We have this thread. And I do not think libertarianism is the future. Not all of us are future yuppies from Florida whose only care in the world is the legal availability of marijuana. If you get the chance to bum a smoke outside of your college's liberal arts building, you'll realize that the youth have many more concerns than "muh drones".
Yeah, but most of those folks aren't Republicans, nor have they historically been.
I mean, bum a smoke outside anywhere. I'm probably as likely to hear someone argue for what might constitute fascism (or, in some cases, a middle class form of it) as you are to hear about how great Ron Effing Paul is.
I was referencing the Liberal Arts building comment. I don't know about up there in Michigan, but I'd wager that liberal arts majors tend to be MUCH more loyal to the Democrats (or independent liberals like Sanders) than Republicans, especially compared to more GOP-friendly majors like business.
Anyway, I don't know what the party will become. I guess I'm in the minority, but I think the GOP has maxed out its gains with the "working class White" vote. This anti-Democrat populism (which is really all it is: paint Democrats as *insert bad thing here* and assure them that Republicans represent "their way of life") can only go so far. I think the GOP will realize that they can't rely on Southern and Plains states, and that they need to compete in the suburbs again; there's no reason Republicans shouldn't be making states like PA and even NJ competitive and winnable.
As for what I'd like to see? A true big tent party. I don't want Republicans to abandon the one thing they've represented since their founding: economic individualism and rewarding/praising success. Leave embittering "the unfortunate" to the Democrats, but DO NOT give up on those voters. A struggling factory worker can be reached with positive messages of upward mobility more effectively than demonizing those who have been economically successful (a place that I'd assume most looking up at it would like to be). I'd also like the GOP to return to a more tolerant tone when it comes to multiculturalism. That doesn't mean adopting the Democrats' strategy of yelling "racist" every chance they get, but it does mean reaching out to minority groups more effectively, because they're just as American as anyone else.
A socially tolerant (=/= liberal) party that defends fiscal responsibility and economic liberty.
