more at the link http://blog.chron.com/goplifer/2014/11/the-missing-story-of-the-2014-election/#28114101=0
Too bad that article misses the blue states that republicans won along with victories in North Carolina ,Florida and Georgia. I almost keeled over with laughter when it talked about Georgia flipping. The polling for that race was WAY off as the margin wasn't anywhere near close enough for a run off and the state was called quickly. I remember similar talk from dems last year about flipping Texas and they got their asses handed to them. People also need to remember that Obama is no longer going to be on the ticket so you can't expect the same results across the board with different candidates running and we still having no idea what the top issues of the election are going to be.
Plus, Michigan is talking very seriously about awarding it's electoral college votes proportionately, which would leave Democrats with only about 250 electoral votes sewn up. I've heard Pennsylvania is considering the same. Losing control of all those state houses has consequences.
I wouldn't count out Rand Paul. He a broader appeal than people think and the more he talks, the more presidential he sounds. Also a story that got little attention is the growing libertarian base within the party. Quite a few libertarians got in this time. If the leadership will wake up and embrace Paul's brand they can win big time.
Yes, Michigan Republicans in the legislature are talking about trying to rig the game even further in the GOP's favor -- having already drawn congressional districts in such a way that even though more people in the state vote for Democratic congressional candidates, the delegation is Republican by a 2-to-1 margin -- but Gov. Snyder has expressed skepticism and is probably fair-minded enough to veto it.
The top part (which you quoted) isn't news to anyone not living in the right wing echo chamber. I liked the end of the piece: This is an age built for Republican solutions. The global economy is undergoing a massive, accelerating transformation that promises massive new wealth and staggering challenges. We need heads-up, intelligent adaptations to capitalize on those challenges. Republicans, with their traditional leadership on commercial issues should be at the leading edge of planning to capitalize on this emerging environment. What are we getting from Republicans? Climate denial, theocracy, thinly veiled racism, paranoia, and Benghazi hearings. Lots and lots of hearings on Benghazi. It is almost too late for Republicans to participate in shaping the next wave of our economic and political transformation. The opportunities we inherited coming out of the Reagan Era are blinking out of existence one by one while we chase so-called “issues” so stupid, so blindingly disconnected from our emerging needs that our grandchildren will look back on our performance in much the same way that we see the failures of the generation that fought desegregation. Something, some force, some gathering of sane, rational, authentically concerned human beings generally at peace with reality must emerge in the next four to six years from the right, or our opportunity will be lost for a long generation. Needless to say, Greg Abbott and Jodi Ernst are not that force. “Winning” this election did not help that force emerge. This was a dark week for Republicans, and for everyone who wants to see America remain the world’s most vibrant, most powerful nation. It should be noted that this piece is 12 days old, so thankfully, hopefully, Benghazi! is now off the table and the Republicans have a shot on focusing on an actual issue.
So did I. It was hilarious. What are we getting from Republicans? Climate denial, theocracy, thinly veiled racism, paranoia, and Benghazi hearings. Lots and lots of hearings on Benghazi. Exactly what is climate denial? We have a climate. We always will. It will always be wildly different in different parts of the country. According to science and the recent estimates of ECS and TCR by teams of IPCC lead authors, by 2030 or 2040 the temperature of a guy's porch back home might become as warm as the bottom of his driveway is now. The temperature at the north end of your city will one day be as warm as the current south end of your city. The change will be swamped by the natural yearly and decadenal oscillations. Nobody is going to be able to tell the difference without sifting through data, lots and lots of data, spanning decades. Destroying our economy and locking third world countries into further generations of poverty - to fight a problem that can't be detected except by crunching thousands of temperature records through statistical algorithms, is lunacy. Further, even if all Americans committed so fully to dropping their CO2 emissions to zero by committing mass suicide, it still wouldn't matter because India and China are ramping up coal production. The increase in Chinese coal production is already larger than the USA's total output. Theocracy? Like ISIS which Obama is contentedly letting take over Iraq and Syria? Or Theocracy like Iran, which Obama is allowing to develop nuclear weapons. Theocracy like Libya where his no-boots on the ground, lead-from-behind strategy has succeeded in turning an amazing revolution into an African branch of ISIS? Perhaps she means theocracy like running a Mormon for President. Or perhaps she means electing a luminous cult figure who will rule by decree, keeping the oceans from rising just by sheer spiritual purity. As for the thinly veiled racism, Obama never passes up an opportunity to stir up racial animosity, nor does Holder at the DoJ. And paranoia? Who is it that's running histories largest snooping operation on the American people? Who was Louis Lerner targeting in 2012? Why did it take the IRS about two years to find her e-mails? Why does Obama think the Republicans are out to get him at every turn, hiding behind every corner, and he's been described by even liberal pundits as the most paranoid President since Nixon. And why is the Democrat front runner for 2016 famous for saying there was a vast right wing conspiracy? It is almost too late for Republicans to participate in shaping the next wave of our economic and political transformation. The opportunities we inherited coming out of the Reagan Era are blinking out of existence one by one while we chase so-called “issues” so stupid, so blindingly disconnected from our emerging needs that our grandchildren will look back on our performance in much the same way that we see the failures of the generation that fought desegregation. That was a generation of Democrats, in case the author didn't know. Something, some force, some gathering of sane, rational, authentically concerned human beings generally at peace with reality must emerge in the next four to six years from the right, or our opportunity will be lost for a long generation. Needless to say, Greg Abbott and Jodi Ernst are not that force. Liberals just assume they're sane, rational, and "authentically concerned human beings" without any evidence of it. Mostly they're divisive, jealous, racist, greedy, and self-centered, hanging out in Starbucks and demanding that the world revolve around them. As a case in point, they want Republicans to exactly the fit the descriptors they erroneously apply to themselves. They want Republicans to be liberals, and are disappointed that liberals didn't win all the Republican primaries.
You do realize that is the Houston Chronicle's GOP guy right? He's not trying to make the Republicans into liberals, he's trying to keep the party nationally relevant. Remember 2012 with all the right wingers were shocked, just SHOCKED that Obama won again? That will happen again in 2016 and 2020 unless something radical happens. It's simple math. And if the party's shift doesn't happen by 2020 (party realignment's are no quick thing), then the Republicans are fucked. Just like the 2010s had a Republican edge (due to 2010, a redistricting year being a midterm election) the 2020s will have a Dem edge. With the demographic cliff the party is facing (it's getting older, whiter, and more rural by the day) it can't afford a Dem landslide in 2020. This is what the author sees, and he doesn't like it.
The author is a journalist working at a newspaper. Newspapers don't actually hire any Republicans except for maintenance and running the printing presses. So some poor Democrat was saddled with being "our GOP guy." It beats doing obituaries.
Read his bio. He's a Republican precinct committeeman who has worked for a bunch of state and local Republican campaigns.
To be fair, gturner's post was no less wrong and laughable than anything else he has to say on politics. It's his branding.
Actually, sounds like this guy is getting to be totally disgusted with the Republicans and ready to bail, despite his previous affiliation. Which is a familiar refrain. I mean, this part is priceless: Another moderate Republican suddenly waking up and going, "Fuck! I'm with stupid!?!?!?"
Looked through some of that writer's work - Chris Ladd - and that guy's pretty damn perceptive. His post on Darwinism and Christianity restates similar themes, but does them exceptionally well. Thanks for digging this guy up Nova, he's definitely worth a read, even though I don't always agree with him I remember when there were intelligent Republicans that had my respect.
