Not the end of the Republican party by a longshot. I have heard that before several times. First when Nixon was forced from office, then when Bush I was defeated and last when McCain was trounced by Obama. The republican party will move closer to the center. In fact, most would say Romney IS closer to the center. The party has changed before and will change again.
The people who are claiming conservatism today are not the conservatives of most of the party's histoy. The mostly white male, Christian fundimentalists and tea party morons who are pushing the party right now are declining in numbers. They will not hold political sway much longer. It is important to remember there are many of us alive today who remember when the republican party was a REAL libertarian party. (Please do not insert some idiotic economic definition of libertarian here.) I voted for a republican president who sent legislation to congress for national health care. I watched as the republicans led the fight for integration in the south. I remeber the US presidential candidate who called for strengthening of social security and who favored allowing gays in the military.
At the risk of making yet another ageist comment, I would encourage younger people to take a longer view of politics. Historically there has never been a far right party in America. And there still isn't. And before you mention GWBII and the current rogues gallery as a possible exception let me remind my fellow conservatives that he (Bush) was the author of the largest federal social welfare program since 1965. A bill I might add that compared to Obama Care makes the republicans look like liberals. Obama care (according to the CBO) is predicted to reduce the deficit by $114 billion in its first 10 years and 1.2 trillion in the first 20. This compared to Bush's unfunded social spending program that is estimated to cost more than half a trillion dollars in the first 10.
I know this is the conservative forum and I am a conservative. Unlike many who post here I do not think that GWB II was a conservative nor was he much of a republican. He trounced on social liberties, started two foreign wars and spent money in a fashion that would have made FDR, Johnson and Clinton choke on their checkbooks.
My version of the republican party (the one I joined as a junior member in 1963) was a party driven by social libertarian, small government, compassionate, American exceptionalists. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to integrate schools, Nixon proposed national health care, got us out of Vietnam and even imposed wage and price controls to control inflation. This new batch of mouth-breathers is nothing like that. What do they talk about? Reducing the deficit? Hardly. Their idea of reducing the deficit is to tax the poor and middle class more and the wealthy less. That is some wierd economic theory but it has absolutely nothing to do with conservative ideals. Barry Goldwater said this:
Where is the politician who has not promised to fight to the death for lower taxes- and who has not proceeded to vote for the very spending projects that make tax cuts impossible?
Is that not Bush in spades? He spends half a trillion on perscription drugs and fights two wars without raising one red cent in revenue to pay for them? Goldwater would be spinning in his grave. Now we have these idiots running who are continuing the fraud by telling the American people we can pay out bills without raising taxes? There is not one single economist of any stature who thinks that we can cut our way out of the deficit. We have to grow the economy and raise taxes. Even if one granted that we could do it by growing the economy we are never going to do it without stimulating the shit out of the economy.
So Obama says we need to reduce our thirst for foreign oil and these dipshits call him a socialist for imposing gas mileage limits on cars. Nevermind that if we could wean ourselves from foreign oil we would add a quarter of a trillion dollar stimulus to our economy every year.
The problem is that we are name calling and not debating. I am called a liberal everytime I propose that we might raise some revenue in addition to cutting spending. I propose to stimulate the economy to the tune of 750 million a year by going to universal health care and I am called a socialist. It is absurd.
The republican party may go down the tubes but it won't be over the debate between far right and moderate. It will be because there are far to many people in the party who are just stupid as fuck.