re: #229 Coracle

I have an honest question.
What would be the true cost to the Republican party to drop the Evangelical and wingnut constituencies? I’m thinking some specifics:
*Pro-science (e.g. dropping creationism-in-schools support).
*Gay rights neutral
*Abortion neutral
and perhaps
*Energy-Independence-As-National-Defense and industrial recovery.

The party would lose the far right social conservatives, and some of the wingnuts. But what would they do? Stay at home? Create an ineffective radical party? Vote Democratic? I certainly doubt the last. But wouldn’t the Reps stand to gain more? I believe the above list and more are what keep many independents and social lib/fiscal cons “blue dogs?” voters away from the party.

This hits home for me. It’s almost entirely the social views you listed above which keep me from supporting a majority of Republican candidates. I was very happy when McCain won the nomination.

I was seriously considering voting for him until he chose Sarah Palin as his running mate. That pretty much destroyed his chances with me and almost every other moderate and independent I converse with and I feel he did it to appeal to a base he already had voting for him cause they were NOT going to vote for Obama.