Eventually, the Old Bastards of the GOP will die off. Apparently they aren't capable of retiring, so I'm waiting on caskets to start arriving.

If the GOP intends to endure the coming generations, they're going to have to do a few things:

1. Cool it with the Bible Thumping. The Party has become the Party of Priests and Other Religious Figures (except for Muslims, of course).

2. Drop the "gays are evil" idiocy. This is already happening with younger(</s>) Republicans. Connected to #1.

3. Return to being Fiscally Conservative. My reading of the term "conservative" is that it used to mean to conserve a) American Values (life, liberty, pursuit of property, etc), b) to be financially conservative (e.g., spend money cautiously). The term "American Values" has forgone "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" and decided to treat Christian (Evangelical) Values as American Values. In general, they have completely ignored Separation of Church and State.

And being Fiscally Conservative doesn't mean "spend $0, collect no taxes," like some Republicans seem to think. It means, "Spend money wisely, tax people fairly." "Liberal" policies such as national healthcare or "free" college tuition shouldn't be seen as wastes of money. They should be seen as investments into the future of the United States. Instead of sending as many young kids as we possibly can to fight and die in a war that will never end, we should be doing all that we can to send them to Universities, Technical Schools, and Skilled Trade Schools (because not all kids want or need to go to a 4 year, and they shouldn't be guilted for that - you want 'Made in America' back? Teach skilled trade, and let people have pride in their work.)

4. Learn how to work together. This is an issue on both sides of the isle, but the Republican Party has gotten to the point of being almost senile about it. We saw it with President Clinton, and we see it again with President Obama. When the Republican Leadership doesn't get what it wants, it sits in the corner and refuses to play. This hurts everyone.

5. Destroy the Rebellion. The Tea Party is killing the GOP. I doubted this until they knocked out Cantor, but clearly the GOP needs some cauterization. Both parties (what a sad statement)(GOP and Dems) have gone too far in either direction. We need a return to the moderate. Bring back some decorum and respect to Congress (You know, like back when you could beat a man with a cane, or duel outside). The Parties both act like petulant children when things don't go their way, and that's why the general public gets disgusted with them.

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That's just for starters.

Don't get me wrong, there are definitely huge issues with the Democrats. I'm an independent with Democratic leanings (obviously), but I tend to be fiscally conservative - keep my bias in mind. If the Republican Party would drop their social issue bullshit and return to the style of Thomas Jefferson (perhaps interestingly, his party was called the "Democratic-Republican Party"), I'd be all over it.