The Reagan coalition that began to grow in the 1970s and brought Reagan to the White House and won the House for the GOP in 1994 is shrinking. Republicans can’t just keep trying to put it back together. It’s just not statistically possible.
In addition, the GOP “brand” has taken a big hit in recent years. Many voters still blame former George W. Bush for the economic crisis, and my hunch is that the Iraq War has done quiet but substantial damage to the Republican party as well, calling into question its overall competency and turning off isolationist-minded voters. In addition, the comments of Todd Akin reinforced the unfair image of the GOP as a party of men looking to take away the freedoms of women and return the country to the 1950s…
The first step to solving any problem is to admit that you have one. Many (though not all) on the right have been unwilling to admit that very real demographic changes are tilting the electoral map towards the Democrats. Conservatives have tried to convince themselves that turning Arkansas and West Virginia from blue to red will help stem the tide, but what good does it do to win these states yet see Florida, Virginia, Nevada, and Colorado slipping away from the GOP?
