The Republican Party is destroying itself to soothe Trump’s shattered ego
There’s been a lot of sabre rattling among Republicans with talk about Donald Trump going off to start his own Patriot Party of sorts, since Republicans like Mitch McConnell didn’t sufficiently protect him from two impeachment trials or from losing re-election. This is of course, because McConnell never really cared for him all that much – but simply knew that the best shot Republicans had at getting everything they ever wanted was to hitch themselves to Trump’s popularity with low turnout voters. The biggest problem with that strategy was what to do post-Trump.
Fortunately for Trump but not so fortunate for anyone who wants to be the GOP’s next rising star, the Republican Party hardly seems ready to move on from him. The 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach are facing censure from the parties in their respective home states, such as Rep. Tom Rice of South Carolina. In short, Trump may not have any need to start his own party if it’s the top state Republican strategists who are passing around QAnon conspiracy nonsense as fact.
It’s not only solid red states like South Carolina or Wyoming that are idolizing the former president either, with a candidate for state party chair in Michigan, a crucial battleground state, touting his own credentials with the Trump campaign. This is not only a pivotal state in the presidential elections, but an important one for the midterms next year with Governor Gretchen Whitmer being up for re-election. While the GOP will make whatever efforts they can to regroup for the next batch of elections, the good news is what they’re giving us right now to work with. If we can make the 2022 midterms into yet another referendum on Donald Trump, pointing to the divisions in the party now, we have a good chance of minimizing any potential losses, just by pressing the question: When will Republicans stand up for democracy?
James Sullivan is the assistant editor of Brain World Magazine and an advocate of science-based policy making