The Death of the Republican Party.

It's what we all saw coming, but now Daniel Larison articulates it ever so well:

Gallup finds that the GOP is in retreat among almost all demographics. Meanwhile, Robert Stacy McCain does fierce battle against that most dangerous of creatures: the conservative who is taken seriously outside of the confines of the cocoon. The Gallup findings are interesting, because they show that conservatives are among the least likely to have stopped identifying themselves as Republicans, yet they remain convinced that pursuing an agenda geared towards appealing to them (and only to them) is the means to win back all the other people who have drifted away since ‘01.

The Midwest figures are stunning: Republican ID in this region has dropped by nine points. This is not just the heartland, which the GOP is supposed to represent so well, but it has been the historic core of Republican politics at a national level since the founding of the party. Even having lost the Northeast is not quite as bad as being decimated in the Midwest. The GOP has even lost five points among married voters, six points among whites, seven points among men and nine points among middle-income voters, all of which are equal to or greater than the national average. This is the hollowing-out of the Republican coalition as we know it.

And yet the Limbaugh's of the party continue to insist that people like Colin Powell have no place in the present Republican party and only a further lurch to the right will ever restore Republican fortunes.

They really are lemmings heading for a cliff, determined to build the smallest political tent in history. If it wasn't happening to such deserving people it would be tragedy.

Click title for Larison's post.

Tags: Republicans, support, Ruch, Limbaugh, Colin Powell