away as soon as they are elected—or else the Republican Party will die, like the Whigs, and we’ll have not a third party, but a new Second Party.

I’m not saying that needs to happen. But it will happen, if they don’t get a clue. It’s one or the other. Either the Republican Party joins the Tea Party, and returns to the Constitution and the service of our country, or they die. And no more saying one thing and then doing another. That has worn out.

[Cyber Liberty]

Seems like an awful lot of words to just say the GOP needs to move to the left.

[highlander_UW]

...a growing distrust of conservative and liberal ideologies...

I don't think this is accurate. If Beck is right there is a growing distrust of "progressive" ideology, and that includes those in the democrat AND republican party that hold to those ideologies. If one rejects Beck's analysis I still disagree that it is conservative ideology that is being rejected but rather republican ideology...they are not one and the same even if there is overlap in a number of areas.

[neverdem]

While self-described conservatives do significantly outnumber self-described liberals, the largest group during the modern political era has always been self-described moderates.

Lately, things seem to be changing.

Still the Biggest Missing Story in Politics

In August of last year I wrote an article, "The Biggest Missing Story in Politics," which reviewed the single most important datum in the last thirteen Battleground Polls over a period stretching from early 2002 to late 2008. The critical fact, completely ignored by almost everyone, was that in answering Question D3, which asked the respondent what he considered his ideology to be, sixty percent of the American people described themselves as "conservative" or "very conservative."

In every single Battleground Poll, conservatives vastly outnumbered not only liberals, but moderates and undecided respondents combined. The Battleground Poll itself is a bipartisan poll, combining the resources of the Tarrance Group and Lake Research Partners. Unlike many polls driven by newspapers, networks, or other agenda driven organizations, this poll is one of the few which has no ideological agenda or partisan bias.

IMHO, the far left rats have championed so many stupid ideas, it's time to make them accountable.

[LibLieSlayer]

RECENT POLLS SHOW THAT THE AUTHOR IS A LYING SOS obamalamadindong.

LLS

[fieldmarshaldj]

This whole piece reads like it was written by a Conservative-loathing Concern Troll.

[Oratam]

Agreed. The Whigs were the original “big tent” party and lacking a true center it eventually came apart.