The other problem is their other message: "We are your moral authorities". And that's a message that doesn't sit well with a lot of people, myself included. I could be much more easily convinced to engage in a conversation about differing views on fiscal policy if they would drop the pro-religion, anti-science, anti-choice, anti-women, anti-LGBT planks in their platform. Dropping the pro-war, pro-bloated-military bits wouldn't hurt either.

Many federal regulations actually support big business and effectively stifle smaller operations.

For example, a small farmer want's to sell organic chickens humanly raised in his back yard at the local farmers market. This would be against the law, instead he must have a USDA approved facility that is gonna cost a minimum of $10,000 in licensing cost so that in the name of safety his chickens can be killed in a facility full of disease ridden battery hens and washed in a 10% bleach solution that contains the fecal matter of 20,000 other birds.

Don't fool yourself into thinking that regulatory bodies to protect the consumer rather than big business.

you know something is happening but you don't know what it is.

do you, mr. jones?

@1
I agree, the worst thing about some elements of the right is their moral stance, though the left can be considered equally guilty of pushing their morality on people.

As for defense spending I agree that it should be cut and we should not be involved in conflicts around the world. However some military spending leads directly to technological advancements that benefit the civilian population, the internet for example.

I'm heartened every time I see something from a con that concludes that the message isn't the problem. Sure, the diarist correctly diagnoses many other problems with the GOP, but keeping the faith in a tired and outdated way of thinking will keep them marginalized.

@1
Totally agree.

There are often things I don't like about the democrat's budgets, spending plans, taxes, etc.; unfortunately, there's no alternative to even consider as long as the republicans remain firmly in the grasp of the fundamentalist lunatics.

Sure, just keep thinking that repugs.

You've already turned out all your white bitch church ladies, red neck racists and doddering old, white fools.

Every damn one of them has come to the polls, and they ain't enough anymore. At least not in Presidential elections.

But please never change your message -- it worked so well for Democrats this last go round.

They are doomed by one overarching factor: the belief that to admit to a mistake or change one's mind shows weakness.

More than one comment opined that the very idea of reaching out to voters is insulting, on the grounds that they're not lemmings or sheep or cattle. Only a fool can be persuaded by a rational argument or a discussion.

It's also an aspect of the scientific method that has always seemed particularly abhorrent to them. Science's core strength comes from the notion of revising an existing theory to fit new evidence, but the very idea is anathema to their world view.

Maybe the world is changing too fast now. Maybe, once upon a time, the world was simpler, the pace of progress was slower, and the time it took for society to radically change was longer than the lifetime of the average person in it. Maybe once upon a time, a person didn't need to be able to change their minds. But I think we're to the point now where you have to either adapt or be left behind.

Don't go expecting Republicans to start understanding what their "Republican problem" is if they can't even see that "leadership" like Reince Priebus is a big part of that problem. Speaking of Reince Priebus, if you take all the vowels out of his name you are left with only RNC PR BS, which is fitting.

The problem with Republicans is that they are just flat wrong on everything. Not sure how they'd message their way out of that.

Speaking of Reince Priebus, if you take all the vowels out of his name you are left with only RNC PR BS, which is fitting.

@10: My god, it's almost like his parents gave him that ridiculous name on purpose, it's just that good.

@4: "the left can be considered equally guilty of pushing their morality on people."

That's pretty funny, given the GOP's recent history and this last election. You're a funny guy.

I'd much prefer GOP activists talk to my door. (I assume he means "to" and not "on", and it was a simple typo.) They're free to do so for hours, if they like. Though if the volume gets too high, I reserve the right to sic the government on them by calling the police.

ooh, their side has databases and technology! There is no way they can lose next time.

@4 Yeah, what Knat said. WTF are you talking about? There simply is no other element in American society that is analogous to the right's pushing their morality onto others.

The sad part about all this is the increasingly loony right-wing Republican party has dragged the Democratic Party most of the way into the vacuum they used to occupy, turning the Dems into a center-right party. As the American political system can only support two parties, we're doomed to never again have a center-left party.

I long for a party that would promote:

A minimum wage that's a living wage.

National Health, like Britain's, tax-supported and free to all.

Impediments to vulture capitalism. No more financial chicanery and "parting out" functional enterprises for a quick buck.

A tax on accumulated wealth. Why wait for someone to die? Tax their worldwide holdings 2% a year. Heck, that's not much more than some of those folks are paying their portfolio managers.

Much as I hate to say it, bring back the draft. A Republican got rid of it, so maybe that was a bad idea. The chickenhawks can now drum up wars that no upper middle-class white folk have children in. Before time ends, some Romney should serve in the military.

Start busting churches. Take away their tax exemptions for electioneering. Start with Pat Robertson's "ministry."

Purge the government of all the Evangelicals that Bush packed it with. Put back that wall between Church and State.

Force "Christian" schools to teach actual stuff, not just Bible-based religious fundamentalist theory, unless it's a seminary that only graduates clerics.

Umm... And gun control. Seriously. We're a nation with a bunch of sick, fucking people running around, and you want everyone to be able to get guns? No, please.

Oh, and do something about mental health. While I'm sure we're not the most demented nation on Earth, we seem to play one on tv.

@13 & 15

The left is anti-free speech, anti-gun, and anti people keeping what they earn.

It may not seem very important in your perceived partisan utopia, but they are all necessary for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness

@17 "the left" here. I think you should get to say anything you want, even that nifty comment you just wrote. I think you should totally have personal protection, I draw the line at hundreds of bullets assault style weapons for personal ownership. You can keep as much as you earn, to a point, because if you start earning millions of dollars a day you should never expect that the government helping you keep those profits isn't going to expect that you put something back into the system for the next generation. Sometimes you really are a stupid movement.

I'm sorry - but since when are Republicans anti- big corporations and banks?

Also they should stop running candidates who are baby boomers and older. I'm tired of it, and I'm probably not ever going to vote for a boomer for president again. Time for us all to move on.

I am particularly amused that the word "hate" is so prominently displayed in their message. These people are incapable of seeing that their message and their attitude is just plain wrong.