As a voter that grew up hard Republican, but moved, not only to NY. but to the center with equal left leanings these days I do not know if I am the correct person to respond, but I will anyway. I might be a bit Pollyanna, but I can most assuredly see a shift to the center, especially if there are down ballot failures. Most Republican electees have to play Trumps game and bend the knee for fear of being primaried. Once Trump is gone many will re-evaluate positions, and other potential new runners will emerge from the shadows. My biggest concern is many of the MAGA folks have a very narrow view of what they want in an elected official. Don't take my guns Don't kill the unborn Get the dirty Mexicans out of our country. Give us back our prosperity, which is a bit of a myth. I can't think of anyone who fits the bill off the top of my head, that could be a bit more to the center, and less flammable than Trump. BECAUSE....... they are all hiding in the shadows until Trump is gone either by another term, a loss, or old age, I Truley wonder what this election against Harris would look like if there was a sane and likeable Republican candidate. Remember the Tea Party? Don't hear much from them these days. Or maybe they left to write project 2025. Just my thought, all of this could be completely wrong, and Don Jr could be the next candidate for the Republicans.
I can answer one of your questions. A sane and semi-centrist Republican would wipe the floor with Kamala.
The TEA party was taken over by MAGA. I don’t know the future of the Republican Party but I do believe there are members of the party who could lead to a post Trump future. Larry Hogan the former Maryland Governor and could be the next Senator has steered a moderate and pragmatic course. He famously opposed Trump during CoVId and didn’t pay a political price for it. While Maryland is more of a blue state now he shows that a Republican still win there. Former Rep Justin Amash who voted for the first impeachment and was subsequently forced out of the party still has a following. His views are very libertarian and in a post Trump world he could make a return. GA governor Kemp who has stood up against Trump in the 2020 election and a few times since then. While he has said he is voting for Trump he’s still kept himself apart from Trump that he could be a big factor post Trump. While Nikki Haley has bent the knee on a post Trump party she can still fall back on her opposition to Trump during the primaries and that even her endorsement doesn’t seem full hearted.
I’ve made this point several times that if Mitt Romney were the Republican nominee I would probably vote for him.
Honest question. Do you think hard core MAGA folks would vote for a female for president? I have my doubts on that. But again I could be wrong.
Yes. We’ve seen several female hardcore MAGA politicians like MTG and Lauren Boebert. Neither of them will win a nationwide or even statewide election but MAGA has shown a willingness to vote for female candidates if they follow the MAGA formula. The bigger issue is if MAGA can sustain itself as a movement without Trump.
I believe that there will be far Right extremists as there are far left extremists. But I truly believe that most officials fear not being elected more than any political stance. Once they take a look and see what they need to support to get into office, that will dictate policy. Especially those in states that have smaller margins due to the demographics. Wyoming may never change because the built in Republican population, but the swing states could see new Republicans with new center thoughts emerge. Even in Texas with the influx of Californians and other states. There will have to be a change on policy at some point. I thought I saw a poll earlier having Cruz being behind in his bid. That would not be possible 20 years ago. Adapt or find a job in the private sector.
There's a third option that seems to be popular. Fix the game by gerrymandering / suppress voting in major cities. Edit: 4th option is to declare election stolen and overturn results.
I want to say that I think you're right, but people have been predicting a moderate GOP since 2012's infamous "post-mortem" after Romney's loss to Obama. Then they got a decade (and maybe more) of Trump. The thing about down-ballot failures is that they've already happened. Trump cost the GOP the House in 2018, the White House and Senate in 2020, and a midterm sweep in 2022. He could wind up costing the party all three this year when, as others have pointed out, a tolerable, middle-of-the-road Republican would wipe the floor with Harris. Therein lies the the problem of what to do about Trumpism. His followers do not see, hear, or acknowledge criticism of him. The party has no guiding principles anymore (aside from more tax cuts) other than "do what Trump wants". Evangelicals have been the backbone of GOP support for 30 years and now Trump is daring them to keep voting for him and his "leave abortion to the states" line when they've consistently demanded a national abortion ban for decades. Free-market thinkers now get in line behind Trump's protectionist and short-sighted trade policies. Military hawks are now isolationists all because Trump is! If he loses to Harris, I fully expect him to run again in four years if his health allows. His ego cannot abide losing and his filtered perception of reality will never, ever acknowledge that he's a loser. He will continue to demand that of his supporters until the day he dies. I don't think another Republican can fill the cult of personality that Trump has created. This excerpt of a recent Mitt Romney biography shows you're right. Romney arrived in the Senate like a naive debate club nerd and was astonished at how cowardly and self-serving all of his colleagues were. He also couldn't believe that they couldn't envision a life worth living outside of elected office. That's why you end up with people like Dianne Feinstein and Chuck Grassley "serving" in the Senate into their 90s.
The Rs given enough time ... might stumble upon ... a concept on ... how to govern. That's a sucker's bet, mehtinks.
which one is most embarassing to the GOP? disgraced law maker from NY, soon-to-be jailed, George Santos the self-admitted Black Nazi Mark Robinson, running for Gov of NC Calif-based banker Eric Hovde running for the US Senate in Wisconcin, Hovde missed most elections in Wisconsin in the past decade. When he did bother to vote, he had his ballot sent to his multimillion dollar Laguna Beach mansion. A Calif magazine had named him the most influential business man in the state from 1997 to 1999 herschel walker Steve Garvey, running for US senate in Calif against Adam Schiff Cancun Cruz imo, the con artist George Santos
