NO. The era of liberal republicans having sway is coming to an end. The ability of liberal republicans to be elected president vanished a long time ago. The party is reinventing itself for good right now and basically The Tea Party will be the new look of the GOP. ---And its about time!. Most Americans consider themselves conservative and that includes the vast majority of Independents. The era of Bushism is finally over---Hey I liked W, but he didn't really follow through on everything that was needed like border security, and flat tax etc. ---Conservatism is the wave of the future for the Republican Party (and the Nation).
By the by---There is no such thing as a moderate. There are only liberals and conservatives. People who consider themselves moderates are actually liberals.
This is actually a very interesting question. Initially, I thought none of the other alternatives would have been a very strong candidate. Then I realized they would still get the automatic blue states and probably would run better in the purple states. So you're probably correct.
Again, I'm not so sure. People outside the base seem to be underestimating the anger felt toward establishment sellouts. The only hope a republican has is to gin up massive turnout of older white people. Romney failed at this vital task. They saw no compelling reason to vote for a rich stiff from Massachusetts. Trump has managed to connect with them and many others who would never have considered voting republican. Most of the undecided swing votes for Hillary will be because they detest Trump, not out of some great affection for Hillary. That's not a high octane reason that will get you to stand in line to vote. Making America Great Again will get you there.
The reason I stated that any moderate Republican like Rubio would have beaten Hillary is because of the baggage Hillary carries with her which would have made many independent voters go for the Republican candidate. Unfortunately we have Trump who comes off to undecided voters, women voters, and fringe Republicans as even more detestable than Hillary. Yeah, I recognize Trump has loud support from people who despise the establishment but their numbers in swing states is much less than the number of people holding their noses and trying to decide which candidate is least detestable.
The problem is you need both to win. If Trump loses, someone with similar policies but without his baggage will emerge. Of course, by then it may well be too late if Hillary is able to sneak in another 30 or 40 million immigrants.
I understand your point but I think you and I and many others minds have been wilted by the media onslaught. There is no way to reconcile what you (and many others) believe about Trump's appeal (lack thereof) and the fact he is leading independents by 16 and 17 points in the IBD and ABC poll. Think about that. the abc poll shows a 17 point lead with independents. So he has 90 percent of the republican vote and and now he has a 35% to 40% lead with independents. How is that possible? I believe its because 53 to 60% of America's voters realize the establishment in sick... and out to disenfranchise their vote. There is a chance Trump wins big on Nov. 8th. I don't think kasich or bush had a chance. Rubio... he was tainted by his immigration stance.
Completely agree Jem. I've heard gwb-trading's opinion about the "anti-Trump" animosity for months now. He seems to believe that some centrist Democrat-"lite" would be a strong candidate, yet he ignores the absolute beating all of these supposedly "strong" moderate Republicans took just a few short months ago. I've said it before, I'll say it again...You can't run this "centrist" status quo type of campaign in an economy as stratified as this one. There is far too much of an "us vs. them" component baked into the cake. Candidates who simply try to "please everyone" with these canned campaign pledges that don't "offend" anyone (think Jeb), wind up pissing off everyone. That is the reality of where we are in 2016. Trump has gained his base of support because he has taken a very "controversial" stance on a whole variety of topics. Something, I might add, none of the other 15 "moderate's" had the gonads to even contemplate.
Someone will emerge, but let's be honest, "baggage" can always be manufactured by a rabid media base. Romney (who I truly do detest), seemed like their "squeaky clean" candidate and he was taken apart by the time it was over...and of course he falls into that "moderate", "never fight back" camp that seem to be this sort of "ideal moderate Republican candidate" that I keep hearing about.