Après moi, le déluge
By Richard K. Barry
I know we're all focused on the election next week, but President Obama said yesterday what a lot of us have been thinking for a while, which is that if he wins re-election the Republican Party will have to overcome an internal war.
The president said this in a Morning Joe interview:
At the same time, the president expressed his belief that if he is elected he could work with Republicans to get some things done. I hope he's right, though I'm not optimistic.
But on the point of the GOP civil war should Obama win, it will be interesting. Will the hard right say that Romney was too much of a centrist who never believed the hardcore rhetoric he was spouting and demand the party become more radical? Or will the centrists be able to restore a degree of sanity?
My guess is that if Obama wins, it's going to be the former, especially given the likely slight margin of victory. And God help us if he wins the electoral vote without the popular vote. I just don't see the loudmouths in the Republican ranks being outflanked by the likes of Jon Huntsman and Jeb Bush.
Let's get past next Tuesday and take it from there.
(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)
 |
| President Obama in New Hampshire on Morning Joe |
I know we're all focused on the election next week, but President Obama said yesterday what a lot of us have been thinking for a while, which is that if he wins re-election the Republican Party will have to overcome an internal war.
The president said this in a Morning Joe interview:
The question's going to be, how do Republicans react post-election? Because there's going to be a war going on inside that party. It just hasn't broken up. It's been unified in opposition to me.
At the same time, the president expressed his belief that if he is elected he could work with Republicans to get some things done. I hope he's right, though I'm not optimistic.
But on the point of the GOP civil war should Obama win, it will be interesting. Will the hard right say that Romney was too much of a centrist who never believed the hardcore rhetoric he was spouting and demand the party become more radical? Or will the centrists be able to restore a degree of sanity?
My guess is that if Obama wins, it's going to be the former, especially given the likely slight margin of victory. And God help us if he wins the electoral vote without the popular vote. I just don't see the loudmouths in the Republican ranks being outflanked by the likes of Jon Huntsman and Jeb Bush.
Let's get past next Tuesday and take it from there.
(Cross-posted at Lippmann's Ghost.)
Labels: 2012 election, Barack Obama, Republican Party
posted by Richard K. Barry at
1:00 PM
1 Comments:
I'm sure you're right. The Republicans have not really paid a price for their radicalism. Sure, they've lost a couple of seats because they ran extremists, but that isn't that big a deal. The conservatives will re-focus on ever more purity.
The only hope is that the moderates will step in. But how can they? The only reasonable ones now call themselves independents or Democrats. Who is left to take their party back? Jeb Bush? Really?! Is that what qualifies as a moderate Republican now? It is hopeless.
By
Frankly Curious, at 3:15 PM
Post a Comment
<< Home