Karolyn:"...Most of us who are long time Republicans believe in what the Republican party once was. We hang on because we think we could be compassionate and fiscally conservative again. Obviously, many of us do not vote straight Republican anymore. How could we?

Change we can believe in does not mean spending our way into bankruptcy. It means being thoughtful, compassionate and fiscally smart: you do not spend what you do not have."

That was what the old GOP, and even conservatism--before the sunbelt crazies got ahold of the definition--meant. I wasn't old enough to vote but one of my earliest memories was of the dour atmosphere in my upstate household when Nixon--Nixon!!--lost to Kennedy in the 1960 election.

Then Goldwater--a guy who had championed civil rights in Arizona before the Rehnquist types got ahold of him and made him a champion in the eyes of the South--got a full headwind and everything changed.

your democratic party: too young and too black to govern

It won't be easy for the GOP to win over minorities, considering their base is anti-minority in general.

As the monopoly on power enjoyed by Caucasian-Christian males over the last several centuries of Western Civilization continues to fade, it's inevitable that many of those who benefited from the stacked deck will not easily give up "the good old days" when their rule was unquestioned and they could dole out crumbs to the "inferior" races and "weaker" sex as they wished.

Whether or not Sodomayor is racist or a hothead are only the tags the GOP Caucasian-Christian males chose to hang on her - if not that they would have found something else - that's how the game is played. Her ultimate crime, like Obama's, is that she symbolizes their loss of dominance. She represents a future they fear and resent.

P.S. Just kidding about the preceding.

The overwhelming majority of Hispanics in the USA are here because of illegal immigration or birth from illegal immigrants.

The system has essentially given foreigners a stake in our government and guess what? Its no surprise they are voting democrats.

The poor people in America are happy to leverage their vote. Tax the rich and increase social programs. Who cares about long term prospects for businesses in America? I want my stuff now!

Let it be said that the weakening and eventual downfall of America came by allowing illegal foreigners and their ilk the right to vote.

The world is laughing at us.

We have been writing the eulogy of the Republican party for years and they alwasy seem to roar back. As a non-white, male independent, I will give you a different perspective.

President Obama's election was a movement that captivated the entire US (including the media) and swept him into victory against a very underwhelming, very old candidate. His victory was a forgone conclusion on election night yet the count was 52% to 48%; much closer than many of us thought and hardly overwhelming.

Conisder this, the GOP is as down as it has been in decades yet:

1. In a recent poll, Americans trust the GOP over Democrats in 8 of 10 key issues. Go to www.rasmussenreports.com for details.

2. A recent poll (7/14/09) shows in a generic congressional ballot, that 40% would vote GOP, 37% Democrat.

3. 2012 Presidential match-up poll shows 45% Romney, 45% Obama.

4. Democratic congressional leadership is also unliked by many Americans; for example, Pelosi's unfavorable ratings continue to rise with 48% viewing her unfavorably compared to 32% favorably.

My whole point is that even with the GOP beaten down, it seems that the country (myself included) is sick of both parties and finds our congress to be the most useless collection of individuals I have ever encountered (check congress's approval ratings). I don't think the GOP is dead as much as I beleive that the Democratic party will shoot themselves in the foot. The GOP is wounded, but the numbers show they are far from dead. I would caution against overconfidence; history has written this story before.

You know, most people don't vote one party or another because there's some party affiliation tattooed on their skin. Blacks and Hispanics and women and gays and young people tend to vote Democrat because the Democratic policies and principles tend to connect with their lives and hopes and needs.

Your older non-Hispanic white men tend to vote Republican because those policies and principles connect with THEIR lives and hope and needs.

The truth is, there's no way to spin it. It's the Republican policies and principles which no longer appeal to the majority. In fact, they haven't appealed for a very long time. Bush II didn't win the vote the first time, and the second time only won because he'd started a war first term. And he wouldn't have gotten even the votes he did if he'd been honest at all when he ran. ("I'm not going to be a compassionate conservative. I'm not going to reach across the aisle; in fact, my whole plan is to rule with a 51% majority and ignore everyone else. I'm not going to root out corruption; in fact, I'm going to add to it. I'm not going to carefully steward the surplus Clinton gave me; in fact, I'm going to run up the largest deficit ever. I'm not going to build up America; I'm going to destroy Iraq."-- yep, that's a winning formula.)

The truth is, a dwindling number want the Republican "brand" because most of us don't want Republican policies, and most of all, we don't want the incompetence that comes along with the party that sees government mostly as a chance to reward their friends. Competence is never important to Republicans, but after Bush, it's increasingly necessary to the rest of us.

It's sad to see a major party die. But it happened to the Whigs, and the result was a new party (Republicans!) who saved this country from its own evil. But those Republicans are long gone, along with the Democrats who supported slavery and segregation. The Republicans started out the party of the people, aimed at freeing the oppressed, and they ended up the oppressors. Too bad, but there's really very little left here. Republicans are going to have to lie to get elected, and that doesn't work for long.

It's not JUST demographics. It's also that Republicans have nothing to bring to America but a long of anger and resentment-- they have no competence, no dedication to progress, no compassion for people in need. This dedication to ideology (and then lying about what the ideology is) just will sink under its own corrupt weight.