Some deep questions are in order for the Republican Party following the bath it took at the polls in November, says UW-Madison political scientist Charles Franklin.
Franklin thinks GOP Congressman Paul Ryan of Janesville makes sense, when he says the party needs to expand its appeal beyond "angry white men." He says the party is going through some soul searching in order to reach out to a more diverse base of support that can be relied on in future elections.
Still, Franklin says that effort will run into opposition from some Republicans who maintain they lost last year because they strayed from their conservative base. That could prevent the GOP from abandoning a conservative stands on at least some issues.
