The GOP isn't doomed to be authoritarian. Generally, in representative government, when a party's positions are so unpopular that it can't win elections, it's supposed to adjust those positions. Back in the 1990s, when it became clear that the GOP was starting to be outnumbered, Republicans could have course-corrected, embracing policies that would appeal to the poor, to Latinos, to African Americans, to women. George W. Bush and Mitt Romney both gestured in this direction. But they couldn't figure out how to reach out to these voters without creating an enormous backlash from their base.

Source: Los Angeles Times March 21, 2018 11:15 UTC