The (Slow) Death of the Republican Party
The Republican Party of 2016 is not the party of Reagan. This is not the party of Lincoln. Hell, let’s be honest. This is not even the party of Bush, neither 41 nor 43. What we are witnessing in real-time is the slow and painful implosion of the Grand Old Party. This is political branding at its very worst. The GOP is on life-support.
The rise of Donald Trump to the role of nominee of the party was meteoric and unbelievable. It was like watching a catastrophic, multi-car wreck in slow motion. It was awful and horrific and yet, we could not avert our eyes. In fairness, the pool of candidates in the primary was like the island of misfit toys. There were no dynamic standouts, certainly no one with enough charisma or personality to counteract the Trump Effect. No one particularly wanted to play with any of the toys in the box, so Trump emerged victorious.
Sadly, the general election cycle has gotten even more dreadful. The candidate himself has a tenuous relationship, at best, with the truth. He has an even shakier grasp on reality, in terms of real life, not the persona he portrays on television. There is no substance to him. He lacks even a most basic, rudimentary knowledge of either domestic or foreign policy. Almost every single day, he goes out and says something even more untruthful, appalling or disgusting than the day before and his audience soaks it all in. They feed on it. It is a malignant cancer continuing to spread unchecked.
Trump’s candidacy, which seemed untenable from the outset, an improbability, grows more indefensible by the day. During the primary season, both the media and his political rivals seemingly gave him a pass. They treated him with kid gloves, rather than someone who could actually win. No one believed in the legitimate viability of him actually coming out of the primary as the GOP nominee, but you reap what you sow, and the restlessness and smoldering discontent of the electorate made his candidacy possible. His message of hate and divisiveness has been received loud and clear.
The core of Trump’s base is not an encouraging reflection of the party. There are always going to be fringe members of the party, rogue agitators and fanatical outliers, who are not representative of the group as a whole, but who embrace the most radical ideology of the party. The hatred and simmering racism that came to the surface in this election cycle has long been there, but had been held at bay by the more moderate and forward-thinking leaders, who recognize the need for a bipartisan coalition for two-party model of government to succeed.
He is a snake oil salesman, a charlatan, whose propensity for incendiary rhetoric is unprecedented in presidential politics. We may never see the likes of a candidate of this sort ever again. Ironically, Trump has, to use his own mantra, illuminated everything that is not great about America. That is hatred, bigotry, sexism, misogyny, xenophobia and violence.
The year was 1964. It was the last time a Democrat won the state of Utah. The Trump candidacy is poised to break that streak. This may very well be this biggest landslide in the history of presidential politics. And the blame for that lies, not only with the candidate, but with the party establishment and the electorate, as well. There’s enough blame to go around.
As his numbers continue to slide and the likelihood of a Trump presidency fades in into oblivion, his rise should be a teachable moment for the Republican Party. It is gut-check time, time for the party as a whole, time to take a hard, introspective look and decide who they want to be. Come November 9th, the Republican Party is going to be battered and bruised. Do they really want to continue on the hate- and fear-driven destructive and divisive path or do they want to be a positive agent of change.
