Patterico's Pontifications

5/17/2021

Is There Still A Battle For The Soul Of The Republican Party Happening Or Is The Fight Over?

Filed under: General — Dana @ 11:16 am



[guest post by Dana]

In which Charlie Sykes tries to convince a group of former Republican officials giving the Republican Party one last chance to clean up its act that it’s hopeless. Time to move on:

[T]he Washington Post oped argued that: “With Cheney’s dismissal from House leadership, the battle for the soul of the Republican Party — and our country — is not over. It is just beginning.”

But that’s not true. The fight is over. The crackpots, conspiracists and bigots have won, and there is no point pretending that this is a party that can be salvaged anytime soon. As Jeff Greenfield notes in Politico, there is no civil war in the Republican Party — there is only a “purge.”

The group seemed to acknowledge that when they promised that “We will not wait forever for the GOP to clean up its act.”

But, what are they waiting for now?

How many signs do they need? How many canaries have to die? How many red lines have to be crossed?

How many signs do they need? How many canaries have to die? How many red lines have to be crossed?

This is a party that remains in total thrall not just to Donald Trump, but to his lies as well. A recent poll found that fully 70 percent of Republican voters refuse to believe that Joe Biden won enough votes to be president. A Monmouth poll found 65 percent of GOP voters believe that Biden’s win was the result of voter fraud.

In this party, men and women like Matt Gaetz, Josh Hawley, Green, Ted Cruz, Gosar, Ron Johnson, and Clyde all members in good standing. But Liz Cheney, who insisted on telling the truth, is exiled.

What clearer signal could my fellow signatories be waiting for? The vote to oust Cheney was as clear as it gets: We are no longer welcome in the GOP.

Over the last five years, Republicans have shown willingness to accept — or least ignore — lies, racism, corruption, sexism and xenophobia.

It was Donald Trump’s party then — but now it is worse. Now it is a party increasingly willing to embrace sedition, conspiracies, anti-democratic authoritarianism and the Big Lie.

Letting go is hard, but it’s time say goodbye. Even if it means that some of us will find ourselves in the political wilderness.

To which I respond: it’s really not that bad being in the political wilderness. I mean, realistically, what are the options? And it doesn’t appear that Trump is going to be riding off into the sunset anytime soon. To the contrary:

Former President Trump is expected to resume his signature rallies in June, an adviser confirmed, the latest sign of him becoming increasingly visible and ramping up political activity since leaving office in January.

The Daily Mail first reported on tentative plans for the rallies, which are expected to include two appearances in June and one at the beginning of July. The events are likely to be similar to the airport rallies that Trump held last year as he campaigned for reelection during the coronavirus pandemic. The events have not been formally announced.

Perhaps checking which way the political winds are blowing. 2024, anyone?

And yesterday, the former president, who can’t let go of the past and keeps on talking about it, wrote:

Breaking News! New polling by CBS News on the state of the Republican Party (which is very strong!). “President Trump has a strong hold on the GOP.” 80% of Republicans agree with the removal of Liz Cheney from GOP Leadership and only 20% disagree. The poll also showed that 67% of Republicans said that they do not consider Sleepy Joe Biden to be the legitimate winner of the 2020 Presidential Election. I agree with them 100%, just look at the facts and the data—there is no way he won the 2020 Presidential Election!

As Rep. Adam Kinzinger said: I would love to move on [from Donald Trump] but…:

Appearing on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Kinzinger was asked by host Chuck Todd to explain his reasoning that the GOP could not embrace Trump and his election claims.

“Well it’s two things. Number one, Trump set the table. He’s the one that continually brings up a stolen election narrative. He’s the one that has convinced, members of Congress, including what we saw a few days ago, to have a hearing on January 6th and claimed that this was nothing but a tourist group, or that it was hugs and kisses,” Kinzinger said.

“You cannot on the one hand say that Donald Trump is a leader or the leader of the Republican Party — which I believe he is the leader of the Republican Party right now because Kevin McCarthy gave him his leadership card. You can’t say he’s the leader and then say we have to move on. I would love to move on, Chuck,” Kinzinger added.

