In June, I would have been the first to say that the GOP's problems this year were just a temporary phenomenon. But suddenly we've been deluged with news that indicated serious long-term problems for the GOP. They have become the Incredible Shrinking GOP.
On Monday (sorry it's taken so long to post), the New York Times's political blog, The Caucus, ran a short article explaining that Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA) will not be given a vote at the Republican National Convention. Why? Because the state party, at the behest of increasingly powerful social conservatives, took it away from him.
This shows that social conservatives are really shoving the party to the extreme right. To not allow a sitting Republican Senator to vote at his own party's convention is a bold statement. Essentially, they are penalizing him for any time he worked across the aisle to get things done. In this session of Congress, Grassley voted with his own party 85 percent of the time--the fact that it's not enough for the conservatives shows just how far right they're pushing their party.
In 2000 and 2004, social conservatives turned out in droves to help elect George W. Bush. But now that's not enough for them. They need to control the party, even if it's clear that having them in control isn't good for the party. With the extremist social conservatives in control, the GOP will be competitive in fewer states, and it will attract fewer voters in those states. If the Democrats' 50-state strategy pays off and Democrats learn to communicate better (something I'll address more in future weeks), they could seriously marginalize the GOP for the next decade.
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