Despite the Republican Party's noted challenges in the 2012 presidential elections, the GOP continues to alienate itself from groups that once rallied behind it.
In 2000, Muslim voters came out in droves to support George W. Bush in the presidential elections, but since then, the party has gradually been losing Muslim-American support. Republican presidential hopefuls like Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Tim Pawlenty have publicly rallied against the faith in issues like the "ground zero mosque" and the national anti-Shariah movement.
Tim Murphy at Mother Jones writes:
Over the last few years, through harsh immigration laws, an embrace of "otherism," and rhetorical jabs at Islam, GOPers have consolidated their grip on white voters at the expense of virtually everyone else — even as that demographic reflects a smaller and smaller share of the electorate as a whole.
Going forward, though, Republicans' falling out with a once treasured constituency is emblematic of the question facing the party as a whole: How far can it go to win present elections without destroying its chances of prevailing in future ones?
Does the GOP honestly think that it can get by with the help of racist voters rather than minority voters? Have Republicans even read the census results? It's clear that they're in for a very rude awakening.
Read more at Mother Jones.
In other news: Minorities: Agents of White Supremacy?