Are Republican voters going to return to the party?

[mattkime]

the only way the GOP will change is if they lose elections.

[Sam3]

mattkime wrote:
the only way the GOP will change is if they lose elections.

And they will make sure that never happens again.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/26/politics/...index.html

CNN wrote: But before you start writing the political obituary for the Republican Party in Washington, you need to consider this oft-ignored but critically important card that the GOP still has in hand: The Republican Party will control the bulk of the redistricting processes in the country.

CNN wrote: Wasserman added that, based on his initial calculations, Republicans could gain as many as 10 seats solely from the number of map-drawing processes in key states they will control over the next 18 months. (Republicans need a net gain of only six seats to retake control of the House in November 2022.)

CNN wrote: Despite significant vulnerabilities, Republicans didn't lose their majorities in a single state legislative chamber, while they retook control from Democrats in two: the New Hampshire House and Senate.

But there's more:

https://americanindependent.com/gop-lawm...ppression/

American Independent wrote: Republicans in Georgia began proposing steps to make it harder to vote by mail and easier to throw out legally cast ballots after Biden beat Trump there by nearly 12,000 votes.

In Montana, the GOP-controlled state House began hearings on a bill on Thursday to eliminate same-day voter registration in the state. It's what Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen calls an "election integrity" measure, with Republicans claiming that same-day registration puts an unfair burden on local election officials.

:nip::

On Friday, New Hampshire's Republican-controlled state House also began hearings on a bill that would repeal same-day voter registration in the state.

:nip::

In Arizona, the GOP-run legislature is weighing whether to get rid of the state's Permanent Early Vote List, which allows residents to register to receive mail-in ballots automatically for each election they are eligible to vote in. It is also working to impose restrictions on recounts and add other burdens to the ability to vote.

:nip::

In Pennsylvania, a Republican state senator introduced a bill on Thursday that would eliminate no-excuse absentee voting, which would significantly cut the number of Pennsylvanians who could vote by mail.

And a bill proposed by a Republican state senator would block Mississippi from releasing vote totals in its presidential elections until after all states had cast their votes in the Electoral College. The bill would allow the state to report the percentages of the vote the candidates received, but not the number of ballots.

[sekker]

What we do not know is whether 2022 is more like 2016 and 2020 - and the GOP voters came out to vote - or 2018, where there WAS a blue wave.

If Biden keeps moving the needle and focuses on pieces and changes that have bipartisan support, I think 2022 could be closer to 2018 than 2020.

[mattkime]

Good point Sekker - Georgia showed that Trump supports are less motivated to vote when Trump isn't on the ballot.

[SteveG]

The Republicans were speeding along their treasonous path before they elected Trump. Why should they stop now?

They are trying to destroy America.

[Acer]

Most Republicans aren't there because they understand what small-c conservative really is supposed to mean in a functional government. They are there for the slogans like "Small government" "Low taxes" "War on Christmas" "Build the wall" etc.

[sekker]

Steve G. wrote:
The Republicans were speeding along their treasonous path before they elected Trump. Why should they stop now?

They are trying to destroy America.

Many think that the ongoing changes in America will 'destroy' our country for them.

And in some ways, they are not wrong. In 20-30 years, whites will no longer be the plurality in our country. All of the anti-immigration efforts are to delay that inevitable demographic change (inevitable because whites are already a non-majority in children in K-12 education, currently non-voters are becoming voters). Marginalizing voting is also a part of this overall plan.

This is also not new. These same arguments were used against prior white immigrants such as Germans and Irish. Allowing them full citizenship was going to 'ruin' America.

The difference this time is the treasonous path. That is absolutely new.

[davemchine]

I started off voting republican, later I started voting for whichever party I thought best at the time, but these days I can't imagine voting republican. They've completely went off the deep end.

My father has always been republican and I would say he's gone further right as he has gotten older. While he hasn't outright supported the coup his facebook posts support ridiculous far right positions and he repeats clearly untrue things.

[deckeda]

Without finding out some way of denouncing, he’s supporting. Sorry.

[Ted King]

There are Republicans that know Trump lied repeatedly when he said that Biden won because of massive voter fraud. Of those that know that, some of them openly acknowledge it. And some know that the big lie is a lie but they don't say anything meaningful about that fact. And some that know the big lie is a lie, themselves lie and say that what Trump claims is true. Then there are the delusional who believe the big lie.

All three of the latter groups are functionally what the Republican Party is now. I think the question is if those that know the big lie is a lie and have acknowledged it will stay in the Republican Party. If they do stay in the Republican Party, they may rationalize it as some "for the greater good" BS, but I think their primary purpose will largely be self interest.

Of course, many of those Republicans that know the big lie is a lie and openly acknowledge it will try to take the Party back from the big lie pushers rather than leave the Party right now. But Rand Paul showed how weak their hand is. There probably will be a few people like Romney who will openly say the big lie is a lie and remain in the Party, but I think those will be few and far between. It looks bleak for that group. But maybe a fracturing of the Trump nuts into feuding groups might give them some opportunities to take the Party back?