With year to go until 2016 election, no end in sight to Republican free-for-all

With year to go until 2016 election, no end in sight to Republican free-for-all

After a devastating loss in the 2012 presidential election, the Republican Party entered a period of intense self-reflection and emerged with a firm promise to learn from its mistakes.

The GOP vowed to avoid a prolonged and vicious 2016 primary. It concluded it must embrace an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws and adopt a more welcoming tone to win over women and minorities.

As many of us already know, the GOP vowed to overhaul its election process following their defeat in 2012. Yet, today it appears that all those promises made 3 years ago were just lip service.

Yet a year from Election Day 2016, the GOP primary is a rough and bumpy competition. More than a dozen candidates are fighting for the support of voters — and skirmishing among themselves over the process of picking the nominee. And there are few signs the candidates are committed to expanding the party's appeal beyond its conservative base.

"For Republicans, a free-for-all is good — I guess," says Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committeeman from New Hampshire. "We always anticipated a vigorous contest, but I never anticipated 16 candidates."

In other words, the Republican candidates are doing the exact OPPOSITE of what the GOP vowed to do in 2012. WHY? Do Republican voters really feel like that is a valid path to the White House? The GOP got embarrassed so badly last election that it vowed to be more inclusive going forward. Yet that vow has fallen by the wayside and the GOP has become less inclusive than ever.

The days where the GOP can count on the white vote to carry them for an election are disappearing. Minority groups across the country are all growing and the Republican party has done nothing to reach out to any of them, and have even pushed away several groups that are going to be key in this next election (Latinos and women).

Members of both parties say the GOP's White House hopefuls have also ignored the recommendation from the RNC's self-study that insisted Republicans must improve the party's appeal among women and minorities.

"Devastatingly, we have lost the ability to be persuasive with, or welcoming to, those who do not agree with us on every issue," the report found. In addition to an improved tone, the RNC outlined a single policy imperative: "We must embrace and champion comprehensive immigration reform. If we do not, our party's appeal will continue to shrink to its core constituencies only."

After a bipartisan group of senators failed to turn immigration legislation into law, Republicans on the campaign trail — including those involved with that effort — have moved sharply in the other direction. Almost the entire GOP field now calls first and foremost for increased security along the Mexican border.

Well I hope the GOP is prepared for another embarrassment. They say that the definition of crazy is attempting to do something over and over again expecting different results.

Putting your obvious disdain for Republicans aside, I think we could all get behind some type of campaign laws to prevent campaigning until six months before the elections. That's enough time to decide what candidate you like, is it not?

I know. I just hope the Dems golden girl isn't sent to jail before election time. That sure would be awkward.

Get ready for it, because you know the excuses are coming. First excuse: Our immigration problem is caused by the Democratic party, because they like having all the illegal immigrants living off of the tax payers. Second excuse: This also allows the Democratic party to boost their supportive base, since all democratic party want to do is give away free hand-outs. Third excuse: There is no issue with jobs or wages, everyone just needs to work harder. All of that and not one Republican candidate is telling us how they are going to address the issues with the country. Same # different day.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

They're just being who they are. It's the promises after the 2012 elections that are the "lie". They may have had some intention of doing things differently this time around, but the GOP voter base seems to be driving them to be more "out there" than ever.

One of the biggest takeaways from the postmortem was to pass immigration reform. The popularity of Donald Trump, who wants to build a wall and send the immigrants home, SHOWS that the base doesn't buy into the GOP's postmortem agenda.

Because having a candidate forced on you by the national party is the way to go? Right Democrats? Don't you all just love Hillary? Of course you do ...

a reply to: jjkenobi

Yea, I agree. We are in desperate need of campaign reform laws.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Is your Dem nominee going to try to cheat in 2016 in Pennsylvania like Obama did to steal the 2012 election?

originally posted by: ketsuko
Because having a candidate forced on you by the national party is the way to go? Right Democrats? Don't you all just love Hillary? Of course you do ...

