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| Former Speaker of the House, Newt Gingrich |
In part because he thinks the party was hijacked by former House Speaker,
Newt Gingrich. And in part because of what he thinks about the man in the White
House now - who ran as a Republican. And how poorly he thinks that man is
responding to the current crisis. He has also in the past expressed scorn for the typical Trump voter. He remembers
the not too distant past where he says the Republican Party was more sane
albeit conservative.
I know that he is not alone. There are a lot of people that
have this view. A lot of political pundits – including some
Republicans are now claiming that the Republican Party has been hijacked by Trump
supporters. I take issue with this.
That said, it is nevertheless a very understandable observation. That Donald Trump is the President of the United States makes that a compelling argument. He did after all run as a Republican and won the election. Hard to argue with that.
But that is exactly what I’m going to do. Argue with it. I
do not think the party has been hijacked by Trump supporters. Although there
are a lot of them in the Republican party. Nor - as my friend suggested – was it hijacked
by Newt Gingrich.
So what is the Republican Party? And while were at it, what
is the Democratic Party? How are they to be defined?
First the disclaimer. I admit that my views might be influenced by the fact that I lean strongly conservative. But I would argue that it is a fair analysis anyway.
Let me begin with some historical perspective. If you go back far enough, Republicans were liberals. Or at least what used to be called liberals - people who sought the equality of man. It was Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, who ended slavery.
Meanwhile there were plenty of Democrats that were bigots going all
the way through the 60s. It was George Wallace – a Southern Democrat who fought against civil rights with the battle cry, ‘Segregation Forever!’
That being
said, except for their Southern faction, Democrats were the open and
fair-minded party. While Republicans tended toward soft bigotry and antisemitism.
Now the reverse is true. Today’s Republicans are what
Democrats used to be - more or less JFK Democrats). Today's Democrats have
moved much further left of center. There was a time that someone like Bernie
Sanders would never have been tolerated by the Democrats as their candidate
for President. Now the party has steadily been moving in his
direction philosophically. Where antisemitism was once considered anathema, it is
now being tolerated under the guise of free speech. It's like Reagan said. He
didn't leave the Democratic party. The Democratic Party left him.
What is the real Republican Party like? The truth is that
there is a range of Republican views that includes those of liberals like Susan Collins and
conservatives like Ted Cruz. Although it tends to be more in line with Cruz than with Collins.
Does that make conservative philosophy of Newt
Gingrich the Republican Party’s philosophy. I don’t think there is a simple answer to
that. His views have not been fully embraced
although a lot of them have - since they are the basic ideals of conservatism. That those ideals have been accepted by the party’s mainstream does not mean he has hijacked
it.
What about the Republicans that voted for Trump. Are they
as illiterate and ignorant as they are often - not so subtly - characterized? No. Although I'm sure some are. Are
they as a rule bigoted? No. Although I'm sure some are. Are they all
antisemites? No. Although I’m sure some of them are. And the same can be said about Democrats.
I believe that many Republicans stem from the same socioeconomic and educational strata
that Democrats do. They just have different political philosophies. Both parties
have their share of bigots and antisemites. But the mainstream voter in each
party is not radical or stupid. Including Trump voters. Most Republicans that voted
for Trump just wanted to ‘throw the rascals out' and see change. They got it in spades. Some regret
it. Some are happy about it. Neither of which makes them stupid or evil.
Not only has the Republican party not been hijacked by Newt Gingrich it isn’t really party of Trump either. Trump is no more a conservative Republican than I am a Buddhist monk!
Trump is not the Republican Party. He is just the temporary head by virtue of winning the White House in 2016.
If I had to choose one man that represents the Republican party of the future, - it would be someone like Marco
Rubio. He is the conservative Republican prototype of the future.
The one person it will surely NOT be is the
current President. Even if he gets re-elected. Which at this point seems unlikely.
What about Democrats? I don't see Biden as the Democratic prototype of
the future either. I think it will more closely resemble someone like Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez.
