Smart Republicans.... there are a few.

[The Grand Nudger]

I wouldn't mind seeing the GOP die.  They've certainly lost any reason they had to exist, any continuity of message or platform - this election.  The dems have drifted far right enough to soak up every decent idea they had.  Next cycle, we'd still have a two party system, but one of the 3rds would fill it.  
(it was inevitable, once the GOP turned itself into jesus' proxy vote)
Dems v Libs.
Dems v Green.

[Faith No More]

"Wouldn't mind?"

Hell, I'd throw a party.

[Divinity]

The GOP isn't going anywhere anytime soon. They control the house and senate. They could lose control of the senate, but I doubt they lose control of the house with all their gerrymandering. So long as we have whackadoodle christians in this country, the GOP will survive off it's bible-based hate.

[CapnAwesome]

6 points isn't that much. I've also seen him as high as 12%.  A few more Clinton emails and a few more Donald Trump.....well being Donald Trump and he could get those 6 points. The rules for debate say you have to make 15% in 4 national polls. Considering that Republicans are going to defect from Trump, are they going to go to Hillary Clinton, whom they traditionally loath, or a ticket with two former Republican governors on it? I hope he gets to 15%, someone who is a ceo of a marijuana company should make the debates more fun. Johnson only hurts Trump anyway, so hopefully I don't hear any 'a vote for Johnson is a vote for Trump' crap.

The think is, they don't say which national polls they are going to use to make that determination in advance. I would presume they will try to find national polls where Johnson is below 15% to disqualify him. The only way he's making it is if he breaks 15% in ALL the reputable national polls. Speaking as someone who is cynical on the matter.

I'm pretty sure there are actual set rules on the matter, there are certain polls that are national polls and he only have to make 15% in 4 of them. They were set up that way during the second Perot run.

[The Grand Nudger]

They're already gone.  The dems do everything except the god bothering and Trump show (yay drift!)....and that's all that's left of the GOP. If they lose, it could be the end. These parties aren't exactly immortal. We've been through more than a few.

[Thumpalumpacus]

Yeah, I think we're witnessing the fracture of the Republicans into a couple of parties. They've always had the tension between Wall Street Republicans and Bible beaters, but with the rise of the Tea Partiers -- and Trump's snatching them -- I think we're going to see the party survive, but much smaller and weaker.

[Minimalist]

You keep on voting on your treadmill as you have for decades, and bemoaning the fact that things aren't changing.

Changing?  I just want to avoid them going over a cliff.  I have no more grand visions.

[Crossless2.0]

Yeah, I think we're witnessing the fracture of the Republicans into a couple of parties. They've always had the tension between Wall Street Republicans and Bible beaters, but with the rise of the Tea Partiers -- and Trump's snatching them -- I think we're going to see the party survive, but much smaller and weaker.

It seems to me that the Wall Street Republicans have a couple of options if the GOP breaks apart: they could go Libertarian (not a bad fit, really, since it doesn't seem that they are on board with the social conservative agenda except to secure needed votes) or they could be absorbed into the Democratic party, at least so long as the party resists being pulled leftward by the progressives.

But where does that leave the social conservatives and Tea Party people? Are they what the GOP effectively becomes? If so, they will cease to be a force in Presidential elections, but they may continue to wield disproportionate influence in certain state legislatures and in the federal House and Senate seats representing such states. Somehow, I find this even more disturbing.

[Mister Agenda]

I'm pretty sure there are actual set rules on the matter, there are certain polls that are national polls and he only have to make 15% in 4 of them. They were set up that way during the second Perot run.

I hope there are rules, but the folks that decide which national polls to use aren't sharing what the rules are, as far as I can tell. They certainly don't announce which polls will be used to make the determination in advance.

[Mister Agenda]

I count four major constituencies in the GOP and they are all at odds with each other: the religious right/social conservatives, the Wall Street Republicans, the White Nationalists, and the intellectual conservatives (like Will). There will be GOP people still in office ten years down the road, but social conservatism and white nationalism are over or almost over as a ticket to the presidency. They helped the GOP get its current power, but they are killing it in its present form.