Watching Republicans walk themselves off a proverbial cliff is stunning and stupefying, all at the same time. It is stunning because of the inability of Republicans in Congress to appreciate the long-term ramifications of their short-term victories. It’s stupefying because of the demographic shifts that are transforming the Republican Party into a purely regional party that could go the way of the Whigs. There is clearly no long-term plan from Republicans in Congress, other than to distract away from the scandals and dismiss the barrage of criticisms coming from inside their political house.
The lore of Donald Trump
Donald John TrumpBiden says his faith is 'bedrock foundation of my life' after Trump claim Coronavirus talks on life support as parties dig in, pass blame Ohio governor tests negative in second coronavirus test MORE may be that of a political survivor, one who broke every rule imaginable while managing to avoid removal. But to a majority of voters, he is also an uninformed, unprepared, and unsteady political actor in the midst of a historic crisis. Republicans in Congress are finally beginning to say publicly what many have said privately to me for years, “He’s a sinking ship that is going to take the whole crew down if we don’t do something about it.”
Yet Republicans continue to do nothing about it. Symbolic gestures like putting on masks despite the President's erratic messaging or pushing back on his calls to delay an election few people think he can win sprout up periodically. But the political courage, or even self-serving outcry, that many expected in the wake of consistently bad polling has failed to surface in any substantial fashion.
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Instead, after record unemployment numbers, historically grotesque death totals, and the type of erratic and unpresidential behavior reserved for Saturday morning cartoon characters, Republicans in Congress have stunningly and stupefyingly decided to stick with the president. A decision that voters will not forget or forgive. Make no mistake about it, voters are angry. Almost 160,000 families will be without a brother, a sister, a mother, a father, or a friend this Labor Day. As a result of the White House’s failed leadership regarding the coronavirus, an estimated 200,000 families will set one less plate at Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner. An absolutely avoidable tragedy, with irreversible consequences.
While the White House would like Congressional Republicans to believe otherwise, this is not the 2016 election. As Five Thirty Eight recently pointed out, “Clinton’s lead over Trump still wasn’t as large as Biden’s is now.” There is no magic rabbit or mysterious elixir for Trump to pull out of his oversized suit and change his political fortune. The President of the United States and the party he calls home are headed towards an overwhelming and decisive defeat. So much so, that Republican operatives have enlisted the help of a celebrity in the midst of a mental breakdown to siphon away votes from former Vice President Joe Biden.
Rather than publicly admit that they overplayed their hand and allowed Trump’s cultish personality to grab hold of the party, Republicans would rather use gross diversionary tactics that are only destined to further turn off suburban women and minority voters. The very people who put control over the House of Representatives into the hands of the Democratic Party.
The 2018 midterms were not an outlier, but rather a warning message to the party of Lincoln. The country is not better off than it was in 2016. It is much worse. Racial divisions are deepening, our economy is cratering, and faith in institutions is at an all time low. If the president wanted America to resemble Russia, he certainly succeeded in his mission. For the life of me, I can’t understand why Republicans in Congress have continued to go along, especially in the Senate where elections occur every six years.
If Republicans want to win again, they must lose first. It’s the only way to shake the stench of the past four years. Manifesting unyielding loyalty to a man who is only loyal to himself seems to me like nothing short of political malpractice. Much like the response to the Coronavirus, things didn’t have to end up this bad. Voters would have forgiven Republicans for their craven power grab, “that’s the nature of the business,” they would have said. What they can’t forgive and will take decades to forget, is the doubling down on lemming-like behavior.
Walking themselves off a cliff is one thing. Walking the country and the people off a cliff is another. Short-term pain for long-term gain is now the only strategy that will allow Republicans to emerge from the Trump years with any semblance of a national party. Would it be pretty, no. But is it necessary, absolutely. Anything else is stunning and stupefying, all at the same time.
Michael Starr Hopkins is the founder of Northern Starr Strategies and the host of “The Starr Report” podcast. Follow his updates @TheOnlyHonest.
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