Pre-emptive strike: I know that some commenters think that by posting about Trump, it’s me that can’t stop looking back. After all, he is no longer the president, so why focus on him at all? I do because I believe that he remains an influential and powerful threat to our Republic. In his transition to the head of the Republican Party, he has destroyed a political party to which I once belonged. I have watched its transformation into a twisted version of its former self. Too many elected Republicans are now willing to parrot the new party line lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and that he had no involvement in the events of Jan. 6 at the U.S. Capitol. This has become today’s Republican Party’s litmus test. What happens to the GOP matters. To one degree or another, everyone will be impacted by the Republican Party’s transformation into the Trump Party. This especially if he enters the next presidential race.

–Dana

79 Responses to “Is There Still A Battle For The Soul Of The Republican Party Happening Or Is The Fight Over?”

  1. Hello.

    Dana (fd537d)

  2. Good post. Dana wrote

    I know that some commenters think that by posting about Trump, it’s me that can’t stop looking back. After all, he is no longer the president, so why focus on him at all?

    I want limited government, rule of law, free trade and fiscal discipline. The GOP used to be for those things. Now that it’s the Trump party they’re only for Trump and owning the libs. As long as the Trump is the leader of the GOP I’m left with a party that has bad policies (the DEMs) and a party that is lead by crackpots, conspiracists, bigots and grifters.

    Sykes left out the grifters.

    Time123 (ea2b98)

  3. I want limited government, rule of law, free trade and fiscal discipline. The GOP used to be for those things.

    That’s just the point; it was sucker bait; it never was because the very people you’d elect kept betraying you over and over. It’s almost funny. And those 74-plus million finally had had enough.

    If you missed it, WATCH THIS: it is all there; ‘Radical Rebellion’:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scxh9rt3aZA

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  4. Peggy Noonan‘s take last week:

    What is to become of the Republican Party? It will either break up or hold together. If the latter, it will require time to work through divisions; there will be state fights and losses as the party stumbles through cycle to cycle. But in time one side or general tendency will win and define the party. Splits get resolved when somebody wins big and nationally. Eisenhower’s landslides in 1952 and ’56 announced to the party that it was moderate. Reagan’s in 1980 and ’84 revealed it was conservative. The different factions get the message and follow the winner like metal filings to a magnet.

    The future, according to this space, is and should be economically populist and socially conservative.

    The future GOP, and the current one for that matter, is a party of conservatism with important Trumpian inflections. The great outstanding question: Will those inflections be those of attitude—wildness, garish personalities and conspiracy-mindedness? If so, the party will often lose. Or will the inflections be those of actual policy, in which case they will often win?

    But if they are serious they have to wake up. They can’t win elections without classic GOP voters. They can win with Trumpism, but they’ll lose with Trump. As they just did.

    He is a waning figure. It is the way of things that a former leader becomes former, even him. He pays the finaglers around him to tell reporters how powerful he is, and reporters are only too eager to headline it, but how true is it, and for how long? He is distracted by investigations, lawyers, age and golf. His new social-media empire is a blog. What power he has is wielded brutishly but not cleverly or thoughtfully.

    This week more than 100 former Republican officeholders and activists signed a letter suggesting they might form a third party. Their grievances are real but it won’t work. At the end of the day our two big incompetent behemoths function as a unifying force in a nation with too few. You’re a Democrat or a Republican, take your choice and find your place in the coalition. Give people three parties and they’ll take seven, and America will fracture.

    Grit your way through this hard time. Stay and fight.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  5. @4. Pfft. It’s 2021. Ex-CBS street reporter Peggy Noonan, a WCBS News street reporter in 1980 and a mere script scribe in the Reagan era, which spawned Trump… is irrelevant.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  6. In his transition to the head of the Republican Party, he has destroyed a political party to which I once belonged.

    He’s just a vessel. He didn’t destroy it; the GOP destroyed itself– and it only took 57 years to do it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  7. America has had multiple parties before:

    In 1820, there was only one party. In 1824 there were 4 factions of that party getting electoral votes (Andrew Jackson was a key point of division). Over the next 40 years, there were multiple parties (Democrats, Democrat factions, Whigs, Whig factions, Liberty, National Republicans, Free Soil, Anti-Masonic, and finally Republicans) gaining electoral votes. In the end we had the two-party system we have now. There is no reason to think that the Tree of Liberty doesn’t need a little blood now and then, and the current GOP seems ripe.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  8. @5: So much oft-repeated nonsense in so few words.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  9. That’s just the point; it was sucker bait; it never was because the very people you’d elect kept betraying you over and over

    But “Trump to the Rescue!” — a new feature by DCSCA.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  10. Charge Trump with fomenting insurrection, sedition and treason. Try him in D.C. Convict him on any count and he is disqualified for public office. Let the GOP embrace that, if they want.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  11. Dana, you really should watch this. 45 minutes and encapsulates why the GOP is in purgatory.

