A “generic Republican would beat Hillary Clinton” was the
most repeated political commentary of 2016. Turns out it was spot-on.
There were myriad
reasons that Donald Trump won but, ultimately, all the signs pointed to
Republicans taking back the White House in 2016. Americans have given one party
control of the White House for three terms once since World War II. The elder
Bush’s Presidency ended with a thud and a crippling recession.
In effect, this explains why so many moderate Republicans
held their nose and pulled the lever for Trump. Working in
federal IT within Washington D.C., I know that many of the men and women I
work with on a daily basis are Republicans. I know that many of them – who I
consider good people – voted for Donald Trump.
Even as they voted for Trump, I know these people twisted
themselves in knots trying to rationalize the vote to themselves in the mirror.
No one with a conscience could believe that a racist, who admitted to sexual
assault, was fit to run this country. These people, instead, out their faith in
the Republican Party being fit enough to run this country.
It turns out neither is true. The Republican Party is
diseased and Donald Trump isn’t a symptom, he’s the problem.
Look at today’s Republican Party and look who is leading it.
It’s Donald Trump and his alt-right allies. It’s racism. It’s misogyny. It’s policy
that punishes minorities and the lower class, while providing tax breaks
and windfalls to the rich.
Donald Trump is not an outlier. Donald Trump is the
Republican Party.
It has been driving me crazy to read Republican after
Republican begging their party to stop supporting this madness in the wake of
the Roy Moore allegations. Yes, Roy Moore is a disgusting human being and no
one should ever vote for him. So was Donald Trump!
What Did You Expect?
The most maddening aspect of the Trump presidency has been
the apparent shock from those in the Republican Party that he’s
an absolute disaster. This has bothered me from the moment Sean Spicer told
us how big his Inauguration Day crowd was. What did they expect? Nothing about
Trump – in his business career, his personal life or his campaign – gave any
indication he would be any different than what he is right now.
Why did so many Republicans vote for Trump? The answer is
that Donald Trump is officially the generic Republican. They spent the past 8
years creeping further and further right, with disgustingly racist overtones
and misogynistic undertones.
Think about this – John McCain is no longer a generic
Republican. He is now the outsider. Men like Jeff Flake and Bob Corker,
unburdened by re-election, have spoken out against Trump and they very much
sound like the “generic” Republican that moderate Republicans fantasize about.
I almost feel bad
for them, since I was a young
Republican a long time ago. Eventually, the social issues became too much
of a cross to bear. Yeah, I’m in favor of smaller governments and fewer
regulations. But I am much more concerned with, ya know, minorities not being
murdered by police, gays being allowed to married and women not being sexually
harassed on a daily basis.
Once the President called Nazis “very fine people,” I really
thought we were done with the Republican Party. Instead, very few Republicans
in power did anything more than provide some nice sound bites. The Republicans
in Congress still line up to support the party on vote after vote. They are all
complicit. They are all enabling racism and sexual assault. They don’t care.
What has driven me insane are tweets like this one:
Pains me to see some Republicans say they support a sexual predator of minors. That should not be an option under any circumstance. No. No. No. A thousand times, no! https://t.co/2Fud12xniZ— Ana Navarro (@ananavarro) November 22, 2017
The Republican Party endorsed and voted for a man who
admitted to sexual assault on camera and has been accused of similar, abhorrent
behavior by more than a dozen women. The party of family values? What is she
even talking about?
Change will not come until these moderate Republicans grow a
spine and take action against the President.
Despite my anger, I do have faith in the future because
young Republicans have routinely rejected President Trump. None of the young
Republicans I know have shown any interest in support Trump, or racism, or misogyny,
in any way shape or form. Yes, we disagree on policy – I really don’t think trickle-down
economics is going to work, guys – but we can agree on fundamental issues
like “pedophilia is bad.”
I challenge those moderate Republicans to stand up and make
your voice heard. How do you that? Leave the GOP. Become an independent.
Yes, vote for Republican candidates that have earned your
vote.
No, do not blindly support any candidate with an (R) next to their name.
The generic Republican is now a racist monster who votes for
a child molester. That’s not good for our country.
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