The political landscape

[unixronin]

I've come across a variety of articles across the Web talking about how the Republican Party is melting down as moderate Republicans, feeling marginalized by their own party, are abandoning it to run as independents.  (Here's an example from the Boston Globe.)

My intent here is not to argue about whether or not the Republican Party is in fact falling apart.  Rather, I have a larger question:  Assume for the moment that the speculation is true.  If the Republican Party falls apart, what happens to the Democratic Party?

The way I see it, there's a variety of ways it could go.  If enough moderate Republicans cross over to the Democratic side of the aisle, we could end up with a de-facto one-party system, with a Congress all but completely controlled by the Democratic Party and no other faction powerful enough to seriously challenge it at the Federal level.  Or, one or more of the third parties could pick up enough support to challenge the Democratic Party.  The Democratic Party itself could move back towards the center, influenced by former moderate Republicans and no longer needing to cater to its more radical left-wingers; or, no longer needing support from the center to defeat the Republican Party, it could move further left.  Or, it could even melt down itself, lacking the Republican party to balance it.

[Note:  I don't claim this is an exhaustive list, or that any of them is a sure thing.  I'm not predicting, I'm speculating.]

So, what do all you zombies think?

Comments

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

I don't know that the Democratic Party would create a new "enemy" out of its own flesh. I do think the likelihood is good of the Democratic Party, lacking a strong "enemy", breaking up into factions and splinter groups when the fringe elements see that the main body of the party isn't really interested in pandering to what they want once it no longer needs them.

[fruitylips.livejournal.com]

This is already happening. If you read the loopier bits of the left (even as mainstream as Kos) there is a lot of hatred towards the Blue Dog Dems for well, not being lockstep nutballs. Heck, if you just look at how strongly they've gone after Lieberman, it's remarkable that someone as reliably liberal as he shouldn't be able to find a home in the party anymore. The problem, of course, is that they still need Lieberman and the Blue Dogs to caucus with them to hold the Senate majority.

[mzmadmike.livejournal.com]

Kos? "Mainstream"?

That may be the funniest thing I've heard today.

Not only are they stupid (Which, I grant you, IS "mainstream"), they're so far out of their tree I just wish they had ropes.

[unixronin.livejournal.com]

So if they are, relatively speaking, "mainstream", .... how far out there are the REAL moonbats? I think that was Chris's point.

[mzmadmike.livejournal.com]

I said their midget intellects were mainstream. Come on, these are the people who insisted that Stig was actually Bristol's kid, and Sarah was wearing a "fake pregnancy suit" while governing, in order to hide the fact. They even claimed to have found proof of the suit.

Then Bristol turned out to be pregnant and even they had to admit they were wrong.

Add in the cowardly, sniveling little shit that Koz is, and they bring nothing to the table.