Where now for the GOP?

[Brittain33]

Perhaps our 1997 is your 2008.

This is the 4th time in 5 elections the GOP has lost the popular vote at a presidential election. Are the GOP now a 'regional' party? What can be done about New England? Has Nixon/Reagans grand coalition collapsed?

Honestly, I'm speaking against interest here, but "New England" as such just doesn't carry that much weight electorally. The issue is the northeastern metropolitan regions in general, which covers parts of New England, along with the midwestern metropolises that are starting to vote like northeastern ones.

[Brittain33]

The danger with "small government" as a unifying principle, although it is a powerful principle, is that it rapidly translates into "anti-government" and that has been at the root of the Bush Administration's problem and the trashing of the brand.

The social conservatism alienates some kids and adults and it makes the party look trivial during a time of crisis, but we know it is not fundamentally a deal-breaker for the party. I'd love to play concern troll and say "embrace gay marriage and your problems will melt away" but that is stupid.

Competence is the deal-breaker.

If the Republican Party can develop a coherent small government party that doesn't attract ideologues and rentseekers whose policies are only to smash the place up, cut without concern for a basic safety net (and I mean "don't leave Katrina refugees for a week" safety net, not Medicare prescription drugs), while still trying to spend big for their districts, that could be promising. If it looks like Terri Schiavo gets more attention than "health care" as a policy portfolio, people in the middle get angry.

Republicans need moral officeholders who aren't looking for a future lobbying career. You have some in Congress already, for certain. Somehow, you need to find a way to stop the districts from sending up single-issue ideologues who connect with their voters on that one issue but come across as economic illiterates and tone-deaf harridans on everything else. (You know who I'm talking about. Some of them were dispatched this week, but others are in safe districts.) The Democrats learned this lesson.

[Brittain33]

Palin is already being thrown under the bus by McCain loyalists. It's pretty ugly actually.

Yeah, I heard they said she didn't know Africa was a continent, didn't know which countries were in NAFTA, "threw temper tantrums" (oh the irony) about bad press coverage, and refused their help to prepare for the Couric interview, which they thought was fair.

Will Kristol and Barnes carry water for her now against this, I wonder.