One of the fun things Polical Science wonks are doing right now is comparing our current election with the 1964 AuH2O/LBJ election.  For me one of the more entertaining things pointed out that while many many people in the GOP thought and said that nominating Goldwater would many the end of the GOP, just like what is being said now.

For me is a much more interesting question from looking at the 1964 election and it’s effect on the GOP.  As we all know now, the loss by the GOP in 1964 was quite stunning and traumatic but it didn’t destroy the party.  It did drive it more to the right and it did remove all of the liberal/moderate Republicans from the party in the next 12+ years. The election also had a big effect on the Democratic Party, in 1964 the old Confederate States (the ‘Solid South’) was Democratic.  By 1984 the ‘Sold South’ was Republican. Since then the GOP has just gotten more conservative in it’s base and rhetoric.  So I’m just wondering, if the GOP picks Trump (or Cruz, for that mater) and looses big and doesn’t break-up will it move more to the right.

Of course the GOP Amy not move at all, it may move more to the left, center.  But I find it much more likely that the GOP will move to the right.  Why?  Because the both the GOP and the ‘Conservative Movement’ have the tools and methods to move the GOP more to the right.  More over the base of both the GOP and the ‘Conservative Movement’ have the mind set needed.  For the last 15 years when ever something the Base wanted didn’t work the were able to find a justification to apply more of the same thing. A great example of this is Tax Cuts.  Back in the 80’s tax cuts that strongly favored the wealthy were supposed to give more money in the hands of the ‘makers’ and the wealth would ‘trickle down’ to the rest of the Economy.  When this didn’t happen the GOP said it was because we need more and bigger tax cut

So what does this mean?  Well, if extrem right ideas so the pass 16 years doesn’t get you elected it is time to have even more extrem ideas.  This is what I call a ‘bad thing’.  It is a ‘bad thing’ not because in will keep the GOP moving more and more extrem positions, it will keep conservative thought in an ‘infantete loop’ of ideas and theories.  An we need new and innovative ideas from conservatives.