3) The GOP Is Imploding
It’s clear that the GOP is in trouble. Its presidential front-runner is a guy who is extremely disliked by most of the party. Candidates are failing to attract the nonwhite voters they mathematically need to claim the White House. The commentators at Vox think things might be even worse than they seem. They argue that the Republican Party is on the verge of imploding. It goes back to what we were saying about paranoia and the “purity” of never compromising. Since the 1990s, the far-right media has been brewing up a perfect storm of outraged voters who think any compromise with the Democrats is a sign of weakness.
Unfortunately, these are the voices drowning out the sensible Republican voters. The more extreme members of the party vote in droves in primaries, organize mass telephone campaigns to senators, and can bring a career crashing down in flames. They’re also the people who could ensure Trump gets a spot on the GOP ticket. If that happens, the nicest thing we can say is that it would make the party unelectable. That may be why some people think Trump is a Clinton plant. But the point Vox is making goes deeper than whether Trump gets the nomination. In the current GOP environment, another Trump could emerge at any time. If the party keeps getting more extreme, it will wind up being stuck in perpetual opposition. This might seem like good news for Democrats, but it really isn’t. Living in a de facto one-party nation isn’t a good advertisement for democracy. And just because the GOP can’t get the presidency doesn’t mean they can’t control the House. As we mentioned above, such a scenario might lead to nothing but endless shutdowns.
It’s clear that the GOP is in trouble. Its presidential front-runner is a guy who is extremely disliked by most of the party. Candidates are failing to attract the nonwhite voters they mathematically need to claim the White House. The commentators at Vox think things might be even worse than they seem. They argue that the Republican Party is on the verge of imploding. It goes back to what we were saying about paranoia and the “purity” of never compromising. Since the 1990s, the far-right media has been brewing up a perfect storm of outraged voters who think any compromise with the Democrats is a sign of weakness.
Unfortunately, these are the voices drowning out the sensible Republican voters. The more extreme members of the party vote in droves in primaries, organize mass telephone campaigns to senators, and can bring a career crashing down in flames. They’re also the people who could ensure Trump gets a spot on the GOP ticket. If that happens, the nicest thing we can say is that it would make the party unelectable. That may be why some people think Trump is a Clinton plant. But the point Vox is making goes deeper than whether Trump gets the nomination. In the current GOP environment, another Trump could emerge at any time. If the party keeps getting more extreme, it will wind up being stuck in perpetual opposition. This might seem like good news for Democrats, but it really isn’t. Living in a de facto one-party nation isn’t a good advertisement for democracy. And just because the GOP can’t get the presidency doesn’t mean they can’t control the House. As we mentioned above, such a scenario might lead to nothing but endless shutdowns.
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