Where do you see the GOP gaining on the map?

[Kaine for Senate '18]

Populists aren't the base of the GOP.

But they aren't really the base for the Democrats either.

[Kevin]

Depends on if they go Populist (If we do, we'd probably gain more areas and people) or not. If they stay small government, we may be only The South (due to Social Conservatism.) And if we become libertarian, we lose everything.

That's already been tried and look where it got us.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

What social views would you have them moderate? If they abandoned gay marriage and abortion, they'd collapse. Stem cells and the other social issues are too minor to make a big difference.

They could be for Civil unions. But if I ran the GOP I would tell them to leave Marriage and Abortion up to the states. Have the people vote on it and leave it at that. Why should a states like MA and MS have the same laws about them things when they have different views on them.

If the GOP becomes Social Moderates but stay Fiscally Conservative, where do people like me go?

If they take off the Abortion and Gay Marriage debate then if you wanted vote on fiscally views, then Democrats.

Good lord, why are you rejecting your base (working class Christians) for a bunch of corporate dickheads? That is just asking to be pounded.

Being fiscally conservative does not mean you are a corporate dickhead. Last time I check most fiscal conservatives opposed the bailout(Small Gov't duh) while liberals and populists for the most part supported it. Whose the dickhead now. Last I checked the Georgia Delegation is full off Conservatives both on fiscal and social issues(people like Gingrey, Price, Westmorland, Linder and Kingston. Broun is Paulite libertarian. Isakson is more of a Libertarian and Chambliss is no populist) Even your homeboy Mike Huckabee is not a real populist, he just runs as one and is a stupid left wing media lover for doing so.

So where is this populist base. Last I checked the Republicans only picked up social issues to peel off the big Gov't loving south and Blue Collars(which had floated back to the Dems after Watergate and race issues died down). The South has changed since 1978. Suburbs dominate many of these states and prefer the GOP limited Gov't approach. There is no populist sect in the GOP, because its main core belief is limited Gov't with responsibility and morality reinforcing it. Limited Gov't is what kept conservatism alive even in the darkest days of the Depression. It would be unnatural for the GOP to turn populist since like the people I mention above are conservative on both issue groups.  The closest thing to a populist movement in America is the Blue Dog Democrats but even they are for balanced budgets and at one time low taxes.

[Southern Senator North Carolina Yankee]

The GOP will continue making gains in the South Central region, as well as the Plains and Nothern Mountain states(MT,UT,ID, and WY). I disagree that the GOP is at risk hear. Beyond crazies losing seats any sane GOPer could hold I don't see much risk, except MT which has always been willing to elect Dems in state races. 

However and this is where I think a populist turn would kill us. We need to make gains among Suburbs specifically, not exactly big Gov't lovers. They dominate VA, NC, FL, AZ, NV, and CO in the sun belt. In the rust belt OH, MI, NH, and PA. We also need to go after working class voters and Hispanics. Getting 20 to 30% of the black vote would not be a bad idea to alteast reduce danger of increased black turn out drownding our candidates(Hayes, Chabot). The only way the GOP does this is to return to being the party of Accountablility, balanced budgets, and limited Gov't while maintaining Social Conservative positions.

Republicans need to come up with new ideas on issues like Education and Health Care. The GOP needs to do better at relating issues to people. Its easy to say spending needs to be cut or taxes lowered but not why? Is easy to say education is broken but hard to come up with solutions. Minorities really care about Education and Health Care as do those
Suburbanites.

Lastly Republicans need to relearn how to win elections. They need to organize better, get more volunteers and donations, and lastly discover the Internet, no pun intended. The GOP is 15 years behind the times in turns of GOTV and organization.

If they get smart the GOP has a good chance of gaining in the Midwest, Southwest and Southeast merely based on GOP recovering lost ground there, and holding the South central, Great Plains(ND through OK) and Northern MTS states(WY, ID, MT, and UT). GOP would also see a slight increase in performance in Northeast. Returning to >6 seats in NY and having atlest 6 in NJ, Maintaning 9 minimum in PA and at least 3 in New England.

If they do none of the above its hard  to see any gains beyond the South unless its a very GOP district or state that becomes open UT-02 or Dakota Senate Seats, or regaining very REpublican districts CO-04 and ID-01.

