In 2009, right after the inauguration of president Obama, the media was filled with stories about the "end" of the Republican party. The Democrats held the presidency, both housed of Congress and a majority of state positions as well. Obama had just won with a majority of the popular vote, something no Democrat had achieved for many decades. The liberal media pundits (which is much the same as saying the "media pundits") told us at the time that the forward march of history had consigned the GOP to the past, a party that could no longer muster a majority and which would just fade away. Since then, the Republicans took control of the House with their largest majority since 1928, took control of the Senate, took control of two thirds of the governor's mansions across the country, and won majorities in about two thirds of the state legislatures. Obama won re-election in 2012, but his margin was more than cut in half in the popular vote. Even so, the story line about the end of the Republican party continued in the media. The big thing, or so we were told, was the demographic inevitability of it all. Republicans, you see, were a whites only party according to these liberal "experts". Blacks, Hispanics and Asian Americans would inevitably support the Democrats forever. So would young people. Yet today, we have a presidential race where the Democrats have two serious candidates, both of whom are old and white while the GOP has many candidates including Hispanics, an African American and young people (as presidential candidates go).
I am recounting all this because I just finished reading a column by Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post in which he explains that the Republican party is finished. This time the cause is the schism exposed by the Trump candidacy between the establishment Republicans and the base of the party. It's another of those predictions of inevitable Democrat victory that seem more designed to make liberals feel good about their position than to discern the truth. Robinson says that GOP base voters just won't ever vote again for a candidate of the Republican establishment.
Here's the truth in two words: Hillary Clinton. For nearly every Republican voter across America, the prospect of Hillary as president is abhorrent. Hillary proclaims herself the architect of the Obama foreign policy during the first term. We've seen the results of that policy like the rise of ISIS, the collapse of states like Libya into chaos, the Russian invasion of its neighbors, and the weakening of American power. We don't want that to continue. We've seen the dishonesty that spews from the mouth of Hillary without stop. We want a president who we can trust again. Obama is bad enough on that score, but at least most people did not know he was a pathological liar when he was first elected. There is no way that Republicans (other than a few who will undoubtedly get taken in by the Democrats' talking points) will vote for Hillary. The Republican base will not EVER pick Hillary over the GOP candidate even if that candidate is part of the establishment. By the same token, the establishment is not going to pick Hillary over the GOP candidate even if that is Trump.
That means that once again, the issue is where the independent voters go. At the moment, they are not going to Hillary. There are polls all over the lot, but one thing all the polls show is that overall Hillary is not far ahead of any GOP candidate, and some GOP candidates like Rubio are consistently ahead of Mrs. Clinton. Remember, we are at the maximum level of upset between the establishment and the base in the GOP even according to Eugene Robinson. There should be a lead for Hillary as the base refuses to support the establishment and vice versa, but there is not. And among independents, the GOP candidates consistently lead Hillary.
One thing that Robinson and the other liberal pundits never consider is that the American people actually understand what is happening in this country. All those minority voters that Robinson just assumes are voting Democrat can see that seven years of Obama have made things worse for them. Some recent polls have shown support for the Republicans rising among minorities to levels not seen for the last 40 years. The truth is that we don't know what the results of the 2016 election will be. It's too far off and events can change everything before then. The truth, however, is that Robinson and his fellow members of the liberal pundit association don't know what will happen in 2016 either. They are just wasting our time with these columns of what is no more than their wishful thinking.
I am recounting all this because I just finished reading a column by Eugene Robinson of the Washington Post in which he explains that the Republican party is finished. This time the cause is the schism exposed by the Trump candidacy between the establishment Republicans and the base of the party. It's another of those predictions of inevitable Democrat victory that seem more designed to make liberals feel good about their position than to discern the truth. Robinson says that GOP base voters just won't ever vote again for a candidate of the Republican establishment.
Here's the truth in two words: Hillary Clinton. For nearly every Republican voter across America, the prospect of Hillary as president is abhorrent. Hillary proclaims herself the architect of the Obama foreign policy during the first term. We've seen the results of that policy like the rise of ISIS, the collapse of states like Libya into chaos, the Russian invasion of its neighbors, and the weakening of American power. We don't want that to continue. We've seen the dishonesty that spews from the mouth of Hillary without stop. We want a president who we can trust again. Obama is bad enough on that score, but at least most people did not know he was a pathological liar when he was first elected. There is no way that Republicans (other than a few who will undoubtedly get taken in by the Democrats' talking points) will vote for Hillary. The Republican base will not EVER pick Hillary over the GOP candidate even if that candidate is part of the establishment. By the same token, the establishment is not going to pick Hillary over the GOP candidate even if that is Trump.
That means that once again, the issue is where the independent voters go. At the moment, they are not going to Hillary. There are polls all over the lot, but one thing all the polls show is that overall Hillary is not far ahead of any GOP candidate, and some GOP candidates like Rubio are consistently ahead of Mrs. Clinton. Remember, we are at the maximum level of upset between the establishment and the base in the GOP even according to Eugene Robinson. There should be a lead for Hillary as the base refuses to support the establishment and vice versa, but there is not. And among independents, the GOP candidates consistently lead Hillary.
One thing that Robinson and the other liberal pundits never consider is that the American people actually understand what is happening in this country. All those minority voters that Robinson just assumes are voting Democrat can see that seven years of Obama have made things worse for them. Some recent polls have shown support for the Republicans rising among minorities to levels not seen for the last 40 years. The truth is that we don't know what the results of the 2016 election will be. It's too far off and events can change everything before then. The truth, however, is that Robinson and his fellow members of the liberal pundit association don't know what will happen in 2016 either. They are just wasting our time with these columns of what is no more than their wishful thinking.
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