But now, we have the Democratic Party on one side, and the Republican dumpster fire on the other. The Republican Party is a cult in thrall to an unstable bully who is bound to become authoritarian. He was taken into custody by a man who sent armed insurrectionists to the Capitol in a violent attempt to overturn his defeat in a free and fair election. He is held hostage by a man who punishes any perceived disloyalty with political death.
At the 2020 Republican National Convention, the GOP didn't even offer a party platform. Instead, she simply emphasized her “strong support for President Donald Trump” and his “America First agenda,” whatever that might be at any given moment.
It would be foolish for the nation to expect, at this point, the Republicans to rise up and free themselves. Look how Congressional negotiations on border security and aid to Ukraine have changed since Trump's victory in New Hampshire on Tuesday. Just last week, GOP senators, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.), were optimistic that the package would be quickly approved by the Senate. But on Wednesday, McConnell said in a closed meeting of his caucus that there may no longer be a path forward on the bill — because Trump opposes any treatment of the border crisis that might make President Biden look good.
This is madness. Democrats are offering something Republicans have wanted for years and may never be offered again: tightening border security without creating a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants already in the country, including Dreamers. But Dear Leader Trump says no, and suddenly, GOP senators are afraid to say yes.
It is clear that Republicans in Congress will not liberate their party. It seems doubtful that the GOP base has any intention of breaking the chains that bind it.
Former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley finished a strong second in New Hampshire, becoming the anti-Trump by default. But the next primary is in a month, and she's in her home state, which may not feel very welcoming. For four long weeks, she will have to weather intense personal attacks from Trump and calls from powerful Republicans to withdraw from the race in the name of party unity. Then, if you make it to February 24, you'll need a miracle.
The RealClearPolitics average of polls in South Carolina shows Trump with a 30-point lead. These polls were conducted before other GOP candidates dropped out, so Haley is expected to close the gap. But nearly all of the state's Republican elected officials have lined up behind Trump — including Sen. Tim Scott, whom Haley first appointed to the Senate in 2013 when she was governor, and who obsequiously told Trump “I just love you” during Trump's reelection. Hampshire victory speech.
It is also wrong to expect the judicial system to come to the party's rescue. It is possible that one or two of the criminal cases against Trump will end – with conviction or acquittal – before November. But this seems to me increasingly unlikely. Even if the former president was a criminal, it is difficult to imagine his party throwing him into the sea.
What can save the Republican Party from itself? defeat. A crushing and unequivocal defeat.
Our political parties are reforming and remaking themselves after being severely rebuked by voters. After the disaster of President Richard Nixon's resignation and the futility of the Gerald Ford administration, Republicans regrouped and became the party of Ronald Reagan. His policies were not ones I agreed with, but they were coherent and negotiable. After the losses of Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, and Michael Dukakis in successive presidential elections, their party turned toward Bill Clinton and the New Democrats, whose ideas marked a break with the past—and consolidated once again as an ideology.
If you want the GOP to be a serious conservative political party and not a MAGA cult, send Republicans into the wilderness. Vote for Biden. – Eliminating Republican control of the House of Representatives. Giving Democrats a larger majority in the Senate. Vote for Republican officials outside statehouses, city halls and school boards.
Create the metaphorical ashes from which a new Republican Party can rise.
