Okay, time for some bragging rights.
On April 29, 2009, I wrote the following diary:
www.dailykos.com/...
It was a diary predicting the ultimate fate of the GOP.
I admit, I missed the date spectacularly and missed the 2010 Democratic rout as I could not believe then that voters would put Republicans back into office a mere two years after destroying the economy. Lesson learned; never underestimate the apathy of voters.
However, I did predict this:
In 2012 (okay, so change that to 2016, sue me) the GOP will run an insane "What Were They Thinking?" slate for President/VP. Think Gingrich/Limbaugh. The candidate and his running mate will make Palin/Jindal seem like a lost opportunity at moderation. Their platform will be one that no one in their right minds would support.
Ka-CHING! Nailed it!
The result of this insane ticket would be:
They will go down in a screaming, blazing defeat that will be the subject of political science courses for the next 60 years. They will lose more seats in the House and lose more Senators in "safe" states. They will stagger from this loss and view a political landscape of rubble and shell shocked loyalists.
Fingers crossed that this is the case; all signs currently point to Yes!
Where I really messed up was in the down ticket races especially the House. It was inconceivable to me then (and in fact still is) that Democrats and left-leaning independents would sit on their hands and let the Republicans back into power. I also did not factor in an almost criminal level of vote suppression and gerrymandering.
However, if the rest my prediction going forward is met:
In 20[20] they will run a "red conservative" for President (that is someone who is NOT a Reagan Republican) along with a new field of moderates.
In 20[24], they will have their first real chance to recapture the White House. By then, children being born today will be 11 years old and many will remember nothing of President Obama or the disaster that was the Bush Presidency. Reagan will be as significant as FDR was in 1976 (a fuzzy memory and a worthy President but utterly insignificant to most).
However, by then the Republican party will no longer resemble the GOP of today than the GOP of 1952 resembled the party of 1932.
Here’s hoping.