The Shrinking Republican Party

[bascule]

The Republican Party is showing declines in membership among all demographic groups, with a recent poll showing 21% of American voters self-identifying as Republicans (compared to approximately 35% for Democrats)

 

Is this a good thing? A bad thing? I think this is the great thing, not just because I'm not a fan of the Republicans, but because I think this will be a boon to conservative third parties who more closely share my views, such as the Libertarian party. Hell, Ron Paul could probably go start a party on his own and attract a large following to it.

[the tree]

I guess if you don't like them, then you should be glad that they are shrinking. Unless of course, people are moving from the Republican Party to something much worse.

[Moontanman]

As much as I'd like to see a great many of the people who claim to represent the republican party burst into flames and disappear from the face of the earth I think the reality is that a great many people are really between each party in their real convictions and they waffle back and forth in support of each party as the parties tend toward the party extremes. Most people or at least large portion of them do not swallow all the rhetoric of either party without question, this is a good thing because blindly following anyone leads inevitably to the koolaid and disaster.

[Pangloss]

I saw something about this the other day -- thanks for starting a thread on it, Bascule. It appears to be a significant political trend that will be interesting to follow over the next few years. I have a somewhat academic interest in these things that's independent from my political views, and at that level I just think it's interesting to follow these trends and try to derive meaning and prognostication from them.

 

In terms of what it means, I think these upheavals are generally healthy for the parties to go through from time to time. The Dems have gone through several of their own as well, and of course the GOP has been through a couple of monstrous ones, during my lifetime. They have a profound realignment affect on party policies and politics, bringing them generally more in line with what people actually want, which is usually a good thing.

[The Bear's Key]

I guess if you don't like them, then you should be glad that they are shrinking.

I'd be gladder if both parties shrunk and voluntarily gave up the keys that keep other parties from being majority contenders. All one party in government is practically a dismantling of the separation of powers (depending if the ones in majority whip the party to vote in lockstep among the White House and Congress).

 

It's a bit of a difficult choice though, because I'd also like for Dems to erase the neocons' abuses/stains from government before leaving office.

Edited May 22, 2009 by The Bear's Key
last minute add

[Mr Skeptic]

Much as I don't like the Republicans, I'd like both parties to shrink, so that there can be more than two parties. Just one party in power is a recipe for disaster, eventually.

[Pangloss]

It's bizarre watching this unfold, almost as if the GOP, having sent its moderates packing, is now saying "we don't want you back". Usually it's the other way around -- Democrats worked very hard to become the "big tent" party again, and they accomplished that task, but Republicans don't seem to even see it as a problem. Maybe they're still hung up on the meaningless "80% of Americans are Christians" statistic.

 

Some interesting analysis on this in the Post today:

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/24/AR2009052401664.html