Corrected
That's what the GOPe doesn't get. They think this is because of Donald's popularity and his showmanship. It isn't. The people are tired of the same old crap DC has been serving up for the last 30 years, both (D) and (R). Every election cycle we are promised for and vote for 'change' and never get it. Trump is not our first choice, and maybe not even our 2nd, but he's not a DC 'Go along to get along, good old boys in the backroom type.' He's never been a politician, and that is what many people are voting for, a non-politico type, on both sides of the spectrum, and it has DC crowd scared out of their minds..........
Even when they win, we still lose! Oh it was a grand old party, for those on the inside who butt kissed their way into the exclusive chambers of influence.
But as with most big bureaucracies it's primary purpose was to serve itself, while pretending to serve it's larger nontenured base.
If only we could get as many words written about bringing voters together instead of stressing out about the RNC, and establishment, and party, and delegates. It’s probably too late since there have been so many attacks against the 2 remaining candidates that they’ve poisoned large segments of voters against each.
But, if they spend the next few months talking up both candidates, and saying how either one is far better than Hillary, and getting voters to at least accept the party rather than hating the party and wanting a non-party candidate, there may still be time.
Of course the elites will have to go along and accept very soon that there are only 3 possibilities for the next president: Trump, Cruz, and Hillary. Everything they do will help one of those 3. To this point, their choice is obvious - and so is who to blame for the destruction of the republican party.
I disagree with Jonah Goldberg and most of the comments here. Nominating Trump will not blow up the Republican party.
Not nominating Trump will not blow up the Republican Party.
The Republican Party was blown up many years ago. The problem is, it just hasn’t collapsed yet. Right now it is getting pretty shaky though.
Nominating a Nelson Rockefeller just might be the last strew holding it up
All this talk about the demise of the Republican party overlooks the reason politicians are in Washington, to get rich. Elected Republicans lean liberal because it is the easy thing to do. They get friendly reference in the media, they don’t have to face angry recipients of government assistance, and they know, at least from past elections, that the base will hold its nose and vote for a rino simply because the Democrat will be much worse. When faced with being kicked out of office and forced to earn a living, enough of these guys will suddenly become conservative enough to lay the base for the party. They are still holding out hope, but eventually they will have to start fulfilling their campaign promises.
We all talked about wanting a change, and when the time is upon us, several are backing down. Really, All along they just want to stay with the status quo.
Gee Jonah, You say that like it's a bad thing.
I don’t see a problem with the fact that something has to be done with “the Republican Party as we know it.” Right now it is just democrat lite.
Jonah Goldberg like George Will and Bill Kristol is just incapable of accepting any candidate outside the usual establishment version of mediocrity.
Trump, Cruz and Kasich have skin in the game. How can the nominee realistically be anyone else? “Rules is rules” my patoot.
As usual, like most Republicans, he thinks there are only two possible sides.
Which isn't true, of course.
“I was wrong.”
Remember who Jonah writes for. National Review and Townhall.com - two of the most establishment GOP outlets there are.
The GOP “as we know it” has become DemocRAT lite anyway. No loss.
The problem arises when we may be forced to a third party strategy, which will all but guarantee a win for the enemies of freedom. Instead, we must recapture the party.
The Republican Party as we know it is not in the least bit representative of its voters/supporters/constituents - except the donor class.
At least on the federal level - some state and local parties are, thankfully, actually doing what they are in business to do.
So...SCREW the GOP as we know it. It has LIED to us - REPEATEDLY. Anyone with an employee like that would fire him or her in a heartbeat.
I say that the GOP should nominate Trump. It will show the VERY stark difference between where Republicans stand - on the side of unashamed patriotism, protecting national interests at home and abroad, a strong military, (mostly) traditional values like honesty, hard work, thrift and abiding by the law. Many Americans not presently associated with the GOP will find (and have found, so far) that such positions resonate with them. That’ll broaden the Party’s appeal, perhaps ushering in an era of mostly GOP control of the levers of power - until either we screw it up (again) or until the Dems figure out that pandering to every wilting flower or rioting animal, and adhering to every single philosophy that sounds great in a college classroom but doesn’t actually work in the real world, just isn’t working for them - and they return to the Democratic Party of Truman, Humphrey, Scoop Jackson and Sam Nunn.
