“Republicans are for both the man and the dollar, but in case of conflict the man before the dollar.” — Abraham Lincoln
I remember the Republican Party when it was the Republican Party. My Republican grandfathers were retired guys who made a couple of bucks during their careers and liked capitalism and law and order, and despised Communism.
Richard Nixon’s underhanded malevolence made him an easy target for Democrats, but I read with fascination every word about his groundbreaking trip to the People’s Republic of China.
Ronald Reagan’s phony “aw-shucks” veneer could not completely hide his acquiescence to United States involvement with torture and murder in Central America. Even so, I think Reagan is the best foreign-policy president in American history. He did not so much shove as gently nudge the Soviet Union until it collapsed under its own weight.
Newt Gingrich’s Republican revolution brought some bright young minds into the Massachusetts Republican Party, including a buddy of mine, but their ardor was quickly smothered by the dominant Democratic political machine.
Bob Dole and John McCain were noble men who tried to reinstill values in their party and anchor them in Free Market thinking. They were largely ignored by an increasingly-restless electorate.
And that brings us to Donald J. Trump.
I don’t consider Trump a Republican: Like all mega-maniacal tyrants, Trump views his followers as his one true party.
They include the disaffected, demented, self-described disenfranchished mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and millions of other Americans who voted for Trump, not because they give a damn about the Republican Party, but because they have lost faith in the American political system and they view Trump as an anti-politician.
If they had the capacity to be honest, Kevin McCarthy, Mitch McConnell, and Ted Cruz would admit Trump detests them and they fear him in much the same way Republicans feared Joe McCarthy 70 years ago.
Proof of that fear is the Republican Party resolution last Friday censuring Republican Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for participating in a “Democrat-led persecution of ordinary citizens who engaged in legitimate political discourse.”
The persecution the resolution references is the congressional investigation into the Capitol attack that followed a Trump speech. The “ordinary citizens” are the screaming, flag-waving mob that assaulted Capitol Police officers and sent Kevin McCarthy and fellow members of Congress running for cover.
Trump’s unhinged animus and his ability to shape-shift terrifies Republicans and Democrats. The billionaire playboy morphed into a Wall Street guru, and then a television buffoon, before he rewrote the American political-strategy playbook and was elected Leader of the Free World.
Trump is a tornado, spinning and consuming everything in his path. Where will he strike next?
Cheney and Kinzinger are standing tall and daring Trump to bowl them over. As a Wyoming native, I am especially proud of Cheney’s courage. My family lore includes a claim that her father and my grandfather served together on the Natrona County Airport Commission long before Dick Cheney strode onto the national stage.
Joe McCarthy destroyed lives but his terror-inducing power proved illusory. The same fate will befall Trump, and I am convinced Cheney and Kinzinger are just the first Republicans to stand up and state that, although their party is leaderless and lacks values, refuting Trump is the first step they take back onto the national stage.
