A Party Beyond Redemption

 


The Washington Post's Jennifer Rubin is an 'old school' or conservative Republican. George Will and David Frum are her fellow travelers. Think of them as "Anybody But Trump" Republicans.

In her column today, Rubin writes that polls show the moderates have no hope, zero chance, of rescuing their party.

“By double digits, 46%-27%, [of Republican voters] say they would abandon the GOP and join the Trump party if the former president decided to create one,” USA Today reports. Additionally, they are under the ludicrous and false impression that the Jan. 6 insurrection was the doing of antifa (58 percent) rather than the disgraced former president’s followers (28 percent). It comes as no surprise that nearly three-quarters (73 percent) of the MAGA Republican Party think that President Biden was not legitimately elected.

A few observations are in order. First, these people have been thoroughly brainwashed by right-wing media. Second, the cult is self-reinforcing. (The cult leader lost? The enemies cheated. The cult leader messed up on covid-19? The death toll is exaggerated.) Now that they are heading for even crazier “news” outlets, the notion that we are going to reason with such voters is preposterous.

Third, we must recognize that the rational approach to government, even the delivery of much-needed government benefits, is irrelevant to the MAGA crowd. What matters is that the ex-president is fighting a racial and cultural war to protect them. Theirs is a White Christian movement brimming with resentment and suspicion; these are not people you can win over with great policy ideas.

And finally, the MAGA people are not going to decamp from the GOP; they now have the instruments of party control. It is the narrow stratum of reality-based Republicans who need to leave if they cannot live with a racist, anti-democratic, anti-truth majority.

Imagine that. The 'Party of Lincoln' has now been perverted to become "a White Christian movement, a self-reinforcing cult, brimming with resentment and suspicion" under the boot heel of "a racist, anti-democratic, anti-truth majority."

Those with a conscience and love of democracy still in the party need to end the denial. They need to figure out how and when to separate themselves from a party that embraces, as my colleague Michael Gerson correctly concluded, “American fascism” based on white supremacy, irrationality, ignorance, xenophobia, antisemitism, violence, and “anger and dehumanization.”

Until then, let’s all agree: An anti-Trump Republican is fast becoming an oxymoron.


Comments

  1. TroyFebruary 22, 2021 at 6:21 PM

    Oddly enough, it echoes how the Whigs disintegrated which led to the eventual formation of the radical abolitionist Republican Party.

    Much like the then Whigs, the modern day Republicans really stood for nothing. it was strictly a reactionary platform which was formally a machine for soliticiting big money donations. Without something to hold the party together, it all collapsed.

    As it is now, much like Antebellum America, reactionary forces will probably continue to drift about clinging to any and all life-rafts but much like the Know Nothings, it'll all sink. Conspiracy can't hold an organization together like actual genuine belief.

    There'll be a Republic husk for a while longer until it's finally supplanted but unless there's some miracle rebirth, it'll probably collapse before too long.

    The Democrats, too, really don't have much holding the party together. The progressive flank seems ready to break apart from the party the longer Biden and his ilk carry on with Trump-like policies. Disaffected liberals, radical BLM, Occupy, and Medicare for All proponents may withhold their votes and simply pursue direct action instead. Sanders and AOC may advocate for unity but when the summers get hot again, their pleas will probably fall on deaf ears, especially if the ongoing economic disaster continues on without any federal relief.

    Here in Canada, we can see the tinder. Something small and innocuous will probably set it ablaze.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibFebruary 22, 2021 at 6:54 PM

      Something has to give, Troy. I wish this was happening in less volatile, less challenging times both within the United States and globally. Just when nations most need social cohesion to pull together they fall into chaos. I think it's too early to judge Biden. The American public doesn't seem comfortable with the progressive agenda which is not to say they really understand it.

      Delete
    2. Northern PoVFebruary 23, 2021 at 7:20 AM

      Hey, I fixed your typo ;-)

      "American media doesn't seem comfortable with the progressive agenda which is not to say they really understand it"

      Delete
  2. TrailblazerFebruary 22, 2021 at 6:56 PM

    Better to know the Devil you know , rather than the Devil you do not know.


    By double digits, 46%-27%, [of Republican voters] say they would abandon the GOP and join the Trump party
    At 46% of Trumpian republicans supporting Trump , from a voting base of about 50 % of Americans that leaves the Repugs quite marginalised.
    The US went through this before with the three corner hatters , the Tea party.
    Slowly but surely the Republicans are destroying themselves and good riddance.
    A country that believes that the Democrats are tantamount to communism or socialism are truly out of touch with the realities of the world.

    TB



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibFebruary 23, 2021 at 8:08 AM

      I have trouble divining America's future. We'll have a better idea after the mid-terms. How can Trump avoid turning stale, old news, over the next couple of years? Joe now has the keys to the gub'mint jet that used to ferry Trump to rallies every couple of weeks. That's how he kept his base stoked. I wonder how much of that bill was footed by the taxpayer.

      Maybe Biden can restore some public confidence in the federal government. Maybe it's too far gone already.

      All we can do now is guess and read the tea leaves. I remember guessing that America would have its first woman in the Oval Office in 2016. Oopsie.

      Delete
  3. Northern PoVFebruary 23, 2021 at 7:26 AM

    It could go either way at this point. ie Full fascist rethuglican USA or .....

    Woodrow Wilson and Bill Clinton achieved office thanks to 3rd party challenges.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Disaffected LibFebruary 23, 2021 at 8:10 AM

      The litmus test, IMO, could be whether the Dems use their Congressional majorities to enact campaign finance reform and override Citizens United. They've got a lot of corrupt practices to de-activate. What's by no means clear is whether they have the will to get out of that nicely feathered bed.

      Delete
  4. TrailblazerFebruary 23, 2021 at 6:22 PM

    Re,

    The litmus test, IMO, could be whether the Dems use their Congressional majorities to enact campaign finance reform and override Citizens United.

    In a country that is ruled by millionaires and billionaires there is little chance of change to the financing of political parties within the USA.
    At the end of the day I think we are deluding ourselves that there could be a positive outcome to US politics!
    We should concentrate our thoughts to a post USA world.
    It wont be easy, it wont be quick but we must distance ourselves from them lest they take us down with them.
    Canada has much going for it; sadly self reliance is not one of its attributes,

    TB

    ReplyDelete
  5. Northern PoVFebruary 24, 2021 at 9:42 AM

    OFF TOPIC ALERT ... in the vaccine blame meme ....

    So, more of the vaccines are finally arriving in Canada.
    (As they are in many, many countries atm).

    Now 'the shoes are on the Premier's feet'.
    It's not like they didn't get extra time to be ready.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Northern PoVFebruary 24, 2021 at 10:04 AM

      "Alberta booking site overwhelmed within minutes as vaccinations expanded to more seniors"

      "NDP leader Andrea Horwath calls Ontario vaccine news "shocking"; says the province is not ready, won't see vaccines until mid-March and it's another indication of a lack of ability to handle the virus. "This is terrifying information...why is Ontario so far behind?""

      Not sure how the BC situation is shaping up. (I suspect better than AB & ON as usual.)

      meanwhile ...
      "Very first person got a shot of vaccine in Australia yesterday. "

      Delete
    2. The Disaffected LibFebruary 24, 2021 at 3:49 PM

      We're going on an age system, NPoV. The neighbour widow is 83. She's already had her call from the Island Health authority for her appointment.

      Delete

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