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Why Republicans are starting to panic, in 1 paragraph
The Washington Post's The Fix ^ | September 23, 2015 | Chris Cillizza

Posted on 09/23/2015 7:06:52 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet

Summer is over. And Donald Trump is -- still -- at the top of the 2016 Republican primary field.

That makes lots and lots of Republicans with an eye on winning the White House in 2016 (or even 2020) very, very nervous. That unease -- and its origins -- are explained brilliantly in this paragraph, taken from a broader piece entitled "The GOP is Killing Itself," by former Bush administration official Pete Wehner:

The message being sent to voters is this: The Republican Party is led by people who are profoundly uncomfortable with the changing (and inevitable) demographic nature of our nation. The GOP is longing to return to the past and is fearful of the future. It is a party that is characterized by resentments and grievances, by distress and dismay, by the belief that America is irredeemably corrupt and past the point of no return. “The American dream is dead,” in the emphatic words of Mr. Trump.

Wehner, whose honesty and insight about his party and its prospects I've praised before in this space, nails a sentiment I've heard expressed by countless Republicans in the Summer of Trump. The concern is that a candidate like Trump is running a campaign based on the 1980 electorate, not the 2016 one....

(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...


TOPICS: Campaign News; Issues; Parties; Polls
KEYWORDS: gop; trump; whites
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

OK, I’m a Cruz guy, but go TRUMP!


21 posted on 09/23/2015 7:23:39 PM PDT by Inyo-Mono
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The Republican Party holds more elected offices in this country than at any time in its’ history. It holds a vast majority of state legislatures and Governor Mansions and has a deep bench of highly qualified young Office Holders to draw from.

It is the Democrat Party that can not field a candidate under retirement age.


22 posted on 09/23/2015 7:26:46 PM PDT by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: Hugin

Trump is an AMERICAN who loves America. So is Cruz, and Carson.

The others can all go to hell, they are American second to their allegiances to big money PACs or the GOPe. We need someone who will represent Americans as a whole instead of special interest groups. I think those three would do a good job of that. But I think only Trump can actually win. Cruz will be VP, I would bet on it!


23 posted on 09/23/2015 7:27:21 PM PDT by bigtoona (Lose on amnesty, socialism cemented in place forever. Trump is the only hope.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Same old demmy line: R’s = racists. Angry white males hate progress and all good things. Everything be better when they gone!


24 posted on 09/23/2015 7:27:29 PM PDT by irv (Live Tea or die!)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

He is named Peter Wehner? Isn’t that awfully redundant of his pregnant mom?

We are the People of the United States who love our country, I.e. Our Constitution. It is the only thing that makes us the US of A. We are not any one party.

The Republicans are the half of the oligarchy on one side of the aisle, clinging to any money and power the status quo system gives them.

This Peter Weiner thinks we, the People = Republicans, only caring about our Team. So he is a shmuck. Clearly.


25 posted on 09/23/2015 7:29:01 PM PDT by Yaelle (Trump would make a Gorbachev tear down a wall.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The WaPo will get no click from me.

For those who feel likewise, let me fill in the remainder of the article for you:

“blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, and more blah.”


26 posted on 09/23/2015 7:31:43 PM PDT by Calpublican (Boehner,McConnell,Corker,McCain,Alexander,Hatch,Graham+More=Corrupt)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Except if you look at any of the last dozen polls— trump does better than any other Republican candidate against Hillary or Biden or Sanders.


27 posted on 09/23/2015 7:36:45 PM PDT by freespirit2012
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Well!If the Republican Parth loses the next election the. The game is over.All we’ll be is a broke socialist paradise with different sections of the nation seceding from the present country into more manageable nation states.

The U.S.cannot survive taking in the numbers of poor refugees while spending exorbitant amounts of money to build a larger government to provide security from terrorist who are embedded with those same refugees.

We also will be spending more on national security and social services for our own citizens,mainly ageing baby boomers .


28 posted on 09/23/2015 7:36:59 PM PDT by puppypusher ( The World is going to the dogs.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The bizarre part is the Republican leaders actually believe this claptrap. For example:

The way to get the Hispanic vote is to *pander* to Hispanics. Like the Democrats did to get the black vote.