    It did it to itself:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scxh9rt3aZA

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  12. @8. Shorter: Peggy Noonan; irrelevant.

    @9. It’s not about Trump, Kevin. It’s about the 74-plus million.
    Watch the CNN doc. It’s spot on.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  13. No, it’s about Trump. Any competent politician who knew enough not to sh1t where he eats would have won the last two elections by wide margins on the same general platform. Trump lost because Trump is a flaming ah0le, and for no other reason.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  14. @13. No, it’s not. Watch the doc.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  15. Grit your way through this hard time. Stay and fight.

    Like ‘staunch’ Republican icon Jackie Robinson did in ’64.

    Until he left.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  16. trump’s social media site should make it easier for his critics to hunt down his quotes

    they seem to be expending a lot of effort on it

    JF (e1156d)

  17. He is a waning figure. It is the way of things that a former leader becomes former, even him. He pays the finaglers around him to tell reporters how powerful he is, and reporters are only too eager to headline it, but how true is it, and for how long?

    It was true enough this week that after Cheney was out her replacement made sure to recognize it.

    Time123 (ea2b98)

  18. The party trump destroyed was a hollow shell filled with 74,000,000 populists run by wealthy free trade corporatists money buying elections for their stooges. Paying for their think tanks and magazines. To Quote AOC they have the money we have the people. Uncle milty’s free trade economic libertarian darwinism worked for the rich ;but not the 74,000,000 trump voters. Ads henry david thoreau said of the new trains being built at the time I observe that a few ride ;but most are run over. 74,000,000 trump voters are tired of being run over. Darwinian creative destruction works for the wealthy but vast majority suffers. Don’t let the door hit you on the way out of the republican party. Start your own party for the wealthy and their simps.

    asset (5dbccc)

  19. @18. He didn’t destroy it- it destroyed itself– he was invitable; and so will be another ‘Trump’– the 74 milling will keep growing– or die off. It took decades to ferment; watch that CNN doc.

    It’s spot on.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  20. 74,000,000 trump voters are tired of being run over.

    Too bad they were run over by 82.3 million voters.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  21. Correction:

    74,000,000 trump voters are tired of being run over.

    Too bad they were run over by 84.2 million voters.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  22. trump’s social media site should make it easier for his critics to hunt down his quotes

    they seem to be expending a lot of effort on it

    JF (e1156d) — 5/17/2021 @ 1:04 pm

    So, if Trump’s critics were to ignore him, his malignant hold on the Republican Party would end?

    norcal (01e272)

  23. party voters typically decide that in fair elections, not me

    JF (e1156d)

  24. The crackpots, conspiracists and bigots have won, and there is no point pretending that this is a party that can be salvaged anytime soon… The vote to oust Cheney was as clear as it gets: We are no longer welcome in the GOP.

    And thanks to the Birchers and Barry Goldwater, neither was Jackie Robinson.

    Welcome to 1964, kids.

    Glorious.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  25. So much for the “insurrection”. Video Shows U.S. Capitol Police Gave Protesters OK to Enter

    Horatio (8582db)

  26. House Republicans Defy the January 6 Narrative

    [Gosar] also called for the release of surveillance tapes recorded by the Capitol security system on January 6; the Justice Department and federal judges are concealing that footage from the public and even from defense attorneys. “The American public should see that footage,” Gosar said. “If my Democratic colleagues really want the truth, they would join me in demanding the release of this Capitol surveillance footage.”

    Democrats, obviously, do not want the truth. Why bother with the truth when falsehoods and orchestrated optics…yield the political results they desire, no questions asked?

    Horatio (8582db)

  27. We can’t move on as long as Trump and Trumpism dominate the GOP, and we only lose the fight when the Charlie Sykes of the world throw in the towel.
    For me, I’ll continue to confront Trump and his backward brand of politics until a viable 3rd party option presents itself. The Remnant Wing of the GOP is a fine place to be for the time being.

    Paul Montagu (26e0d1)

  28. Dana, I kind of stay out of the comments these days. Too much capering around flailing goalposts by some commenters. But you wrote this about DJT and the Republican Party that really moved me:

    “I do because I believe that he remains an influential and powerful threat to our Republic. In his transition to the head of the Republican Party, he has destroyed a political party to which I once belonged. I have watched its transformation into a twisted version of its former self.”

