All the discussion about Donald Trump and the internal divisiveness within the Republican Party will likely have little influence in the general election. The fact remains that although a demonstrative loss in 2012 inspired the RNC to claim that they must secure new demographics in future elections, they have not achieved any change on the positive side in the present campaign season.
Perhaps Trump has some of the blame for this situation, but it would be minimal. Trump is not a Republican. His rivals, who claim the label, have failed to address issues and vital demographics while maintaining a single policy of attacking each other and their opponents on the left.
Recent surveys have once again displayed loyalty by blacks, Latinos, younger voters, and women to the Democratic Party. The reason is not complicated; the majority of these demographics are members of the dwindling middle class and all of them can be labeled ‘working class.’
Not a single GOP candidate has addressed his or her campaign towards the great majority. All of them have supported issues in favor of special interests; the wealthiest of Americans.
“Good candidates running good campaigns can overcome partisan disadvantages,” Republican pollster and strategist Neil Newhouse said. “The party faced these same challenges in 2012 and is still facing those challenges, and it is potentially more significant.”
A recent poll shows that the number of dedicated Hispanic voters has increased in favor of Democrats since 2012. Younger voters, who favored Republicans in that same year have reversed their position and now favor Democrats; Bernie Sanders is the favorite of millennials, ages 18-29. If Donald Trump wins the nomination, women favor Democrats by a margin of over 67 percent.
Carlos Firpi is a 31-year-old Hispanic voter and a Republican. Earlier this year, he considered himself a Trump supporter. No longer.
“Now I don’t know who to support,” said the computer technician from Carlisle, Pennsylvania. “Unfortunately, all I seem to hear anymore from anyone in the Republican Party is extremism.”
This is a summation of the GOP candidates; no one appears to represent the vast majority of the American people.
The overall question is ‘can the Republican Party be fixed?’ In its present condition the answer is a definitive ‘no.’ The TEA Party’s extremist influence has removed the principles of the once Grand Old Party, and moved it too far to the right. A lack of effective leadership has created turmoil and the result is the success of Trump. The Republican Party can only be saved if it returns to the ideologies of Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and George H.W. Bush. None of today’s presidential hopefuls have the courage and sense of duty they possessed; none of today’s candidates support the working class, and therefore the majority of the American people.
Maybe the problem is the game which politics has become. The word ‘demographics’ may be misleading. Anyone who seeks the presidency must prove that he or she supports the needs and desires of the majority of the American people, regardless of age, ethnicity, gender, age, race, or sexual preference. Choosing to favor the dictates of large campaign contributors and the denial of those in the majority cannot secure a sufficient number of votes to win the general election.
Maybe this article should have been titled, ‘Republicans Fail to Address the Concerns of the American People.’
Op-Ed
By James Turnage
Photo Courtesy of Elvert Barnes
Read ‘James Turnage’ on the free Amazon Kindle App
The Truth With No Restrictions 
It is sad that conservative minded individuals under the age of 40 have no party to call home. The Republican Party, at its base, is still dominated by pro-lifers and Biblical literalists. While there is nothing inherently evil or disagreeable about these positions, religiously motivated republicans seem entirely unwilling to accept anyone who doesn’t hold strong religious convictions. The increasingly atheist/atheist-Christian population among conservatives will never accept an extreme religious political stance, and they will never accept a liberal political stance. Instead they will protest vote, or vote for change, or vote for the candidate who inspires them regardless of his party or his chances of winning the election.
When all is said and done the Republican Party will change to meet the needs of an increasingly less Christian population, but it is probably going to take another decade of liberal leadership.
LikeLike