(Originally published March 4, 2021)
The Republican Party is making a concerted effort to redefine itself as the party of the American Patriot, the party of the blue-collar American, the party of traditional American values. This is quite appealing when contrasted with the Democratic Party, which has real problems with its elitist lack of common sense and its flirtation with an unrealistic utopian leftist fantasy.
But the Republican Party has some issues to address before it can successfully redefine itself.
The recent presidential election was a referendum on one man, President Donald J. Trump. A little more than half of the country was desperate to remove President Trump from office, in great measure due to a fear of his autocratic and despotic tendencies. This fear was so great that half of the country was willing to vote for a man who campaigned on one issue – President Trump’s Covid-19 response – and who successfully avoided answering any substantive questions about himself or his policies.
Who else is afraid of President Trump? The Republican Party. The Republican Party is afraid of President Trump because he can rally his base of supporters and destroy the political careers of all those who oppose him. President Trump is a cult-like figure and has created an environment by his words and actions where an increasing number of people feel free to express their bigotry and intolerance in an aggressive and threatening manner. Included in the scope of their threats are members of their own Republican Party who have dared to voice an alternative point of view.
Much is made of the fact that the Republican Party is the party of Lincoln. It was the Republican Party that freed the slaves, so the story goes, and it was the Democratic party who started the Civil War and established the Ku-Klux-Clan. This may be an over-simplification of history, but even so seems contextually correct.
How then did the Republican Party become the party of Old Testament vengeance wrapped in the American flag?
Consider who the Republican Party has welcomed into its fold:
- White supremacists;
- QAnon conspiracy theorists;
- Para-military militias.
These groups are based upon intolerance, intimidation, and violence. Just how are these the values of the party of Lincoln?
Consider some of the positions the Republican Party has recently taken:
- Support for legal discrimination of homosexual and transgender people in employment, housing, education, finance, etc.;
- Support for restrictive voter registration and voter access laws that will prevent many people from exercising their constitutional right to vote;
- Support for starvation-level minimum wages that must be supplemented by government-issued food stamps, housing subsidies, and Medicaid;
- Support for legal discrimination of potentially anyone if based upon the discriminator’s religious beliefs.
These positions are based upon intolerance, distrust, and exclusion. Again, just how are these the values of the party of Lincoln?
The Republican Party needs to straighten itself out.
This effort starts with recognizing that idolizing President Trump brings a significant downside, both in terms of achieving the majority of votes necessary to win the presidency as well as in benefiting from a broader discussion of the issues. President Trump sucks the air out of the room and does not let anyone else breath. It is the Trump way or the highway, literally the Republican version of cancel culture.
This straightening-out effort continues with focusing on the core Republican values of fiscal responsibility, a balanced defense of all our constitutional rights, an equitable distribution of this country’s wealth among all of its citizens, and a strong defense of this country from enemies foreign and domestic.
Finally, this effort ends with claiming the moral and ethical high ground at home and abroad. No more personal insults, no more alternative facts, no more isolationist policies. There must be a recognition that a great country leads the world by example and engagement, not by bluster or appeasement or personal charm.
The world is undergoing an existential change in its climate, profound regional changes in economic strengths and political alliances, and increasing geopolitical instability. America has spent the past several decades fighting within itself instead of noticing how the world has been changing around us and affecting positive change.
It is not only the world that has been changing. This country has been changing as well, and not in a good way. Economic inequality, hyper-partisanship, and the domination of our politics by special interests/corporate dark money has pushed aside the best interests of the American people in favor of making the rich richer. It is no wonder that so many people are scared and angry.
Make America Great Again is the right idea, something that we should all be able to get behind. The party of Lincoln certainly could have led the way forward. The question now is whether the current Republican Party is up to it.