Nearly a year removed from a presidential election that put its electoral and demographic weaknesses on full display, the Republican Party has been badly hampered by the ongoing government shutdown as it tries to rebrand itself in advance of both the 2014 midterms and the 2016 presidential election, according to […] Read more »
Will Republicans Pay a Price for the Government Shutdown?
The ongoing Tea Party-induced crisis over the Affordable Care Act, the government shutdown, and the debt ceiling appears to be taking a substantial toll on the Republican Party’s popularity. … So the big question remains: Will Republicans pay a price for this? Can you stage a very public protest that shuts […] Read more »
How Ted Cruz won and the GOP lost
… For the Republican Party writ large, the shutdown is a political disaster. The only debate within the party is whether it amounts to a short-term political dip or a long-term collapse that could jeopardize its hold on the House and its chances to retake the Senate next November. For […] Read more »
For the GOP, rightward ho!
The Republican Party is at war with itself. It’s divided over how best to shrink the federal budget and how to undo President Obama’s healthcare law. It hasn’t been notably successful at either, which helps explain why the GOP’s standing in the eyes of most voters has plummeted to depths […] Read more »
Ted Cruz and the Politics of Hari-kari
Just when you thought that the G.O.P. might finally be wising up, and looking for a way to stop damaging itself in the eyes of voters, up pops Ted Cruz, the Texas firebrand who helped to get this whole shutdown/debt-ceiling thing started. Appearing before an audience of conservative activists in […] Read more »
The Last Days of the GOP
… Under pressure from grassroots radicals and the new outsider groups, the old Republican coalition is beginning to shatter. The single-issue and evangelical groups have been superseded by right-wing populist groups, which are generally identified with the Tea Party, although there is no single Tea Party organization. These groups can’t easily […] Read more »