Will the GOP become more libertarian?

[Senator-elect Spark]

With Trump's views on social issues and his populist message

[WVdemocrat]

Trump is an authoritarian alt-right paleoconservative. He is not a libertarian.

[LLR]

populism is kind of the opposite of libertarianism

[RINO Tom]

The religious base is the GOP's bread-and-butter, so the answer is no. If they become libertarian, they might gain a few million votes in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, and New Hampshire, etc; but they will lose many millions of votes in the South. Is that a worthy trade?

Yes, especially because no one is advocating DROPPING social conservatism but rather toning it down and trying to regain Bush-era margins with affluent and educated voters, especially in swing states, as they go to the polls reliably and are naturally more willing to listen to our economic message (even Trump, this supposed populist, is calling for across-the-board tax cuts and less regulation).  I also don't think enough of these Southern voters you speak of will defect to put the states we need in jeopardy.  So our margin in rural TN goes down?  So what?  Make up for it with higher margins in suburban Nashville.  Same for rural GA and ATL, rural TX and Dallas/Houston, etc.  Democrats are doing nothing to try to appeal to rural voters, and we should try to keep them in our fold.  However, they can't be THE fold, as there aren't enough of them.  Republicans WIN states with the suburbs; if we can get back to previous suburban margins, we flip CO, PA, FL, OH and VA.  If we really fun them up, we flip MN, WI (already do well these places) and maybe put OR into play...

[RINO Tom]

Depends entirely on whether Trump loses by 12 or if he loses by 2.  If the former, yes, definitely.  If the latter, absolutely not.

I think this is fair.  Either way, the current groups making up the GOP - from nationalist types, to Wall Street types to movement conservatives to old school moderates to evangelicals - aren't going to stop fighting for the soul of the party because of one defeat UNLESS there's a dire need for unification against the Democrats.  I think two terms of Hillary expanding on progressive economic legislation Obama has introduced could produce an Eisenhower-type void where the party just wants to win, especially if we're no longer enjoying legislative majorities.

[MT Treasurer]

We hear this after every election and it never happens. The GOP will not become a more "libertarian" party.

[GLPman]

Well, it's clear that the GOP will have to do something to modernize. This is certainly one viable path.

[RINO Tom]

We hear this after every election and it never happens. The GOP will not become a more "libertarian" party.

The GOP needs more and new voters.  What's your solution?  I'd argue we've maxed out with WCWs, a demographic that will continue to be a smaller slice of the electorate.  There's no excuse why the Republican Party shouldn't be sweeping affluent, educated, highly populated/vote-rich suburbs, so why not go for them?  As Goldwater said, hunt where the ducks are, right?

[uti2]

We hear this after every election and it never happens. The GOP will not become a more "libertarian" party.

The GOP needs more and new voters.  What's your solution?  I'd argue we've maxed out with WCWs, a demographic that will continue to be a smaller slice of the electorate.  There's no excuse why the Republican Party shouldn't be sweeping affluent, educated, highly populated/vote-rich suburbs, so why not go for them?  As Goldwater said, hunt where the ducks are, right?

The parts about libertarianism that are attractive to the bernie supporters who are considering Johnson e.g. are almost exclusively social issues + foreign policy. Basically, economic libertarianism is not the part that's actually liked.

Libertarian ideology is probably the worst fit for a state like VA/NoVA, heavily dependent upon government contracts. Libertarian + being a Hawk would kill any support from actual libertarians and leftists that existed in the first place.


Then why wasn't PA flipped in the first place? Trump wants to end those 'trade deals', without that, you shouldn't expect those votes. That is actually another issue.

To your point regarding the suburbs, OR votes like a NE state, and so does MN to a lesser extent.

How would they 'tone it down'? Even Cruz tried a 'toned down' message this year with 'let the states decide', yet if you look at his policy proposals and it didn't really work compared to the media narrative. Ironically, it was very akin to what Bush did, because the country has gone more left on those social issues, so toning it down is now the new demonized RW position.

And Cruz tried to be the sneaky pseudo-libertarian candidate, yet libertarians saw through it.

[Beefalow and the Consumer]

The GOP's rallying cry since Reagan has been "smaller government, more freedom."  The only way they can remain viable as a party is to stick with this message and give it mass appeal.  One of the reasons they are heading towards an epic fail this year is their abandonment of these principles.  Instead of a message of "Americans are fundamentally good, and we're going to give you the freedom you need to succeed," the message is "OMG America is broken and this strongman is the only one who can fix it by imposing law and order, making police more powerful, imposing trade restrictions, 'extreme vetting' of immigrants..."  While the Democrats are able to co-opt the optimism and trust in the American people that should belong to the GOP.

The only way the GOP can halt their course of self-destruction is to return to a message of smaller government, more freedom.  That must include personal liberty - ending the war on drugs, reducing our prison population, embracing LGBT rights, liberalizing immigration, liberalizing trade (an unpopular position, but not with the voters the GOP needs).  One that realizes that the way to fight terrorism is international engagement, not Fortress America.  This is a GOP I could vote for.  This is a GOP that intellectuals, minorities, and LGBT people could vote for.  One that could win California, Oregon, Colorado, Minnesota, even Massachusetts.

Will the GOP do this?  Not a chance in hell.

[White Trash]

Christ I hope so.

[Figueira]

It will probably become more libertarian than it is now (at least on some issues), but it will never be a libertarian party.