[Person Man]

What social views would you have them moderate? If they abandoned gay marriage and abortion, they'd collapse. Stem cells and the other social issues are too minor to make a big difference.

They could be for Civil unions. But if I ran the GOP I would tell them to leave Marriage and Abortion up to the states. Have the people vote on it and leave it at that. Why should a states like MA and MS have the same laws about them things when they have different views on them.

If the GOP becomes Social Moderates but stay Fiscally Conservative, where do people like me go?

You get deer shanked....actually...wasn't it true that fundies weren't really that politically involved of late until the 70s?  Now they make up anywhere between 40 and 85% of the GOP base.

[minionofmidas]

If the Republican party would have a PM score like me they would do very well.

Where would I go then?

To hell, of course.

[Blazers93]

They will gain in New Jersey, and no where else.

[DownWithTheLeft]

Move to small government and libertarianism nets the GOP states like CT, NJ, PA moving toward them.  A focus on conservative positions on ideas like abortion and gay marriage allow them to keep doing well in the upper and lower South.  The new libertarianism also sures up states like MT and ND and move CO, NM, NV back to the GOP

[ChrisFromNJ]

Move to small government and libertarianism nets the GOP states like CT, NJ, PA moving toward them.

Are you joking?

[DownWithTheLeft]

Move to small government and libertarianism nets the GOP states like CT, NJ, PA moving toward them.

Are you joking?

NJ and CT are fiscally conservative states

[War on Want]

What social views would you have them moderate? If they abandoned gay marriage and abortion, they'd collapse. Stem cells and the other social issues are too minor to make a big difference.

They could be for Civil unions. But if I ran the GOP I would tell them to leave Marriage and Abortion up to the states. Have the people vote on it and leave it at that. Why should a states like MA and MS have the same laws about them things when they have different views on them.

If the GOP becomes Social Moderates but stay Fiscally Conservative, where do people like me go?

If they take off the Abortion and Gay Marriage debate then if you wanted vote on fiscally views, then Democrats.

Good lord, why are you rejecting your base (working class Christians) for a bunch of corporate dickheads? That is just asking to be pounded.

lol you are economically leftist for all of the wrong reasons.

[War on Want]

Move to small government and libertarianism nets the GOP states like CT, NJ, PA moving toward them.

Are you joking?

NJ and CT are fiscally conservative states

Not really, sure many areas want lower taxes but will still support social services.

[Ronnie]

What social views would you have them moderate? If they abandoned gay marriage and abortion, they'd collapse. Stem cells and the other social issues are too minor to make a big difference.

They could be for Civil unions. But if I ran the GOP I would tell them to leave Marriage and Abortion up to the states. Have the people vote on it and leave it at that. Why should a states like MA and MS have the same laws about them things when they have different views on them.

If the GOP becomes Social Moderates but stay Fiscally Conservative, where do people like me go?

Sorry to burst your bubble, dude, but Mike Huckabee is quite a fiscal conservative.  He favors tax cuts that are too radical for even my tastes and strongly opposed the bailout from the start.  Your notion that he is a populist is completely false.

Also, we don't need big government principles in our party.  Our 2 party system will become mush if the GOP becomes populist, and I really don't have the patience to list why.  If you want to complain about it, become an independent.

[paul718]

Sorry to burst your bubble, dude, but Mike Huckabee is quite a fiscal conservative.  He favors tax cuts that are too radical for even my tastes and strongly opposed the bailout from the start.  Your notion that he is a populist is completely false.

Didn't Huckabee govern as a "populist" in Arkansas?  And there are plenty of populists who oppose bailing out the financial companies.  "Populist" is a word that gets thrown around a lot in this forum.  Maybe someone can clear it up for me.  When I think of "populism" I think of defending the middle/lower class rights to a job at fair pay (but not necassarily union advocacy), defending the consumer from high prices, and an almost villification of the upper class and corporations.  Am I close?

[Workers' Friend]

Sorry to burst your bubble, dude, but Mike Huckabee is quite a fiscal conservative.  He favors tax cuts that are too radical for even my tastes and strongly opposed the bailout from the start.  Your notion that he is a populist is completely false.

