Posted on 01/09/2016 12:39:15 PM PST by Mariner
The Republican Party is facing a historic split over its fundamental principles and identity, as its once powerful establishment grapples with an eruption of class tensions, ethnic resentments and mistrust among working-class conservatives who are demanding a presidential nominee who represents their interests.
At family dinners and New Year’s parties, in conference calls and at private lunches, longtime Republicans are expressing a growing fear that the coming election could be shattering for the party, or reshape it in ways that leave it unrecognizable.
While warring party factions usually reconcile after brutal nomination fights, this race feels different, according to interviews with more than 50 Republican leaders, activists, donors and voters, from both elite circles and the grass roots.
Never have so many voters been attracted to Republican candidates like Donald J. Trump and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, who are challenging core party beliefs on the economy and national security and new goals like winning over Hispanics through immigration reform. Rank-and-file conservatives, after decades of deferring to party elites, are trying to stage what is effectively a people’s coup by selecting a standard-bearer who is not the preferred candidate of wealthy donors and elected officials.
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
As I’m sure you know, a Trump or Cruz nomination will have the GOPe voting Hillary in an instant.
With my wife's family and mine, 3 generations of voters, we have 1 democrat and zero Perotistas. We feel that Perot was a hired hand of the Clintoons to give them the election. All of us will crawl on broken glass to elect Trump.
With our close friends/relatives in the midwest and in Californiacator land, both blue collar and people with multiple degrees, including West Point and Annapolis grads. We are all for Trump. None of them or us ever voted for nor supported Perot.
There are two wives of friends, who say they don't like Trump because of his immigration stances and language. Their husbands in private will vote for Trump and probably so will their wives and never admit it.
We are probably no longer considered to be conservatives. we despise liberals, the GOPe and consider ourselves to be Americans.
Freepers like nopardons and myself remember how Reagan was called and labeled as evil by the phoney California elite Republicans. He kicked their a$$es as well as the democrats and the mediots who tried to destroy him.
I am pretty sure the big shots in the GOP did not want Reagan.
Do the conservatives get as many shots at losing as the GOP has had with their chosen candidates? Graham makes it sound like conservatives get one chance to win and if not we have to sit down and shut up?
Maybe the Bushites will leave and form the Shrub Party.
As a matter of fact, I haven't liked Pat since he ran for president and have ALWAYS loathed Perot, which I completely agree with Grampa Dave about.
Nixon WAS a Conservative and hardly an INTERNATIONALIST and/or hawk.
You don't know what you're talking about Oklahoma and don't know much factual history.
Dave, I'm with you and have the same experience re family and friends. We went out to brunch today, with friends and though we weren't rowdy nor loud, we were all happily talking about Trump and the people sitting at nearby tables were all smiling at us.
You’re absolutely right.
It set back their plans just short of a decade.
“And they worried that their candidates — mainstream conservatives like Jeb Bush — were losing.”
To hell with Yeb and to hell with the GOPe...
A lot of the Trump platform is borrowed from Patrick J. Buchanan, excluding Buchanan’s opposition to “free trade”.
If this works out the way it should, they will not survive as a party because a good many of these crooks will be in prison.
Y'now, it would be real difficult or a party to survive without any voters.
You’d think the GOPe would realize which
side of the cat is buttered.
“...a historic split over its fundamental principles and identity....”
Why is this a bad thing? They’ve not represented me in over twenty five years. So, let’s move on. This latest, after giving them the House and Senate is the last straw.
If you’re saying that we left the trajectory REagan started you’re right. Bush, Sr was a joke, since then, down hill.
Although Ross Perot had a lot to do with this.
Not at all!
Trump IS the one who is broadening the party. He's getting support from people in ethnic groups that the GOPe claims to want.
The NYT pretends not to realize this. As for the GOPe, its opposition to Trump has nothing to do whether the party is broadened; it's all about the GOPe retaining power.
The split in the Republican Party is between the Cronyists and the Americans.
“Social issues don’t matter. Appease the Christians with “Merry Christmas†and they’ll be too stupid to notice they lost everything else.”
That all was lost long ago.
That is the attitude that caused the current position. Liberals start with the most absurd position and they go forward with attitude and confidence. They lose 5000 times but the, alas, they win. Conservative win 5000, but then surrender after one setback. Down is not out.
Watch how these "he" "she" labeling according to feelings rather than facts issue plays out. Also the crazy bathroom issues. Those positions are NUTS. But the left will win because they know how to fight. The right only knows how to surrender.
Richard Nixon was a moderate.
Warren Burger as Chief Justice
Wage and price controls
Devaluation of the dollar
Destroyed what little was left of the gold standard
The Environmental Protection Agency
The Clean Air Act
OSHA
The Philadelphia Plan of affirmative action
The Equal Rights Amendment
Pat Buchanan was a model of consistency when you compare him to Trump. He did move left after Bush became president in what I would consider an attempt to mimic Nixon twenty years earlier. I think he considered Nixon more of a role model than Reagan.
Both Buchanan and Perot tried to appeal to the protectionist elements in the labor movement by being critical or even outright opposing trade agreements.
In the circles I travel the same individuals that loved Perot also supported Buchanan later. Some of them support Trump today. I would suggest you are the exception to the rule.
It would make the liberals a permanent majority.
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