Experts Expound

“Given demographics and voting trends, realistically, what is the future of the Republican Party in California?”

Their immediate future (this political generation), appears to have ended in 1994 when Gov. Pete Wilson declared war on “illegal aliens.” Bye, bye, Latino vote.

Add toxic incompetence to that mix and you have another decade of decline. They are the L.A. Clippers of politics.

The Field Poll said it all: The GOP’s demographics are trending the wrong way and have been for more than a decade. And it’s not just age and ethnicity that’s working against the party. Under the thrall of Grover Norquist and the Tea Party, it’s also been shedding its sense of decency, community and common sense, replacing them with stubbornness, anger and suicidal NIMBYism. They’ve become the lemmings of American politics – and the national GOP, for all its perceived power, ain’t that far behind them.

They have about as much future as a Communist recruiter at a Sons of Cuba picnic in Little Havana.

They have to get less crazy or go the way of the dodo bird. Actually, the new top-two primary may help Republicans, if, for a change, it allows some Republicans who are not insane, who can appeal to Democrats and Independents, to actually make the November ballot.

It’s entirely up to the Republican Party. If it keeps fielding candidates that are anti-environment, anti-choice, anti-immigration reform, and anti-education, the GOP will remain an irrelevant player in our state’s politics except in a handful of rural regions.

The same future as Communism in Florida.

It is like the break-up of the Soviet Union … the cracks are there, the trends are there, and they have no money.  It is only a matter of time.

Limited to blocking some of the Democratic Agenda on a statewide basis.  The GOP will focus on local elections.
 
In a word, bleak. Republicans are getting older and more conservative. Red flag. Legislative and congressional districts promise to make them irrelevant on taxes and the two-thirds budget vote. Two more red flags. Unless they wake up, learn to compromise and act like pragmatic statesmen – instead of legislative speed bumps – they will continue to be lawmakers in name only.

Andrew Acosta, Elizabeth Ashford, A.G. Block, Mark Bogetich, Barry Brokaw, J Dale Debber, Peter DeMarco, Mike Donovan, Jim Evans, Kathy Fairbanks, Jeff Fuller, Rex Frazier, Ken Gibson, Evan Goldberg, Deborah Gonzalez, Sandy Harrison, Bob Hertzberg, Jason Kinney, Greg Lucas, Mike Madrid, Nicole Mahrt, Steve Maviglio,  Adam Mendelsohn, Barbara O’Connor, Bill Packer, Kassy Perry, Jack Pitney, Adam Probolsky, Tony Quinn, Matt Rexroad, Matt Ross, Roger Salazar, Dan Schnur, Will Shuck, Ralph Simoni, Sam Sorich, Ray Sotero, Garry South, Kevin Spillane, Robin Swanson, Angie Wei, Rich Zeiger