How much longer until the GOP stops pandering to the religious right?

[LoveToRow]

Originally Posted by bawac34618

Despite what you hear from Republicans, both Obama and Clinton both governed from the center.

Well, there goes your credibility. Obama has in no way "governed from the center." I don't think you understand how Clinton governed in conjunction with the Republicans after they took over congress in 1994 versus how Obama did the exact opposite in 2010. You must be very young, very naïve, or both.

[tinytrump]

it will stop when they die- and the next generation takes over --pro-term limits

[CPPU12345]

Originally Posted by bawac34618

Jerry Falwell is gone and the Moral Majority is no longer a majority. Most Americans consider the Golden Age of the "Moral 1950s" as a distant past and have no desire to return there. Yet religious conservatives are still the base of the Republican Party and is the primary bloc that GOP candidates pander to every election season. The problem is, religious conservatives and the issues that they care about are becoming less and less important to the average American each election season. Instead of distancing themselves from this bloc who would impose a theocracy in America if they could get away with it, they seem to be doubling down on the pandering. Most candidates sound more like they are running for national pastor rather than President of the United States.

There is a lot of people out there who like the Republican fiscal platform as well as the GOP approach to numerous other issues. Their concern is the economy, immigration, national security, and other issues that really matter. They are not concerned with what consenting adults do in the privacy of their bedroom, rainbow Doritos, introducing creationism into science classrooms, or starting an unjust war in hopes that it will cause the Rapture to happen.

The more Republicans continue to pander to the religious right, the more unelectable they become. California was once a red state in the not too distant past and Oregon and Washington were swing states. Now they are solidly blue. This decade, the GOP has lost Colorado, Florida, and Virginia, and Indiana and North Carolina are trending purple. Why is that?

I think the GOP is reaching the point where if they are to continue to be a viable national party, they will need to denounce the fringe religious right. America isn't and never has been a theocracy and most Americans outside the Bible Belt aren't interested in living in one. If this means losing a portion of the base, then so be it. Mike Huckabee once said he would leave the Republican Party if they softened on the anti-gay rhetoric. Maybe that's what needs to happen? Maybe there needs to be a "Christian Nation" Party so that when you vote for them, you know exactly what you are getting.

It might hurt the GOP for a few election cycles, but ultimately the party would build a new base and remain viable. It might actually lead for a successful Republican Presidency in a decade, something the U.S. hasn't seen for 30 years. One thing I do know is a one party state is never a good thing, no matter the party.

Thoughts?

That is why we get two major political parties and a church. If you don't want to vote, then go to a church; be it a Silent Hill church or not: depending on your lucks. And I would go back to the jungle watching the tree.

[MTQ3000]

That would be never - the elites of the Republican Party manipulate the great unwashed masses to vote against their self-interest by focusing on emotionally charged issues for them, namely "religious freedom", abortion, SSM, and so on.

Mick