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ORIGINAL: flyhumbleguy
I don't know that GOP so much offers lackluster candidates as the smart ones stay on the sidelines so that something other than the cream can rise to the top. The reality is that the US is in a symbolic self-congratulatory mode where the Dems are ponying up candidates where we can say "wow, look how past racism we are" and then former klansmen and civil rights leaders can be found hugging/crying at inauguration ceremonies.

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Next we'll be proclaiming how past sexism we are when Hillary runs in 2016...bank on it unless there is a significant economic or national security event in the next 4 years which could be a very real possibility.

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Historical moments have a way of making perfectly good candidates in normal times seem lackluster and for them to sometimes pick lunatic running mates a la Palin.

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ORIGINAL: absolutchocolat

the bigger lesson in all of this is -- the country is divided right down the middle. compromise is necessary moving forward, so pointing out the flaws in the republican party is kind of moot. democrats have just as many.

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ORIGINAL: VioletGray

Definitely not saying that the dems don't have problems. But they don't have problems of this particular nature. Do we have the equivalent of Allen West, or Todd Akin on our side? There's a reason the gender gap among voters was so evident. If the country is divided right down the middle, they didn't vote that way. A 100 electoral vote difference is not what I'd call "Down the middle."

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ORIGINAL: absolutchocolat

the electoral college =/= popular vote. the popular vote ended up being 50% for Obama and 48% for Romney...and that's down the middle. the number of electoral college votes is equal to each states number of representatives in both houses of congress, and are awarded based on which candidate wins the most popular votes in that state.

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This is kinda what is happening in the Republican party right now. The American voter has been farming again, and these are the crops that didn't get re-planted this year:

Todd "Legitimate rape" Akin

Allen "Get discharged from the military for putting a hood over a prisoner's face and discharging a firearm next to their head" West

Richard "Rape pregnancy is a gift from God" Mourdock

Joe "Flip out on people in a public forum, Oh and by the way abortions are never necessary to save a mother's life" Walsh

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1. They lost against an unpopular President. Obama and GW Bush have the lowest approval ratings of any reelected President.
2. The GOP's stances that are not friendly to gays and minorities will ensure that their base will shrink over time.
3. The economy is poised for a turnaround. So the Bush years will get blamed for the recession, and the Dems will get credited with turning it around.

The GOP is currently devoid of a solid message. They have numerous different voices.

1. The Tea Partiers. Cut spending and taxes.
2. The Libertarians. Cut government. Liberal on social issues.
3. The religious right. Repeal Roe vs Wade. Push a religious agenda. Suppress other religious agendas.
4. Racists and haters. Especially with a half black President. Plenty of misogynists here. Lots of dittoheads here,
5. Laffers. Trickle down diehards. Advocates of tax cuts for the wealthy, euphemistically and incorrectly termed "job creators".
6. Outright nuts. The birthers. Conspiracy theorists.
7. Classic conservatives. Against social programs but pro-defense. Careful about spending, but not advocates of trickle-down.

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ORIGINAL: absolutchocolat

for the foreseeable future -- at least until the mid-term election, the parties need to work together or nothing will get done. that's what my original post was saying. nothing more, nothing less.