General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Are Republicans throwing the election or are they really this stupid? [View all]On the Road
(20,783 posts)who pursue their policies regardless of winning elections. Some may actually believe that a majority of people agree with them.
There are equivalent groups on the Democratic side, but they have very little power in the party. On the Republican side, they dominate.
A candidate with a stronger position in the GOP might have been able to take more independent positions and still keep his party's support. Romney was so universally disliked, and seems to have so few principles of his own, that he adopted as many right-wing positions as he could.
As long as the GOP wins elections or keeps them close, the social dynamic will compel them to keep moving further right until they start suffering catastrophic defeats. At that point the party will start to put winning first and become open to more moderate candidates.
If Obama blows out Romney in November, it could enable Chris Christie to win the next nomination and implement a less extreme platform. If the election is a cliffhanger, it may take another couple of elections cycles. But I suspect this is as far right as the Republican party can go without going the way of the Whigs.