re: #116 gehazi

But, critically, does that left-wing anger (which is clearly real) get people to voting booths?

If it gets the more reasonable folks on the right to the polls to vote against these loonies, that’s probably a bigger matter.

I would suggest that if exit polling shows a sizable amount of self-identified Republicans going and voting for the Democrats to avoid loons like O’Donnell taking power, that will show even more of a rift between the Tea Party and the more mainstream GOP. If that rift continues until 2012 and Obama wins again, I wouldn’t be shocked to see an exodus from the party from people.

The Dems were abandoned in large numbers back in the 1980’s by the so-called “Reagan Democrats” because the party was seen as too far out of touch with what people wanted. They’ve spent the last 20+ years trying to correct that, moving into a more centrist place electorally. Sure, you still have the folks that are farther to the left, but in general, the party now isn’t what it was back in the 80’s. Will the GOP do the same? I think if they expect to survive as a viable party, they’re going to have to at some point. You can’t keep catering to the finge and to the kooks and expect to win in the long-term. It’s a losing strategy.