Can Republicans win cities again?
In a New York Times piece called Republicans to Cities: Drop Dead, Kevin Baker chronicles the history of how the GOP has become geographically divorced from cities. It makes an interesting read in an election when the Republican platform denounces the Obama administration for “replacing civil engineering with social engineering as it pursues an exclusively urban vision of dense housing and government transit.” The GOP opposes smart growth while its supporters benefit from subsidies for distant suburbs and rural areas, as fiscally conservative blogger Charles Marohn points out. Regardless of who wins the election, the GOP is relying on shrinking demographics as it loses youth, latinos, urban dwellers, and gives up nearly all of the African-American vote, Baker says. He points to Jack Kemp as an example of how the GOP could contest for the urban vote once again. "The potential for change, should Republicans start shouting from the rooftops about cities, is enormous," he says.
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