The 2012 GOP occupies what, in a sane and civilized society with a healthy political system, would be a minor party’s ideological niche. Their policies are unworkable, their vision is myopic, and their candidates are inveterate liars.
Unfortunately, they have the infrastructure of a major political party. It is extant from when they abandoned the sane middle for the fringe.
A Brief Digression
A healthy polity would include a range of positions from left, center-left, centrist, center-right, and right. Based on surveys of the population, the largest support should be in the center-left, centrist, center-right ranges. Smaller parties, with less support, would fall on the extremes: left, right, far-left, far-right. It should surprise exactly no one that this can be described by a standard bell curve.
What we have instead is this:
far-left: [vacant]
left: Green Party
center-left: [vacant]
centrist: Democratic Party
center-right: [vacant]
right: Republican Party; Libertarian Party
far-right: Constitutional Party
This is out of balance. It is not reflective of the electorate, which makes it unhealthy and unsustainable. I believe this disparity between the beliefs espoused by the parties and those held by the electorate are the primary cause of voter apathy.
How do you run against these guys?
As a major party facing an opponent that looks and sounds like a minor party, your options are somewhat limited. In our present election, Democrats talk about issues, goals, technocratic plans, and the like. Republicans tell lies with impunity. They’re both speaking English, but they aren’t speaking the same language.
It is a conundrum. How do you run against a half-ounce party in a ten-gallon hat? I don’t know the answer, but the Democrats seem to be trying to do it through sheer force of will.
