I was talking to a prominent Republican in my local area and he has been watching with interest the financial mismanagement within the party and the process of deciding who the new chairman will be. The current one has been a disaster but of course like anyone who can't make a real living if they lose their post, he's going to fight like hell to keep it.
I said the problem with the Republican party is it leans too far to protect the interest of the rich and panders to religious zealots. I said the problem with the Democratic party is it has been taken over by radical socialists.
What was interesting is this Republican told me there is a gay conservative movement that is picking up steam. He says they are people who want gay rights but they run businesses and hire people and don't like where the Democratic party is going. These people are fiscal conservatives. This Republican said basically the gays have won the culture war and are more accepted and organized religion as a whole is viewed with more distrust. I was told the Republican party is going to change because our culture is changing. It's going to become a more diverse party than it was in the past being driven more by people who want proper fiscal management and less government.
The Republican Party has traditionally been viewed as the corporate party, favoring the rich and corporations. What the Obama administration has showed us it the Democrats as well favor big corporations and the connected rich. In this regard there is no real difference. Leaders in the Republican Party realize their old formula isn't working and there is a chunk of the Democrats they can gain if they welcome them. This group includes gays.
It's about staying relevant this person told me and staying the course is going to lead to obscurity. Maybe radical Christianity is going out of fashion and tolerance of groups traditionally not welcome in the conservative circles will be the new norm.
I think people just realize we need to grow ourselves out of this mess and cut the wasteful spending. The citizens are tired of the wasteful spending and government over reach and maybe that is more important now than who you worship and who you fuck.
This Republican also admitted the Republican record of fiscal responsibility is pretty poor. He said the days of getting away with radical spending using security as the excuse are over. Both the Republicans and Democrats have broke the nation and sold us out to international bankers and corporations. The cat is out of the bag and the people are pissed. A third party is unlikely because a candidate can't get on all the ballots. So change will happen within the two major parties. People are pissed and the traditional political base will change. A conservative in a few years may not be a bible thumping, gay hating person who votes for a piece of cheese in a cowboy hat.