    I agree. But I think that the same thing has happened to the Democratic Party, with many figureheads instead of one. All has become slogans, weird fixations, putting others into boxes, and lack of finding common ground.

    So my hope is that some kind of centrist party rises to scare the heck out of the other two. It’s a thin hope at best, but hope nonetheless.

    “Hopelessness is a great sin. It’s often the result of ignorance of the greatness of the Almighty. One should never give in to despair. Even in the worst case scenario, there’s a glimmer of hope in the heart. Remember His infinite Mercy; He will never turn anyone away.”

    That’s from the controversial Mufti Menk, but there are many, many religious folk of all beliefs who would agree. Including me.

    Simon Jester (b40163)

  29. For me, I’ll continue to confront Trump and his backward brand of politics until a viable 3rd party option presents itself.

    Me, I choose to confront the Democrats and their statist brand of politics, and will ally with any group walking the same direction. I will not cut off my nose to spite my face. Been there, did that, didn’t help.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  30. After allying for decades with religious nutbars, I find the Trumpies no great obstacle.

    And, really, it’s mostly the same GOP anyway. Biden is more like Trump on economic matters than the GOP is like Trump.

    Kevin M (ab1c11)

  31. Kudos for Kinzinger for his efforts to get the GOP to cut Trump loose. With the exception of Liz Cheney, Peter Meijer, Jaime Hererra-Beutler, and maybe a few others, he’s pretty much a one man show against the Trump cult. I hope he succeeds, but the decks are stacked against him. Maybe it will take a dismal 2022 midterm and 2024 presidential election for the GOP to move on from Trump.

    HCI (92ea66)

  32. he has destroyed a political party to which I once belonged

    No; he and 74-plus million voters have neutered the modern ideological conservative movement.

    It is called the Republican Party, not the Conservative Party.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  33. Being in the political wilderness right now isn’t really that bad because politics is about as dysfunctional, toxic, and uninspiring as it has ever been. Who right now is talking big ideas….or even small coherent ones? The GOP has been pretty lost. Repeal and replace was the last big rallying cry and it fizzled into incoherence with a large part of the party not grasping the limits of reconciliation or the folly of the nuclear option. Trump was the Manchurian candidate that many of us believed….and he has helped get us to this awful position.

    DCSCA believes that ideas are irrelevant (especially conservative ones)…..that personality worship is all that people want/need. I think he is dead wrong. In the end, people want to be inspired….and not just entertained. They may not always appreciate it, but they do want good, smart people leading the way. It may require some future awfulness to get us back there, but the current moment is akin to a drunken bender. The ideas of Trumpism are small…unsustainable…it’s impossible to stay ignorant and angry perpetually….at some point people want more. Trumpism is already a corpse….the GOP leadership just don’t know it yet….

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  34. Me, I choose to confront the Democrats and their statist brand of politics, and will ally with any group walking the same direction.

    That, too, Kevin. There’s so much to oppose in both parties, and so little to support.

    Paul Montagu (26e0d1)

  35. Both political parties are having trouble because they are only barely making sense to any normal people any more. The Rs are currently making less sense (in part because their leader makes zero sense at all) but both of them are so busy focusing on niche issues that the other 80% of people are entirely alienated. Half the time they are focused on the same niche issues, just on opposite ends. (How many adult trans-people do you know? Because as far as I know, I don’t know any, and I live in California. Why do we spend so much time talking about trans stuff that doesn’t functionally affect the lives of like 95% of the population? I mostly don’t care one way or the other about your gun collection. Jeff Bezos shouldn’t have his taxes cut and I won’t cry if they are raised. Unnecessary niche issue focus.). Whoever wants to win needs to pick up some main stream issues that people actually care about. Biden is trying jobs, which is a good choice because people care about those, but he’s tying it to green energy, which isn’t a particularly high focus issue for probably 60% of the population so that probably just drags that issue backward.

    Yo. Politicians. Pick stuff that is applicable to real people’s lives, not just stuff that’s fun to scream about.

    Nic (896fdf)

  36. @33. I’m certain you’re wrong, AJ; and history is on my side. Accordingly, you really need to watch this:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scxh9rt3aZA

    It’s spot on.