Didn't Huckabee govern as a "populist" in Arkansas?  And there are plenty of populists who oppose bailing out the financial companies.  "Populist" is a word that gets thrown around a lot in this forum.  Maybe someone can clear it up for me.  When I think of "populism" I think of defending the middle/lower class rights to a job at fair pay (but not necassarily union advocacy), defending the consumer from high prices, and an almost villification of the upper class and corporations.  Am I close?

I am a Populist, but I opposed the bailout because if the rich can;t make smart decisions, the hell with them. I think it shows how greedy the upper class is.

[Ronnie]

Sorry to burst your bubble, dude, but Mike Huckabee is quite a fiscal conservative.  He favors tax cuts that are too radical for even my tastes and strongly opposed the bailout from the start.  Your notion that he is a populist is completely false.

Didn't Huckabee govern as a "populist" in Arkansas?  And there are plenty of populists who oppose bailing out the financial companies.  "Populist" is a word that gets thrown around a lot in this forum.  Maybe someone can clear it up for me.  When I think of "populism" I think of defending the middle/lower class rights to a job at fair pay (but not necassarily union advocacy), defending the consumer from high prices, and an almost villification of the upper class and corporations.  Am I close?

http://www.ontheissues.org/Mike_Huckabee.htm

I don't see many liberal positions there.  Maybe I'm wrong?

[paul718]

http://www.ontheissues.org/Mike_Huckabee.htm

I don't see many liberal positions there.  Maybe I'm wrong?

"Infrastructure projects: start immediately, for stimulus. (Feb 2008)
Rebates of $150 billion help China; widening I-95 helps US. (Jan 2008)
Recessions "trickle-up"--working class hit first & hardest. (Jan 2008)
Infrastructure investment causes long-term economic stimulus. (Jan 2008)
Stimulus plan is $150B from China, to spend on Chinese goods. (Jan 2008)
Do things differently so people need not sacrifice. (Dec 2007)
Protect local milk supplies with Southern Dairy Compact. (Sep 2001)"

I view all these positions as somewhat "populist."  Gov't work programs, protectionism, looking out for the little guy, etc.  And I never said Huckabee was a liberal.  I think there's a difference between economically liberal and populist.  Pat Buchanan, for example, is a conservative and a populist.  Huckabee is similar, he doesn't like federal spending, he believes in giving more power to the states, he advocates the Fair Tax (economic conservatism), but at the same time he doesn't like American dollars buying Chinese goods, he wants to widen the interstate highway to get people to work, "the working class is hit the hardest", "people need not sacrifice" (populism).  He believes federal dollars and trade-barriers should be utilized for the betterment of the average American (populist) but he wants it done in a responsible way, preferably within budget (conservative).  At least that's the way I look at it. 

[Хahar 🤔]

Democrat party

Is your grammar that bad, or do you just like being an asshat?

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Democrat party

Is your grammar that bad, or do you just like being an asshat?

Obsessive much?

[Хahar 🤔]

Democrat party

Is your grammar that bad, or do you just like being an asshat?

Obsessive much?

Not at all. You know that was intentional.

[Fmr. Pres. Duke]

Democrat party

Is your grammar that bad, or do you just like being an asshat?

Obsessive much?

Not at all. You know that was intentional.

Absolutely. I've been using that term since the primary season because their primary system was hardly "democratic."

[Josh/Devilman88]

Democrat party

Is your grammar that bad, or do you just like being an asshat?

Obsessive much?

Not at all. You know that was intentional.

Absolutely. I've been using that term since the primary season because their primary system was hardly "democratic."

How was it not?

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Basically the Reps have got to what the Dems did in 2006.

Make the Republican party more than the conservative/religious party. Be more OPEN and inclusive.... yes, which will mean toning down a few things.

Actually let the Rockefeller Republicans out of their cage, and put the extreme-right wing in it.

[Frozen Sky Ever Why]

They can't do that because the christians will make and new party and split the vote. Their obsession over abortion and gay marriage is getting pathetic.

[Matt Damon™]

if the gop keeps catering to dixie evangelicals it'll become increasingly weaker and weaker