Posted on 01/22/2021 12:05:47 PM PST by Kaslin
What will help Republicans unite this difficult coalition is packaging an anti-establishment temperament and policy agenda in leaders of strong character.
With Donald Trump out of office, Republicans now face the difficult balancing act of retaining new voters he brought into the party while bringing back voters he alienated. Remarkably, Trump brought former Democrats and union workers and minorities into the GOP. He also oversaw some bleeding in the suburbs. To stop the tide of illiberal cultural leftism, Republicans can’t afford to write off either group.
I don’t know what degree of political involvement Trump will have going forward. I do know, however, that the Trump base is much more loyal to the man himself than to the Republican Party. That’s a lesson the Beltway establishment seems to forget.
Appealing to Trump’s base while also appealing to educated suburban voters might seem like a mutually exclusive exercise. For Trump himself, I think it was. His utter singularity creates advantages and disadvantages, which is illustrated by this exact predicament. The brashness that gave Trump appeal with new demographics is what hurt him with groups like suburban women.
The question, then, is whether it’s possible for Republicans to channel Trump’s brashness in a way that doesn’t also alienate key voting blocs. It won’t be easy, but I think the answer is clearly yes. Not only is that formulation politically advantageous, it’s also the moral path forward. Without the baggage of Stormy Daniels or bizarre tweets about Mika Brzezinski, Republicans should embrace an aggressively anti-establishment temperament and agenda.
Take this fascinating prescription from the infamous 2012 RNC Autopsy report: “When it comes to social issues, the Party must in fact and deed be inclusive and welcoming. If we are not, we will limit our ability to attract young people and others, including many women, who agree with us on some but not all issues.”
“Inclusive” and “welcoming” were code words for “socially moderate.” That Republicans believed they could stitch together a diverse coalition of voters under the pastel banner of “growth and opportunity” (the report is literally in pastels) by ignoring or moderating on social issues is remarkable to think about now. Just two years after the report’s release, a big chunk of the GOP’s base proved that wrong, flocking to Trump not in spite of but because of his political incorrectness.
To the extent it’s possible, Republicans must absolutely seek to elevate leaders of good character who represent conservative values. That is not mutually exclusive with fighting back aggressively in the left’s culture war.
Cancel culture is an umbrella issue with some room for policy solutions and a lot more room for cultural solutions. But it’s a hugely important issue for working people, in rural America, in suburbs, and in cities. What happens to the mom who politely questions their public school’s embrace of the pro-trans book “I Am Jazz” in curriculum for elementary students? What happens to the father who loses his job or gets a suspension over a Facebook post about Colin Kaepernick? When cancelations unfold in the media, Bari Weiss can start a Substack. When they unfold outside the Acela Corridor, cancel culture’s victims lack powerful platforms to push back.
As we’ve reported, whether these hypotheticals are happening at a substantial rate (and I think they are), suburban voters worry about them. Who wouldn’t? Kamala Harris used to discourage Democrats from obsessing over identity politics because what keeps people awake at 3:00 a.m. has more to do with mounting bills and health care. Maybe. But these days, I don’t think “cancel culture” is just an abstract concern that looms large over newsrooms. I think it keeps a lot of people up.
All that is to say, part of what voters in these ostensibly disparate blocs want from the GOP is a fighting spirit. It’s not just about NAFTA or a child tax credit, although done correctly the latter is a good example of policy solutions that can appeal to both groups. The increasingly right-of-center working-class agrees with the Tea Party base on one point: They have zero tolerance for politicians who make fiery speeches at CPAC about fighting back and then vote with the establishment in D.C.
It’s not just about cancel culture. It’s about the media. It’s about immigration and corporate welfare and the Second Amendment and foreign entanglements and nonsensical leftist notions of gender. It’s largely about temperament but with some serious policy implications in terms of developing a pro-family, working-class agenda.
Of course, it’s not as simple as standing at a podium and laying into CNN. Suburban voters want the GOP to stand against Democrats’ wild spending priorities. That will come into some tension with the working class, along with other conflicts. But what will help Republicans unite this difficult coalition is packaging an anti-establishment temperament and policy agenda in leaders of strong character.
