Sarah Palin: Completely bat****

[Felch]

The two parties have done a good job of rigging the system to keep themselves in power. I think it's more likely that a weakened Republican party will look for new energetic leaders by broadening the scope. The culture war may be over (gay marriage is no longer the wedge issue it was a few years ago), but there are plenty of other things to disagree over.

Historically the parties change course, but they don't really die. The Republicans of Lincoln's day are nothing like the Republicans of today, ditto for the Dems. The grand coalitions that make up the parties are always in flux.

[Felch]

What rules make it difficult?

• Ballot access laws
• Gerrymandering
• First past the post elections

[rah]

How do you know if I am applying wishful thinking?

What rules make it difficult?

Because this is all too familiar. This has happened many times in the past. It's natural. The only place the blue dogs are going to challange is in primaries. It they break off to form a new party, they'll lose all the advantages and end up running like the GREEN party. Nobody gets elected. The election laws are stacked for the two parties, and to think that they'd themselves change those laws is just laughable.

[KrazyHorse]

• Ballot access laws
• Gerrymandering
• First past the post elections

FPP is a big issue that has negative as well as positive consequences. The first two, however, are obvious abuses of democracy that truly shock me in their widespread use across the US.

[DaShi]

Because this is all too familiar. This has happened many times in the past. It's natural. The only place the blue dogs are going to challange is in primaries. It they break off to form a new party, they'll lose all the advantages and end up running like the GREEN party. Nobody gets elected. The election laws are stacked for the two parties, and to think that they'd themselves change those laws is just laughable.

Yes, but I'm arguing in an environment where the republican party is weak and marginalized. In this case, there would be enough votes for the Blue Dogs to break off because the mainstream conservative can no longer support the the republican party.

Felch makes a good point that the republican party itself will likely change. It's possible that it may tried to shed the more wacky of its members like the Constitionalists and try to build up support from middle America again. Right now, there's little sign of that. And the Blue Dogs are doing what the republicans should be doing.

[Japher]

There seems to be more Libertarians coming out of the wood works. Either party would be smart to claim groups like American Majority and support such causes.

[rah]

In this case, there would be enough votes for the Blue Dogs to break off because the mainstream conservative can no longer support the the republican party.

Break off to do what? They can't just claim they're replacing the repugs. The election laws don't work that way. And again this environment has happened before and by no means did it mean the end of the party.
If that was the case the Dems would have ceased to exist already. That didn't happen and anyone that thinks it will happen this time is just dreaming. I do agree that this will force the repugs to rethink and change, but if you look at history, the dems didn't really change, they just waited for things to go into the ****ter and took advantage. The same thing will happen to save the repugs eventually. Especially if all this spending doesn't lead to a rosey economy in the near future. People will get frustrated and want a different solution. (not that they'll get it but they'll vote for it)

[DaShi]

Break off to do what? They can't just claim they're replacing the repugs. The election laws don't work that way. And again this environment has happened before and by no means did it mean the end of the party.

Eh? Who said this?

[quote]If that was the case the Dems would have ceased to exist already. That didn't happen and anyone that thinks it will happen this time is just dreaming.

I do agree that this will force the repugs to rethink and change, but if you look at history, the dems didn't really change, they just waited for things to go into the ****ter and took advantage.

There was no viable alternative to the dems. Plus, the repugs are changing now, becoming more extreme. The situation is very different, and it's the lack of many republicans recognizing this that is killing their party. The democrats want the republicans to stay the same. Remember, they are the ones who are still generally blamed for this mess to begin with.

[Japher]

I think the reaction of the Dems is hurting the Dems more than the extremist behavior by the repugs is hurting the repugs. Mostly because the behavior that is being accredited to the repugs is should actually be assigned to centerists (is that a word?) more so than total right wing conservatives.

[-Jrabbit]

"centrist"

[chequita guevara]

• Ballot access laws
• Gerrymandering
• First past the post elections

Yep. America is one of the least democratic democracies.

[DaShi]

I think the reaction of the Dems is hurting the Dems more than the extremist behavior by the repugs is hurting the repugs. Mostly because the behavior that is being accredited to the repugs is should actually be assigned to centerists (is that a word?) more so than total right wing conservatives.

I agree that the response of sending democrat nutjobs to counter republican nutjobs doesn't exactly present them as the sane option.

[KrazyHorse]

Yep. America is one of the least democratic democracies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea

[chequita guevara]

The GOP isn't going to disappear, but it's certainly in a pickle. The GOP comes back to power in one of two ways: either they tame the Limbaugh wing of the party or centrists forget how dangerous that wing of the GOP is, and vote for the GOP again. I don't see the fascist wing of the party being tamed any time soon. In fact, they are almost certainly going to get worse. As they get worse, it will likely be difficult for the centrists to ignore them.

There is a possibility for a re-alignment, though. A centrist Democratic Party which sheds its liberal wing. So there's be one large Democratic Party with a rump GOP run by lunatics like Glenn Beck and Limbaugh and a Green Party, with luminaries like Kucinich etc.

[chequita guevara]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Korea