In the future the GOP's main supporters will only be found in the states of the South and the heavily conservative states of the West. It will have little to no support base in any of the Eastern states and none in the Middle West except for, possibly, Indiana. The vice grip that it holds over the U.S. House, because of the gerrymandering tactics of the state GOP governors and legislatures, will slowly but surely disappear as its radical agenda will no longer register with the vast majority of Americans.
If I were asked to predict how this battle for control of the GOP would eventually be resolved this would be my response. The Tea Party extremists will continue to grow stronger and take control of the party. The old school Republicans, some of whom still possess the ability to apply some degree of reason and rationality to important issues, will be stripped of leadership roles and will play no part in decision-making. Then as this greatly weakened and splintered party becomes stagnant many good things can begin to happen in America:
It will be much more likely that the stranglehold that Corporatism has on this nation and this government can be broken. If the Republicans become powerless it would be a tremendous blow to Corporate America. If the masters of Corporatism could no longer depend on the Republicans to be their chief lobbyists in the Congress they would find it far more difficult to control this nation's political process and to pursue their key objective of dismantling the middle class.
The Republican Party is like a dark, menacing cloud that has been hanging over America for a very long time. But, as we know, every cloud has a silver lining. So here is what I believe could happen. As the GOP slowly deteriorates, it could pave the way and open the door for the creation of a strong third party movement, something that this country desperately needs. We might see the grass roots development of such a new party that would challenge the Democratic Party. And who knows, we might just end up with a political process and a Congress where the representatives of the people could actually work together and get this country back on track.
Would it be beyond the realm of reason to think that, as the Republican Party continues its downward spiral, that millions of its now thoroughly disillusioned followers would be attracted to a new party with new fresh ideas, a truly progressive movement? That is not some far out idea, this could actually happen if the many millions of Americans who are fed up with both the Republicans and the Democrats would band together to establish this new political entity.
If we should be so fortunate as to see such new progressive thinking take hold in Washington, then it would be much more likely that this nation's agenda of endless war might well come to an end. We then might see high priorities placed on vastly improving our education system and our crumbling infrastructure. If we can ever get people with high standards of ethics and integrity into power in this government then the potential for solving our greatest problems will be significantly magnified.
The creation and development of a new Progressive Party in America, a very complex, involved process is one that needs the attention and involvement of the best and brightest minds in America. It's one of critical importance as this nation heads into the future. Change is in the air, it is there for the taking; all we need is to have creative, innovative individuals step forward and make it happen.
Michael Payne
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