We are losing our civilization. The freaks that rioted in the streets 40 years ago are now in charge on the other side, and our side SAYS that we oppose them but, in reality, does nothing to stop them and actually conspires to pull the wool over the public’s eye with the freaks. If we are EVER going to save America, the America that the Founders constructed for us, and which our parents and grandparents struggled to keep, make better and gave to us - NOW is the time. We are on the cusp of not being able to save it - the ship of state is headed, full steam, for a gigantic iceberg that is in plain view, and all that the political class can do is argue over who gets a front row seat and how much it costs.
ENOUGH!!!! Time to ditch P.C., time to CUT - actually cut, not Washington, D.C. cut - spending to the bone and at least come close to balancing our budget, time to re-build our military to WIN wars in our national interest - and ONLY those in our national interest, time to repay our vets with respect and decent medical care that is needed because of what they did for us, time to stop being the world’s refugee center and return immigration to what it once was - a boon for our economy, because we only took in people who wanted to abide by our laws and contribute to our society. Time to stop being the fool of the world and start having a coherent foreign policy that works for US - not the rest of the world, and ESPECIALLY not for one world government of any kind. Time to benefit OUR people, time to use OUR resources (abundantly provided by G-d, which our technology now allows us to profitably use). Time to stop treating the citizens of this country like bothersome subjects, and start treating them as the boss of government. Time, in short, to reverse course on most of what has happened in the last 50-60 years in government.
Trump is, IMHO, the only person who has any realistic chance of getting that process started. 8 years isn’t enough to finish, but it can give us a good start, and the breathing room to make a few mistakes here and there, which is inevitable - right now, we have no margin for error. Time to restore America and, YES, TIME TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. I really don’t care who does it or who gets credit for it - I just want my country back, the can-do, strong and moral country of my youth. Time to put the hippies and the freaks into the zoo, where they belong, and stop having them control our destiny.
Well, probably not. I'll give him that.
But what Goldberg is overlooking is that the issue that gave Trump's candidacy such a push is immigration, and if Trump wins the election and addresses that, a huge fault line disappears. I don't think "Trumpism" is a permanent state.
I’m willing to let my elected delegates from Texas make a deal on the convention floor. Start over? Forget Trump. Forget Cruz.
Who else we got?
This was a very interesting article, thank you for posting.
Goldberg is an often funny writer, though I can’t always agree with him. This article make the massive point that reunification of the Republican party is at huge risk right now.
The way the Republican party wins national elections (when they do), is by having a unified mix of different ideologies that share enough common ground to unite for a common goal.
There are lots of groups in the GOP and any one segment cannot win nationally. The Trump surge seems to be combining the populist section of the Republican party along with the independent types who liked the Perot / Reform Party from the 1990s. Combine that with Republican voters who are setting aside other priorities but are very concerned about illegal immigration and border protection. That’s enough for 40%-55% of the primary/caucus vote and that’s why Trump is winning.
But if Trump wins the nomination but cannot bring the other R groups into the fold this will be a national blowout. Right now, Trump himself occasionally shows a desire to unify and then other times he (or more often a few of his most enthusiastic supporters) are trying the Obama-style “get in their faces” tactic. I’m not sure that’s going to work.
I know the operating thesis of some Trump supporters is that Trumpism itself creates a new coalition of the aforementioned groups plus populist Democrats: Peel off pieces of the union vote, add inner city voters who are economically hurt by illegal immigration, and turn the rust belt into Trump states. I still don’t see the math working unless a whole lot of traditional R voters who are currently adamantly opposed to Trump return.
I can hardly stomach the idea of an Abuela Hillary! presidency, so I hope the situation changes.