    If only to try to learn from 57 years of mistakes. It’s the first step toward your party’s salvation; or extinction. All you gotta do is choose.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  37. Trumpism is already a corpse….the GOP leadership just don’t know it yet….

    Execpt it’s not.

    And they know it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  38. The fight starts during midterms. The fight’s inflection point will be the Republican nomination for president.

    Hoi Polloi (b28058)

  39. “Why do we spend so much time talking about trans stuff that doesn’t functionally affect the lives of like 95% of the population?”

    Truth

    “I’m certain you’re wrong, AJ; and history is on my side.”

    Untruth

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  40. I watched your link to CNN, DCSCA. Honestly, no offense, I thought your politics were a little bit looney toons before, but now I think I understand. You’re right, it’s 1964 all over again. I didn’t really agree with much of the CNN report, I think it’s kind of skewed, actually, and I don’t believe they got Ronald Reagan right, nor do you. Reagan’s great accomplishment, besides toppling the Soviet Union, which actually occurred under G. H. W. Bush, was that he uplifted the American spirit. He made us feel like there was a new morning in America. I think his shooting galvanized the country. I was there at Auditorium Shores in Austin for his speech to announce his candidacy for reelection. He was magnificent! I also got to meet William F. Buckley that week when he filmed an episode of Firing Line on campus. Got his autograph for my father, who so loved Buckley, and everything. I wrote poems for the Texas Review, the campus newspaper, which my mother mailed to Buckley, and he or his sister actually responded with a kind note. I do not believe he was a racist. He might have been in his early years, but he soon came over that prejudice. He was a libertarian/conservative. I know it, I met him. I shook his hand and said, “Ronald Reagan is not dead in Texas.” He laughed and said, “He’s not?” I said, “No, sir, he’s not.” Shaking his hand firmly.

    What happened to that Republican party? I don’t know. It is no longer the party that I, my parents and grandparents grew up with. It has become some sort of macabre version of itself, and I don’t like it. It’s all because of Trump. God! how I despise that man, if he can even be called that, a man; he is an anti-Christ for all the world to see. He is the most despicable man imaginable. I never thought I would hate anyone as much as I hate Jerry Jones, but then along came Donald Trump. I despise him. I loathe him with a loathing that cannot be expressed in words. That siege on the Capitol, on Jan. 6, was treasonous and traitorous. He should be hung in public! Or at least exiled.

    I am distraught and discombulated. What happened to the Republican party? I don’t know. Maybe the CNN report is correct, and it’s always been this way. But I don’t believe it. I have to maintain my faith in the American people and the Republican party. I have to. It’s just that it’s all become so grotesque and unrecognizable, and it’s all because of Trump. God, how I hate that pitiful excuse for a man.

    Gawain's Ghost (b25cd1)

  41. GG, I think that the movie “Ghostbusters” explains all that.

    https://youtu.be/3Ctgn7kKYHo

    Simon Jester (b40163)

  42. @40. I didn’t really agree with much of the CNN report… What happened to that Republican party? I don’t know.

    You don’t know??? Then you watched but didn’t see; ‘what happened’ is as clear as desert air. “Denial” is a river through the desert in Egypt, too.

    Buy that compass.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  43. @39. ‘Untruth’

    Except it is very true.

    But do keep denying it.

    Glorious.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  44. History rhymes, GG.

    The did a great job and perfectly pegged all the personalities involved.

    It’s going to take years to fix the GOP.

    Hopefully, another 57. 😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  45. GG, great comment. Hook ’em.

    Dustin (4237e0)

  46. A GG sighting!

    That is very funny about Jerry Jones.

    I wish I could have met Buckley. He’s one of my heroes. I remember when he was on a panel debating drug legalization. (Buckley was a supporter of legalization, as am I.) Jesse Jackson was one of the participants. IIRC, Jackson said that legalizing drugs would give them a moral stamp of approval. Buckley then pointed out the difference between legal and moral. He said that voting for Jackson would be legal, but not necessarily moral. Jackson looked like a deer in the headlights.

    norcal (1aafb8)

  47. norcal, California is doing better than almost all of the other states with regard to hot spots and new cases. This even as our population is far greater than other states.

    Additionally, the state has a 38% rate of fully vaccinated residents, which puts them around 18th out of the states.

    Dana (fd537d)

  48. Dana,

    I’m glad that California is doing well. I look forward to resuming my frequent visits to the Bay Area once things get back to normal.

