YA Liberals & Conservatives - Can the GOP defeat the Dems in 2016 w/ "Divide & Conquer" Tactics?

[Andy F]

According to the media, Obama and many Democrats won the 2012 elections -- despite the sluggish state of the economy -- mostly by mobilizing several key constituencies:

African American voters

Hispanic American voters

Asian Americans

Women voters

Gay and lesbian voters

Younger voters as a group

Do you think the Republican Party can break up this Democratic coalition over the next 4 years, by setting these groups of voters against each other thru the use of "wedge" issues?

That is, issues that divide gay Democrats from African Americans, for instance?

Or wedge issues that set Hispanic supporters of immigration reform against black inner city residents worried about job losses?

Or what if the GOP focuses on a real or imaginary crisis in Social Security -- telling younger Americans they'll never get any benefits from Social Security, so the younger generation Democrats will turn against older Democrats who strongly support the program?


We're already starting to see a few questions here in YA Politics that hit on these issues. Some of these questions seem designed to drive psychological "wedges" between different groups of Democrats, to the point where maybe the winning Dem coalition will fall apart in time.

Do you think the GOP as a whole is pursuing this kind of wedge issue strategy?

If your answer is yes, do you think the strategy will work? Or do you think the Democrats will find ways to neutralize it?