I'm okay with this. I'm not sure I want a party of bigots to lead the charge on copyright reform. It would put me in an awkward position. Firing the only intelligent person in the party seems to solidify this.
On the other hand, it could have been a way for the GOP to segue from the "bigot party" into a group with reasonable beliefs. Parties change over time, and this could have been a good first step in the right direction.
They're stuck in a local maximum. They can't throw their white, middle-aged religious base (40% of the population or so) under the bus in order to pick up a few extra points from young people who, if they've been paying attention, won't trust GOP pols anyways.
They don't have to throw them under the bus all at once. A significant portion of the GOP's support base is going to be dying over the next few decades.
