George Lakoff wrote in Don’t Think of an Elephant  that the Republican Party has (traditionally) been better at appearing cohesive from the outside despite existing inner turmoil. Republican groups with different agendas would work together with the understanding that the needs of all would eventually be met if groups waited their turn. This election cycle knocked down the wall around the Republicans, exposing their infighting, weaknesses and the last gasps of a party on life support. 

Why did the wall come down now? George W. Bush- easily blamed for most things wrong with this country- wasn’t a major factor here. It started with the comically lackluster group of politicians that entered into the Republican primary contest. Then John McCain- who could be called a Reformer if only for the fact that the Traditionalists didn’t see him as one of theirs- won the nomination. Even if his “maverick” nature had fans among the Reformers, he soon cut those ties of affection by veering quickly (and sloppily) toward the Traditionalist agenda. The Sarah Palin choice speaks of his attempt to seduce Traditionalists- particularly their Christian fundamentalist subset. 

But the saner minds among the Traditionalists weren’t really buying it. The McCain-Palin ticket had managed to alienate both of the major factions of their party, leaving them with those who merely wanted to vote “not Obama” and the hate filled ignorance that came to characterize their rallies. 

The Republicans lost the election in a major way, shedding Senate seats along with the White House. It would appear to be a time for the party to do a major overhaul, building the new agenda more around Reformer policies- like economic equality, inclusion and global warming policy- that would appeal more to the modern electorate than the Traditionalist model does. And when it comes time for that shift to happen, Democrats should be as supportive as they can be of the change. An enemy of an enemy is our friend and the Reformers want to cut off their crazy wing as much as we’d like them to. 

After their election day defeat, the Republicans set up a website proposing ways the party can be restructured and asked for the public to submit their own ideas. The reoccurring themes in the suggestions are inclusion (of youth and minority voters) and exclusion (of the neocon/fundamentalist wing). People would rather see the party focus its attention on economic solutions, a smaller government and Constitutional rights. In other words, the tide is shifting in the direction of the Reformers. 

But it could be awhile before the Reformers have their day in the spotlight. As David Brooks says in the NY Times, the Traditionalists are the ones still in Congress and they also have the access to the donors and institutions. The Reformers are having to start from behind- without much funding or structural support- while trying to convert (or overtake) Traditionalists who don’t see the problem as being that they aren’t modernized but rather that they should become more ”traditionally” conservative (see: Rep. Mike Pence, who thinks the party should be rebuilt around marriage “sanctity” and pro-life agendas).