Brooks: A "New" GOP?

Poor David Brooks. In a recent NYT op-ed, he describes the "new voices" in the GOP and tries to see a way forward for the Republican Party. But this is a party that suffers from a fatal disease: half of its most reliable base consists of religious fanatics who have more in common, seriously, with The Taliban than they have with Reality-Based communities. Then take the rest of their base: racists (Obama got 10% of the white vote in Mississippi, and 15% in Alabama) and selfish, grasping, amoral Sneering Plutocrats, who care, like the Dragon of the Niebelung, only for their pile of filthy lucre, and for whom enough is never enough. Given this handicap, how can they survive? By gerrymandering congressional districts for one, and by rulings by a pliable and contemptible Supreme Court (think Citizens United) for another. Finally, they have to depend on the stupidity of a part of the electorate and the distractions (earning a living, taking care of kids, etc) on another part of the electorate. Or perhaps they just mount such disgusting campaigns that they hope voters get turned off and stay away.
There is in fact only one vacuum in modern American politics: the Populist. Think Oklahoma in the 30s, or West Virginia in the 60s. The Democrats have given up these voters and the GOP has nothing to say to them since it would alienate the Sneering Plutocracy. What we need is clearly a Populist Party, one that stands for health care, a much reduced military, education, a protected environment, fair trade, and community. Oh and did someone mention Climate Change?