All true, I'm sure. OTOH, the RW has spent their decades of ascendancy since the Reagan Revolution locking institutional advantages in place -- court appointments, gerrymandering, etc. -- which can keep them in power even as their aggregate national vote-share declines. And the 1%/corporate interests control both parties (the Pubs rather more than the Dems, but both parties) through campaign contributions which will be denied any pol who challenges their non-ideological bottom-line agenda. And, as the article in the OP points out, people often do base their voting on cultural/religious indicators even when those go against their economic interests. And, while cultural conservatives are a distinctly aging demographic, modern medical science will keep them alive for a long time yet. So we shouldn't expect any left-populist-progressive electoral revolution in the near future; all of that will take a lot of time and effort to overcome.
On the gripping hand, see Ralph Nader's latest book, Unstoppable: The Emerging Left-Right Alliance to Dismantle the Corporate State. It's a fascinating read. He doesn't discuss the Tea Party much, but by some theories I've read, the TP represents a challenge to the GOP's Chamber of Commerce bizcons as much as to biggummint liberalism -- Main Street taking on Wall Street.
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Was that meant for this thread?