    By the way, the pandemic has shown that the toll takers at the bridges are unnecessary. They’ve been using cameras to take photos of license plates and then sending the bills to the drivers, even people with Nevada plates who live in Reno! Florida did the same thing, using the temporary tags on my new car. (I took a couple of toll roads in Florida. I was surprised they connected the dots and sent me a bill.)

    norcal (1aafb8)

  49. @45. GOP 101, Dustin: don’t like the message, attack the messenger. CNN nailed it.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  50. DCSCA,

    Here is the most recent iteration of your “Buckley and the Birchers” story, only in this telling, Liz Cheney is Buckley. Ahahahahahahahaha!

    https://www.nationalreview.com/2021/05/what-buckleys-fight-with-the-birchers-tells-us-about-movement-purges/

    norcal (1aafb8)

  51. And Trump represents the Birchers!

    norcal (1aafb8)

  52. @50/@51. You’re a bit behind the curve on this. NorCal- or you haven’t seen the CNN doc.

    It nails it.

    And it is…

    glorious.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  53. Actually, NorCal… she’s more a Jackie Robinson.

    Thrown. Out. At. Home.

    Keep trying- and watch that doc.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  54. @40. I do not believe he [Buckley] was a racist.

    His own words literally say otherwise– in black and white no less [no pun intended]… until he ‘changed his mind’ as a matter of convenience. He was a means to an end fella; used the Birchers to do the dirty work on Rocky for Goldwater… then turned on them when their crazed usefulness overheated, no longer needed and kept his skirts clean.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  55. @20 biden’s 84 million votes didn’t mean squat. Biden is president by 44,000 votes in az, ga. and wi. Thanks to republicans passing ballot access laws to keep the libertarian party off the ballot and failed. The anti libertarian party laws were used by democrats to kick the green party off the ballot in those states allowing biden to win. Example 2016: trump wins wi. by 22,000 votes with jill stein getting 32,000 votes. 2020: green party kicked off ballot biden wins wi. by 20,000 votes.

    asset (245fb2)

  56. biden’s 84 million votes didn’t mean squat

    In that case, Trump’s 74 million votes mean less than squat.

    norcal (1aafb8)

  57. Sorry, but that documentary has the distinct feel of a Dinesh D’Souza ideological hit job….just being launched from the Left. People on the Left have been doing this dance for decades….attacking Reagan…..writing conservatism’s obituary…..convinced that their native instincts about conservatism being rotten to the core were always right. Yawn. Opponents of conservatism see what they want to see….just as D’Souza sees what he wants to see on the Left. It’s usually a distorted caricature designed for a specific emotional appeal. It’s like asking a Marxist to give an objective critique of capitalism. You get what you get….and you take it with a grain of salt. That’s why the hard lifting of unpacking Trumpism is a uniquely Republican thing…..where DCSCA and asset simply have no credibility…..and little good faith. Would the Catholic Church consult with atheists to address pedophilia issues and moving forward? I kind of doubt it.

    Trumpism certainly didn’t arise from a vacuum…..but it did reveal that modern political parties have lost considerable power. In past eras, Trump would have been weened out decisively early.Simply he was not next in line and was not known…politically. The ludicrous specter of 20-something candidates would never have happened. The temper tantrum of a vocal minority would be smoothed over by the fact that Republicans don’t fall for flavors of the month….they want tried, tested, and true….not a Johnny-come-lately who is more invested in his own brand than in raising up the GOP.

    The media helped create Trump….by giving him a platform and by not challenging his extreme rhetoric…like banning Muslims, monitoring mosques, questioning reporters first amendment rights, and inciting unwise trade wars. Rush and Hannity could have quashed Trump early…but they didn’t. Top evangelical leaders like Falwell and Jeffress could have made the argument against Trump….but chose not to because of the intense cultural war tone advanced by right-wing media. The media we trusted to watch the hen house failed…..the Trump Frankenstein is much more a creation of Fox News Channel….than it is a Reagan creation….

    AJ_Liberty (a4ff25)

  58. CNN could have morphed into what Fox News is today, had they not become such New South Dem fanboys following the first Gulf War. You could make a good case for a “He is You” – Dobbs, Buchanan, Beck, Caffrey and other paleos got their studio time there as well.

    urbanleftbehind (763e5d)

  59. Weird and only .05% on topic, but that means that NYC, like the 6th CD of Texas, has shut out the libs…

    https://news.yahoo.com/andrew-yangs-nyc-mayoral-campaign-112810624.html

    urbanleftbehind (763e5d)

  60. Biden is president by 44,000 votes in az, ga. and wi.

    Funny — not long ago we kept hearing that Trump’s eking out of a narrow EC victory in a handful of states while losing the popular vote by millions was a clear mandate from The American People.

