GOP Confronts Its Future Viability

So says the headline on page 2 of yesterday's WSJ. Seems the solution is all about "broadening the party" and regaining "ideological and geographical diversity". Oh, my. I think in English that means dump those horrid pro-life types who always bring religion into everything and become even more like Democrats, except with stock options and better country clubs.

I don't think so. You can read the article at the link. It's mostly whistling past the graveyard. The GOP is in the tank and will probably never get out.

The reason is neither ideological nor geographic but demographic. The Republican party is the party of the white middle class and the white middle class decided some time ago not to reproduce itself. Even those who disdain abortion wouldn't be without their pills. You cannot expand a party whose membership has decided to contracept itself out of existence.

Back in the latter part of the 20th century the party tried to appeal to blacks. Blacks didn't buy it and the appeals went nowhere. Bush #2 has tried hard to appeal to Hispanics. They seemed a good bet. They have a nominal attachment to the Catholic Church and its socially conservative doctrines and, at least in the first generation, are not attempting die out as a race. This in my opinion is the principal reason the Republican establishment made no effort control the borders. They did not wish to alienate those they hoped would be a future constituency. That worked better than attempts to create a black Republican power base but in the end it didn't work well enough.

There's no one else left. There's no other major block that will make a political difference. The Democrats own the blacks and the Hispanics and will continue to do so. Combined with that portion of the white population that considers itself liberal, and those that can be bought either under the table or with "programs", the Democrats have a lock on the American political future.

If the GOP had wanted a future it should have paid more attention to Pope Paul VI and Humanæ Vitæ 45 or so years ago.