The Republican Party: Analysis

The Republicans face a very different problem. Internally, they are dominated by a strong coalition of business interests, nationalists, militarists, and religious radicals. Their public face is generally congruent with their internal coalition, so they have no problem of voter confidence. Instead, the Republicans have a problem of popularity: they only have strong voter support in the South, and then only among the white-dominated group of registered voters. Outside of the South, they can only win elections in conservative backwaters, by whipping up fear, or when frustrated Democrats hand them a victory out of spite, inaction, or incompetence, as in the recent Massachusetts election.

It is also difficult for me to see how the Republicans can last as a national party. Sooner or later a strong opposition will emerge; either a reformed Democratic Party, or an entirely new national party.