But you can see the results of doing this in the declining Hispanic vote, of candidates who *believed* that pandering would work. It *obviously* doesn’t. This was pointed out in that article. So the GOP-e wants to “reinforce defeat”, by doing the same mistakes again and again.

Why? Because Hispanics actually think before they support a candidate. They are smarter than that, which is why they are not a monolithic voting bloc.

But conservatives know how to attract broad numbers of Hispanic voters. By offering them the same conservative things they offer everyone else. For the simple reason that Hispanics *also* want these things.

For example, stopping government policies that inhibit small business. Ethnically Hispanic Americans have a really good grasp of entrepreneurship. They see owning and building a small business as a great way to get ahead in the world. This also means that they like low taxes and a business friendly environment.

But the Republican leadership doesn’t comprehend these things, even for the white vote. They cater to enormous multinational corporations. Not small business, and not the party rank and file.

And this is why they are such weaklings and losers.


29 posted on 09/23/2015 7:37:40 PM PDT by yefragetuwrabrumuy ("Don't compare me to the almighty, compare me to the alternative." -Obama, 09-24-11)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

The message being sent to voters is this: The Republican Party is led by people who are profoundly uncomfortable
* * * * *

with standing for the rule of law and doing anything to impede the flow of illegal aliens into the country.


30 posted on 09/23/2015 7:38:01 PM PDT by Lurkinanloomin (Know Islam, No Peace - No Islam, Know Peace)
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To: Pollster1

The progressive republicans want to win to continue progressive policies. If the American Dream is not already dead, they are going to kill it.


31 posted on 09/23/2015 7:38:51 PM PDT by joshua c (Please dont feed the liberals)
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To: Hugin
Right, that's why Trump is got 31% of Hispanics and 25% of blacks in a recent general election matchup vs. Hillary.

It is worth trying to win over minorities and I applaud Trump's efforts, but the reality is in a general election he would get the same anemic %'s that Romney got. Sorry, but minorities are squarely in the Democrat camp as long as the freebies keep flowing.

For now, increasing our share of the white vote by 3-4% is probably a better short term electoral strategy.

32 posted on 09/23/2015 7:41:08 PM PDT by Longbow1969
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To: Pollster1

Exactly. Why in the world would a shifting ethnic makeup of the country mean we have to change our policies? You either believe in MLK’s color blind mantra or you don’t. And if you don’t, you think our policies have to change when a percentage of a certain racial group changes.


33 posted on 09/23/2015 7:41:27 PM PDT by JediJones (The #1 Must-see Filibuster of the Year: TEXAS TED AND THE CONSERVATIVE CRUZ-ADE)
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To: Pollster1

I would add that many of us are against big gov’t.


34 posted on 09/23/2015 7:44:12 PM PDT by econjack (I'm not bossy...I just know what you should be doing.)
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To: Pollster1

Demographics is destiny. Race & culture matter...read Sowell’s book.


35 posted on 09/23/2015 7:44:44 PM PDT by MSF BU (Support the troops: Join Them.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
The Republican Party is led by people who are profoundly uncomfortable with the changing (and inevitable) demographic nature of our nation.

Amazing how some in DC can read minds.

Moreover, the demographic nature wouldn't change if someone would stop letting all the illegals in.

36 posted on 09/23/2015 7:46:15 PM PDT by relictele (Principiis obsta & Finem respice - Resist The Beginnings & Consider The Ends)
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To: Inyo-Mono

I’m for either Cruz or Trump. The rest wanna make me puke. Maybe not for Carson who pissed off the mooslum pigs but it’s just momentary...


37 posted on 09/23/2015 7:48:33 PM PDT by max americana (fired liberals in our company last election, and I laughed while they cried (true story))
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To: Blue Jays

The Goths and Huns are at the gates—it’s inevitable. That is this guys defeatist opinion.


38 posted on 09/23/2015 7:50:02 PM PDT by cradle of freedom
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

It seems that the only ones who are panicking are the establishment leadership and the media.


39 posted on 09/23/2015 7:50:56 PM PDT by CriticalJ (Suppose you were an idiot. And suppose you were a member of Congress.. But then I repeat myself. MT)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

“The concern is that a candidate like Trump is running a campaign based on the 1980 electorate, not the 2016 one.”

Yes, a campaign based on the American people and not on the needs of Washington lobbyist cartel.


40 posted on 09/23/2015 7:51:11 PM PDT by headstamp 2
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