Tochette...

Its so cute that some people still think an R or an D next to your name makes any REAL difference.

How can anyone take this absurd illusion of a freak show seriously?

We are screwed EXACTLY the same no matter who is selected.

TPTB must be rolling on the floor laughing.

If the gop could at least find someone electable they might stop blaming the democrooks.

The dems are going to keep plundering the country until the right figures out they need to stop following clowns.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

Nice little bit of propaganda failure. What you are seeing is the GOP establishment in its death throes. The antiestablishment candidate who will get the nomination - despite the best efforts of the establishment to prevent it - will go on to roundly trounce whomever your corner decides to sacrifice. Embarrassing indeed.

I know it's hard for us to do.

But we just step outside the box and see the primaries from the Moderates eyes. You know, those people in the middle, between conservative and liberal who actually swing the elections. The Democratic Primaries looked, although not hugely entertaining or exciting, it looked like they were actually talking about poilicy and ideas. The Republican primary debates have been very entertaining and exciting and like watching an episode of the Kardashians. Moderates see this and think...I don't really like hillary but at least she's not acting like a child. You get the drift, by pandering to the hard core right, the republicans are losing the election. It's like they want Hillary to be president.

originally posted by: jjkenobi
Putting your obvious disdain for Republicans aside, I think we could all get behind some type of campaign laws to prevent campaigning until six months before the elections. That's enough time to decide what candidate you like, is it not?

Apparently the Republicans have plenty of disdain for each other as well....

www.wsj.com...

But what you don't seem to understand is that elections and campaigning have become an industry funded by PACs, corporations, the candidates themselves ex.Trump, and the political parties.

Campaigning is now entertainment for the US electorate to enjoy just like NASCAR or wrasslin.
"Politics is the entertainment arm of the military/industrial complex"...Zappa with obscene amounts of money being spent. Trump as a politician is a clown but I enjoy watching his antics as do most people if his poll ratings are any indication.

It's a promotional scam just like the entertainment industry promotes their favorite pop star of the month.
Punch the mute button if it disturbs you so much. Or go outside and do something...

Im a contractor for the GOP media pool locally and It's a great gig $$$ and I need the money.

Never fear we always get the best government money can buy! And get ready for a media circus that will foreshadow anything we have seen in the past elections.

a reply to: amazing

Some Republicans are firm believers that McCain and Romney weren't far right enough, that's why they lost. I'm not joking; Conservative Republicans fight back after Romney loss

“The moderates have had their candidate in 2008 and they had their candidate in 2012. And they got crushed in both elections. Now they tell us we have to keep moderating. If we do that, will we win?” said Bob Vander Plaats, president of the Family Leader.

Although he is considered a rising star with a personal biography that GOP leaders wish to promote, Cruz falls squarely in the camp that thinks Romney was not conservative enough and did not fully articulate a conservative contrast to President Obama, except during the first presidential debate.

This is exactly what the GOP electorate wants. Crazy people saying crazy things. The children of the Moral Majority, right here, running for president.

originally posted by: Granite
a reply to: Krazysh0t

Is your Dem nominee going to try to cheat in 2016 in Pennsylvania like Obama did to steal the 2012 election?

I don't know. I can't predict the future, but I'd say there is no reason to assume that JUST because you think that Obama did something like that in 2012 that somehow the dems are going to do it again this time.

a reply to: HighDesertPatriot

Funny how all the top "antiestablishment" candidates are all part of one of the most established political parties in the country...

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: HighDesertPatriot

Funny how all the top "antiestablishment" candidates are all part of one of the most established political parties in the country...

Um, so are the democrat candidates? We have a two-party system, and it has been proven many times that third-party candidates do not do well.

a reply to: HighDesertPatriot

The Democrats aren't running on a platform of being "anti-establishment" so your point doesn't mean anything.

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: HighDesertPatriot

The Democrats aren't running on a platform of being "anti-establishment" so your point doesn't mean anything.

Neither does yours.