We'll find out next year if Fred Barnes' theory holds up. I think that in liberal states, the GOP can competitive if it grabs conservatives who are moderate to liberal on cultural issues. The Democrats don't have any one to make social conservatives feel welcome in their party. The Republicans have figured how to occupy the center and advance conservative principles without looking like they want to tell people what to do in their bedrooms or being hung up on gays. We've moved past that. Give us 40 years in power and the country will be a lot different than it is today.
Republicans have figured how to occupy the center and advance conservative principles without looking like they want to tell people what to do in their bedrooms or being hung up on gays. We've moved past that. Give us 40 years in power and the country will be a lot different than it is today. Can you talk with any confidence about particulars? Do you think much of current federal spending (which I'm guessing is between 25 and 30% of GDP, much of it for Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security) will be gone? What will the relationship between the federal government and the states be? Will Roe v. Wade still be the law of the land? I offer these up only as examples; any insights would be useful.
What are the "conservative principles" to which a meaningfully empowered GOP would be most devoted? It's never been seen in my lifetime, so it's worth thinking about what, in detail, it would mean.