Keep an eye on the "No Labels" political movement. It's essentially the Republican Party without calling its self one (as to distance the bad taste the R word and the pop-a-squatters made of their brand).
My (Canadian and nearly apolitical) wife said it best right after the election: "What bothers me is that the Republicans don't seem to be asking themselves 'what's wrong with what we believe?' but rather 'what's the best strategy for us to conceal what it is we really believe?'"
@1 and @4 (!). It's great, great news. They are going to continue to run the same plays. And they are going to continue to get the same results.
Dem House in 14!
Today's Democrat Party is represented by an alliance between the technocrats and the bureaucracy. The positions of leadership are mostly held by upper middle class white males in their late 30s and 40s but somehow every 2 years they convince everyone else that it is in their best interests to vote for them because otherwise they might not get anything from "evil Republicans". It always ends up being one for you, 20 for them...and things never change. The iPhone & Jetta crowd figured out how to keep the light rail and urban density gravy train going for another 4 years while you walk around wondering...did they save anything for me...?
I'm sure Marco Rubio was taking the Lord's name in vain during the shower that cleansed him of the interview where he defended the possibly that the Earth is only 6,000 years old.
Modern issues will always have at least two positions, i.e., 'for' and 'against.' Political discourse will tend to be 'bipolar' in terms of perspective. It's as natural as the magnetic force. There will be a 'conservative' as well as a 'progressive' position on modern issues. Neither major party will die. You cannot abolish the North Pole.
Additionally, the two poles in modern political discourse appear to be characterized as supporting the 'big family' versus supporting the 'rugged individual.' One can extrapolate further by sussing out maternal vs. paternal approaches to problems.
I can hardly contain my glee.
Dem House in 14!
Poor sap. Sucks to be a Republican.