How would you fix the Republican Party?

[bedstuy]

It's a conundrum.  I think they can't win presidential elections in normal circumstances at this point.  Go back 25 years, they've hit 50% once.  Their coalition does not tend to include 50% of the United States.  It's more dire than most people realize.

My diagnosis is fairly basic, their policies are too conservative and dictate that their message will only appeal to conservatives.  They had this brief window where conservative messaging attracted southern democrats and could add with their traditional base to win elections.  Now that's over, the parties have sorted into ideologies and conservatism doesn't appeal to the persuadable bloc. 

So, you would think the answer is to go in the moderate direction.  I don't think it is at all.  There are no moderate Republicans in Congress or significant elected offices.  Even somewhat moderate Republicans get tossed out of the party.  Moderating their policies would probably be a cure that's worse than the disease or at least, it's totally infeasible given the beliefs of the Republican base. 

My solution would be a type of GOP populism.  Stay right on immigration, social services, regulation, taxes, but moderate on war, their love for Wall Street and perhaps something like infrastructure spending.  That way maybe you keep the base and appeal to a few more libertarians and moderate white men.  But, even that won't really work and the candidate with the cred to run on that strategy, Rand Paul would get electorally curb-stomped by Hillary.

And, then just as an intellectual matter, Republicans need to figure out what their vision is for improving the country.  I just don't see how an honest person looks at the current situation and says, "you know what would get us back on the right track?  Massive spending cuts!"  It's crazy, you listen to conservatives and you would think our main problem is out of control inflation.  They said it was going to happen, and then it didn't, yet they go on acting like it happened. 

So, there you have it, how can you be credible in offering solutions if you insist on living in a whimsical fantasy land of your own imagination?  Republicans are now the party of magical thinking, the stimulus created massive inflation because it did in our imagination, Benghazi is a massive scandal because we wish it was, etc.  Republicans don't realize that the rest of the country doesn't share their basic assumptions about reality and, until they do, they are a hopeless party.  They will continue to exist as a major force, but they will be simply a cancer on our country, holding us back from even basic governing and problem solving.