IS TRYING TO WIN OVER NON-BASE VOTERS EVEN WORTH THE EFFORT FOR THE GOP?

I said in an earlier post that the GOP thinks ratcheting up racism is entirely consistent with winning at the polls, even in an Obama world. In the comments to that post, aimai argues that the Republicans might not even be trying to do better at the polls -- and might not need to:

I wonder if we shouldn't be looking at all this as a kind of "virtual voter" strategy in which the actual interests and the real person of the voter is becoming less and less important to the Republican party. Under Bush, at the national level, and under the current disorganized party they really don't need all that many actual representatives to wreak havoc on society and pay off their corporate owners. There's absolutely nothing in it for individual republicans to increase market share for the party as a whole. Their position as receivers of graft and favors from monied interests is actually enhanced by their inability to govern, but their ability to block progressive governance. And of course that is true for the Blue dogs as well.

Under this scenario the crazier and weirder the base gets the better it is for those who reprsent their districts because it means they get returned to a lopsided congress/senate in which they need do nothing but bargain and negate progressive legislation. In fact I doubt if the owners really even need to pay for a majority republican/right wing/blue dog majority as long as they can parlay very small numbers into obstructionism. I mean, isn't this exactly what has happened to California under its 2/3 majority for budgeting?

That might be much smarter than my theory. The Republicans who still hold office stay in office -- but they never actually have to accomplish anything, because they're at no risk of ever having to govern. All they have to do is stand athwart liberalism and centrism shouting "No!" That's worth it for their fat-cat donors; that basically preserves a Reaganite/Bushite world; and they keep getting reelected because they're in crazy-base districts, and the continued (apparent) dominance of the Democrats keeps the baseheads in a constant state of apocalyptic panic.

Maybe it's a brilliant plan.