The Republicans Without Christie Will Not Be Very Phat

"Bridgegate doesn’t just look like a disaster for Christie. It looks like a disaster for his entire party, because if Christie can’t mount a strong challenge to Hillary Clinton, it’s unclear anyone can.

The GOP today is an awful brand. A Gallup poll last week found that the percentage of Americans who identify as Republicans just hit a 25-year low. The party is weakest with those demographic groups—minorities and the young—whose shares of the electorate are growing fastest. And it’s unlikely the GOP’s reputation will improve between now and 2016, since that reputation is being driven by a Republican House more responsive to the Tea Party than to public opinion at large."