    We also heard crowing about how Trump had flipped some states (narrowly) from blue to red — how he had realigned the electoral landscape. Then when a few of those states flipped back, and a couple of states that had been trending toward blue went blue, Trumpers shrieked that it was literally impossible to be a legitimate result.

    Radegunda (aea52f)

  61. 57. Hit job? Rubbish.

    ‘Denial’ is a river through the Egyptian desert.

    Buy that compass.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  62. McCarthy rejects proposed commission to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol assault

    House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday broke his silence on the bipartisan Jan. 6 commission proposal negotiated by one of his key lieutenants, saying in a new statement that a new commission would be “duplicative” of federal law enforcement efforts and “potentially counterproductive.”
    ……..
    McCarthy’s statement comes after Rep. Liz Cheney suggested in an interview with ABC News that he testify before any commission regarding his conversations with Trump on Jan. 6 and attempts by several conservatives to whitewash the events of that day.
    ………

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  63. …..where DCSCA and asset simply have no credibility…..and little good faith

    ROFLMAOPIP

    Careful AJ. My late mother was a devoted Goldwater girl in 1964 (a flaw we never let her forget) so you know next to nothing about ‘credibility’ nor ‘good faith’ in this matter. On that weekend in 1964 when my grandfather showed up to attend the DNC in Atlantic City [he was with the PA delegation] it caused quite a family stir and remains a memorable moment as he stormed out of the house, suitcase in hand, o drive a rental car down to Saltwater Taffy Town – along with the NBC News kinnies (occasionally aired on CSPAN) which caught him in the crowd listening to RFK.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  64. McCarthy rejects proposed commission to investigate Jan. 6 Capitol assault

    What a surprise — not.

    Radegunda (aea52f)

  65. given the Speaker’s shortsighted scope that does not examine interrelated forms of political violence in America, I cannot support this legislation,” McCarthy said in a statement.

    I wonder how he thinks those other forms of political violence are “interrelated” with the breach of security at the Capitol and the effort to coerce legislators to change an election?

    Radegunda (aea52f)

  66. “I wonder how he thinks those other forms of political violence are “interrelated” with the breach of security at the Capitol and the effort to coerce legislators to change an election?”

    Still pushing the “actually 1/6 was instigated by Antifa and BLM” line?

    Davethulhu (6ba00b)

  67. antifa and blm normalized destruction and lawlessness as protest

    and their apologists normalized looking the other way

    JF (e1156d)

  68. “My late mother was a devoted Goldwater girl in 1964”

    What is its relevance to you be an objective analyst of the GOP?

    AJ_Liberty (ec7f74)

  69. @69. If you gotta ask, you’re a lost cause. Blind faith in the face of the cold facts of reality does that.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  70. In that case, Trump’s 74 million votes mean less than squat.

    Then you have nothing to worry about.

    😉

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  71. I’m going to respect the opinions of Gawain’s Ghost and AJ_Liberty on that CNN piece, just like I heed movie reviews from my favorite critics. That way, I don’t waste my time.

    norcal (1aafb8)

  72. @72. Blind faith.

    Buy that compass.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  73. I don’t need a compass. I just look at Trump. He’s the north end of a southbound horse.

    norcal (1aafb8)

  74. RIP Charles Grodin (86). The Heartbreak Kid.

    Rip Murdock (d2a2a8)

  75. @74. Dead reckoning.

    Watch the doc… and buy that compass.

    DCSCA (f4c5e5)

  76. 10. Kevin M (ab1c11) — 5/17/2021 @ 12:44 pm

    Charge Trump with fomenting insurrection, sedition and treason. Try him in D.C. Convict him on any count and he is disqualified for public office.

    No, he’s not. That requires impeachment, although a legislature may expel. Some states have rules.

    Sammy Finkelman (51cd0c)

  77. Orange man bad!

    No mean tweets!

    No kids in cages!

    Proper respect for the press!

    Policies don’t matter. Just make the bad man go away!

    Never Forget! (cb246e)

  78. As if only the only Republican with good policies is the orange man

    norcal (081862)


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