Rebirth

 One of the direct results of Donald Trump being in office for the past 4 years is the destruction of the current Republican Party.  It is not hard to understand why.  All one has to consider is what the party as a whole has stood for during this time and the actions it has taken, or not taken, in support of the need for Donald Trump to demand and insure loyalty from his party and his supporters.  

The current Republican party has lost the characteristics that made it a viable Center/Right 'loyal opposition'.  It used to be a party of ideas and could offer alternative policy positions to the Center/Left Democratic policy initiatives.  Now, there are no ideas from the Republicans.

 

What is their platform?---whatever Trump wants, and he can't even articulate what he wants.  Maybe 'Build a Wall', that's about it.  Their concept of governing has fallen in line behind the ideology of Trump--complete obstructionism; no oversight; grabbing power with no moral compass.  Their mantra in this election is 'prevent as many people as possible from casting a ballot'.  Look at how many instances of Republican actions to suppress balloting are taking place, from actions by Louis DeJoy and the post office; to Texas Governor Abbot only allowing one ballot deposit box per county; to Republican poll watchers with guns showing up at polling places to intimidate voters; to squeezing the eligible days for early voting to a bare minimum; to purging voter registration rolls; to naked intimidation by social media and the mail.

 

The Republican's actions in the Congress for the past four years can only be described as those of a self-

serving, power-hungry gang.  They have consistently betrayed their oaths of office, sacrificing their integrity and honor.  They have eschewed the ideas enshrined in the concept of checks and balances in the Constitution, and failed to even honor the necessity of following the time-honored structure of a fair trial for the impeachment of Trump, parroting Trump's exhortation that the whole impeachment investigation was an 'illegitimate hoax'.

 

Channeling Trump's rantings, Congressional committee chairman have spearheaded investigations into Trump's fictional adversaries conducting hearings at taxpayer expense to try to 'expose' all sorts of 'deep state' egregious practices without being able to bring forth any evidence to support their efforts to expose the supposed corruption of Joe Biden, his son, and others.  It seems that their prime motivation was to investigate anyone who opposed Trump in any way and damage any political opponents.

 

So that is today's Republican Party.  Assuming that the Democrats might ascend to power both in the Presidency and the Senate, it is fascinating to watch as Republicans panic and scramble to salvage their reputations.  Sorry, too little too late!  History will remember all of them as enablers of Trump's failures and his corrosive effect on our democratic institutions.  So, it is reasonable to ask what will happen to all these people and the Republican Party. 

There are many in the party that think that with 4 or even 8 years to nurse their party back to health, they can make a reappearance in the current mold.  There are others who think that the party as it is today should be scrapped and re-imagined, jettisoning those bad actors that have brought the party to its nadir.

 

I can imagine a different scenario.  With the demographic changes that are inevitable in our population

and the inevitable disappearance over time of the white power-hungry men and women of the current Republican party, there is already a budding neo-party structure growing out of conservatives who are heartbroken and incensed over what has become of their party:

The Lincoln Project; Republican Voters Against Trump; Mitt Romney; 43 Alumni for Joe Biden PAC; Never Trump movement; Michael Steele; Joe Scarborough; David Jolly; and many others.  In the aftermath of the election, hopefully these people and organizations will take the initiative to redefine the Republican Party to embrace the Center/Right concepts that made them a party to be reckoned with prior to the arrival of Newt Gingrich on the scene in the late 80's, which is when the Republican party began its slide into white grievance, retaliation, and obstructionism.

 

Our democracy needs a robust two-party system with respect for majority rule and minority rights.  What we have now is minority rule that needs to be protected by lying, cheating, power grabbing, accusation and division.  We have all been the victims of it for the past many decades.  Perhaps the pendulum will swing in the other direction after November 3.

 

VOTE!