Future Republican standard-bearers needn’t tweet about the size of their nuclear buttons or act like Jeb! Bush to keep the advantages of Trumpism and ditch the baggage. They just need voters to know they’re fighting. The good news is that this is both a politically expedient strategy and a morally correct one.
The election was rigged. Elected Republicans did not care and ridiculed citizens who raised concerns or swore under oath.
The Republican Party is dead.
When they say “suburban”, they mean those that are in the top 10% - 20% of income. They aren’t coming back. The party of financial capital is the Democrats. You are right, forget about them and continue to bring the working class over, which will pull in all sorts of groups. Why chase such a small subset of people as what they mean by “suburban”?
Do you see me holding a gun to your head and forcing you to read read the article?
The extremists that are now the democrat party may send those leftist women packing soon enough. With plans to displace their daughters' abilities to receive athletic scholarships in college, by supporting men who pretend to be women, soccer moms will witness their own politics harming their own daughters. Add to that, to the zeal to inflict female restrooms with predatory men . . . it may take a wave of violence on young girls before these stupid, dense broads wake up.
The GOP is dead. They just don’t know it yet.They know it.
They've been tryig to squeeze money out of me for months using scare tactics and lies...like they're fighting Biden's agenda.
They send me texts.
The first line of the last text I received said "If you still support the GOP, we're begging..."
It's a text, so I replied, "You're kicking a dead horse.
You can all rot in hell starting with McConnell on down and that includes Karl Rove and the honorable Bill Barr too.
Not one red cent to help the GOP/deep state socialism light agenda.
Republicans are dead to me".
Absolutely to both points.
“ With Donald Trump out of office, Republicans now face the difficult balancing act of retaining new voters he brought into the party while bringing back voters he alienated.”
So much of what accounts for critical analysis, is just wishful thinking. There were reports posted here showing Trump increased in nearly every demographic including suburban women in the last election. The only demographic he faltered in was white males. How does a person so alienate part of the population they increase their re-election numbers by 11 million people?
Nope. Regardless of President Trump I will never ever vote for another GOP member on any ballot. Frankly at this point I may never vote again since my vote is just getting stolen. All you lifelong GOP throwing out these life rings in hopes you can feel some of us back in so the gravy train of money starts again. Laughable.
We hear this nonsense year after year. Including from many here.
I’m done with the GOP. It’s your choice for those here if you want to
continue to be suckers. I’m choosing not to be a sucker.
I read the article with an open mind to new ideas and some hope. My conclusion is the author is clueless.
Trump gave the GOP a playbook for success. But the GOP establishment leadership have no interest. Why? Because it is diametrically opposed to their donors. Trump is a populist. The GOPe will never be until they get new leadership.
Whether Trump takes it over or starts a new party is up to the GOPe. But the GOPe wants Trump gone. Whatever Trump decides, his base will follow.
Trump never lost the suburb vote. They made up a huge portion of the silent majority. The work in the cities where it is dangerous to your employment to let on that you are a Trump supporter or even conservative.
By your “there is no reason to vote at all” does that include the dems? And I don’t mean voting for the rats, but the dems voting.
Really how many dollars and people does the RNC need to surrender to the collectivists? I would imagine you can roll over for $5.
74 million. More than any Republican candidate.
All this talking about voting the rinos out!!! How do you expect to do that when your vote truly does not count. If you think it does you are naive
UH...Yea...NO!
why should we support any longer those who betrayed the President, the Republican base, and the nation and ensured that we will never have fair elections again?
You have to ask who are the GOPe representing? Their Globalist donors. Not Trump, not their base, not the Constitution.
Lets see if they can be elected to dogcatcher with just their Globalist donors.
I have been falling for it for 45 years I AM DONE!!! These bastards are LYING SCUM this was the FINAL betrayal!!! Linda BEGGING for dollars many fell FR it AGAIN!! The bastard never did a damn thing to investigate Biden and China didn’t lift a finger BUT now we are stuck with him for 6 more years!! WE have to have the guts to lose a seat to a Dems for one term to get these bastards OUT!! It is NO LONGER the lesser of two evils it is THE SAME evil!!!
When McConnell, McCarthy, Romney, Sasse, etc, are gone, that’s when they could ever even ponder having some of President Trump’s voters.
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