How can the GOP continue to push the same agenda when one-third of the party wants it to make a radical break from its past and stand for something fundamentally different? Trump outflanks the party from the right on immigration and terrorism, outflanks it from the left on taxes, benefits, and a range of other domestic policy issues, and ridicules just about everyone else in the party for their rank stupidity and for contributing to a decline in the country that he alone can reverse.
A third of Republican voters endorse this profoundly anti-Republican message.
As I’ve argued before, that appears to leave two possible paths forward for the GOP. One is for the party as a whole to shift ideological direction to appeal explicitly to the rogue third of the party — though that could easily alienate a good portion of the party’s other two-thirds. And that leaves the second option, which is for the party to break apart, with the rogue Republicans forming the base of some new party.
From “Did you vote for Donald Trump? Then you’re not actually a Republican”
“Did you vote for Donald Trump? Then you’re not actually a Republican”
A real Republican wouldn’t support for someone that ignorant about the world. I mean, someone who’s a bully and a blowhard. I mean, someone who demonizes immigrants. I mean, someone who champions torture.Report
Trump doesn’t have median Republican views, but he’s 100% the Republican brand–the brand that they spent the last 20 years building. He is more Republican than flat tax or overturning Roe v. Wade–it’s silly to pretend that his message is anti-republican, even if it’s not the message that a certain class of republican would support.Report
After President Trump gets re-elected, it’ll be even harder to say “this is not what the Republican Party actually stands for!”Report
I am not impressed. Alan and Mike are right. The GOP has been building Trumpism for at least 20 years. Probably more like 40 to 45 years. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and the GOP elites are not really happy. By elites, I mean the elected officials, opinion journalists of a somewhat higher value than talk radio, policy wonks, the business wing, etc. Now they are all talking about how Trump is not really a Republican.
Trump is the bed that the GOP made. Republicans need to lie in it.Report
Yes, this, they sowed the wind now they get to reap the whirlwind.Report
Yeah but… I’m worried that all of us must share in the whirlwind. Honestly, it’s a bit scary.Report
I can feel that too but honestly, Hillary? She can handle Trump. Look at what he has done in the GOP primary:
-Hurl horrible over the top accusations
-Levy charges that have no to scant evidence behind them
-Call them names
-Get in their face
-Scream at them
Poor Marco had moments when he looked like he was going to wet himself. It’s obvious they’d never been treated that way and they had no idea to handle it.
Now look at that list of behavior again and look at Hillary. She calls that list “every other Tuesday”; the GOP has been pulling that kind of shit with her for twenty to thirty years now. And unlike the GOP clown car occupants Hillary doesn’t have to worry about offending Trump’s supporters if she laughs in his face. Hillary’s base and the general electorate is 100% used to hearing and mostly dismissing utter bullshit and invective thrown at Hillary Clinton. Sure the GOP base will hear Trump say all that stuff and go “ooohhhh… he got her good!” but everyone else in the country will just see a strange wigged orange baboon screaming at Hillary Clinton and will either get annoyed on her behalf or say “Must be Tuesday again”.
Barring some black swan scandal it seems to me like Trump is the kind of GOP general election foe that the Clinton Machine was custom built to obliterate. She couldn’t ask for a better opponent.Report
Agreed 100%
(This, by the way, is among the biggest reasons I worry about a Sanders Candidacy. He has the Chris Christie problem of being the candidate whose appeal is his willingness to get loud, but will never be as loud as Trump.)Report
Trump is basically the caricature of Reagan that the radio wing of the party have crafted over twenty years. The guy who never backed down, who plays stands up for the little guy, that is above the political fray, etc. None of that was accurate, but it was the character they built. Now someone walked onto the stage and wore the visage.Report
@roland-dodds That’s a really, really smart take.Report
This is the kind of thing that will hit the fan against Trumpy if he is the R nom. And is just the most recent. There is more of this in his past of various sorts.
http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/02/24/trump_university_ripped_off_people_who_look_a_lot_like_trump_voters.htmlReport
The end of the GOP as we know it?
God I hope so.Report
Would you say that…you feel fine?Report