The real reason the GOP can’t quit Trump
For five years, the majority of Americans have sat back and wondered, “Why does the GOP stand behind Trump so fastidiously?” Does Trump have secret knowledge about the leadership? Is the GOP afraid of Trump voters? The answer is no. The answer is simple, pride.
GOP leadership, in early 1995, fully embraced the Christian Coalition Plan. This plan would lay out a 10 point agenda and began the path to the “Moral Majority.” This new power in D.C. would get their most significant bolster from Bill Clinton in the form of his impeachment.
Bill Clinton’s extramarital affair, and lying about it, would fuel the GOP for decades. The GOP would trot out Bill Clinton as the specter of where ignoring morality would lead. Meanwhile, they would claim amnesia when Newt Gingrich, David Vitter, Larry Craig, and Mark Sanford would lie about their affairs over the years.
The GOP advanced its “Moral Majority” branding, claiming to be the party of family values, despite the issues they were having with membership. Their ultimate foil came in the guise of another Clinton, Hillary. The GOP would spend the better part of two decades using the Clinton’s as the cautionary tale of the behavior the “Moral Majority” was fighting against. “Lock her up” was the anthem at Trump rallies.
After 25 years of claiming to be the party of “family values,” they embraced a man who lied about having an affair a week before an election, proven to have used charitable funds to enrich himself, had to settle for a fraudulent school, and more. Trump has broken every rule they’ve held Democrats to in the last 25 years. To criticize Trump is to admit, they were lying. If the GOP, en masse, were to condemn Trump, it would mean that Hillary Clinton would have been a better choice. Admitting a Clinton was better than their leader is not an option. What they have proven is it was never about morals or honesty, just about power.
Tyler Davis is the author of the novel “New America: Awakenings”
You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, Medium, and TylerDavisBooks.com