LDAHL
11-15-16, 2:39pm
I think we’re all aware of the many opportunities the Republican Party will have to embarrass itself over the next 2-4 years, but I’m also interested in how the Democrats will deal with their situation in the same period. Apart from the astonishing (at least to me) defeat of a presidential candidate that had seemed almost inevitable, in terms of national and state offices held, they are at something of a low ebb. Now that they are shorn (at least seemingly so, I may be wrong) of the Clinton domination, it will be interesting to see what direction they will take.
In the gaudy Trump years to come, it would seem easy to position the party as the moderate pragmatists, waiting to pick up the pieces if Trump’s exuberant promises fail to materialize?
Or will they double down on class and identity politics, painting the GOP as the party of rich, out of touch bigots? Wait for the demographic tide to turn in their favor, while exerting more effort to hang onto groups they may have been taking a bit for granted?
Will they look for ways to reach out to the Trump voters (or at least the stereotype currently being projected of them)? This would probably require them to tone down the insulting accusations of racism and homophobia that seems to have been so prevalent over the past year or two.
It will be interesting to see who emerges as the new party leadership over the next year or two.
In the gaudy Trump years to come, it would seem easy to position the party as the moderate pragmatists, waiting to pick up the pieces if Trump’s exuberant promises fail to materialize?
Or will they double down on class and identity politics, painting the GOP as the party of rich, out of touch bigots? Wait for the demographic tide to turn in their favor, while exerting more effort to hang onto groups they may have been taking a bit for granted?
Will they look for ways to reach out to the Trump voters (or at least the stereotype currently being projected of them)? This would probably require them to tone down the insulting accusations of racism and homophobia that seems to have been so prevalent over the past year or two.
It will be interesting to see who emerges as the new party leadership over the next year or two.