The GOP is Messed Up, Too

In a previous article, we talked about the mess that the Democratic Party is and always has been. That’s because the Republican Party was so pristine—bankers, owners, managers—no messing around with social issues. Democrats grew further when FDR brought in just about every subgroup, although African Americans stuck with “The Party of Lincoln.”

That is, until Harry Truman got rid of segregation in the military, and Lyndon Johnson forced civil rights through Congress. At the time, LBJ said it would cost Democrats the “Solid South” of segregationists for a generation. Well, it’s been almost three generations, and the South is still solidly Republican, but this is a digression.

The point is, the larger your “big tent” is, the more likely you’ll have dissension, and the Republican Party has plenty of it, too. In the news now, is William Kristol, founder of The Weekly Standard. Among other things, Kristol thinks it may be time for a centrist third party.

It never seems to quite happen. But I do think a Trump-Republican variety or Sanders-Warren Democratic Party leaves an unbelievable, huge opening in the middle for an independent presidential ticket.

But first, Kristol would first like to wrest the GOP from Trump, according to the Washington Examiner.

Bill Kristol, editor-at-large of the Weekly Standard, said he has initiated informal talks about creating a “Committee Not to Renominate the President.”. . .

After the story was published Saturday afternoon, Kristol shared it on Twitter, with the message: “The task in 2020: ‘Liberating the Republican Party from Trump, and conservatism from Trumpism.'”

That’s for 2020. In the meantime, Kristol would like to see Mike Pence take over the presidency by invoking the 25th Amendment—claiming Trump is incompetent.

Vice President Mike Pence should be prepared to invoke the 25th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and wrest the presidency away from President Donald Trump should Trump’s “craziness” escalate. . .

Pence has already taken preparations for such a scenario.

The latest round of volleys from Kristol came from an interview on cable business channel, CNBC, on “Speakeasy with John Harwood.”

Kristol has made a radical break. Alarmed at Trump’s policies and methods, he has become a leading voice of Republican opposition. . . “I’m a conservative. I’m trying to uphold what was true about conservatism. I consider myself a Reagan conservative.”

Kristol says it’s possible to uphold the integrity of the GOP.

To the credit of the Republican Party and the conservative movement, people have been expelled or marginalized. Pat Buchanan in the ’90s. Ron Paul, Rand Paul in the first decade of this century. Bill Buckley famously expelled the Birchers in 1964. It’s been a movement that’s tried to maintain its boundaries.

But it turned out there were elements there that Trump appealed to. He’s an effective demagogue. And then the rationalization of Trump, acceptance of Trump by so many Republicans and some conservatives, including conservatives I worked with and respect, has been disturbing to me.

Meanwhile, Kristol further broke with GOP orthodoxy by criticizing business.

I thought it was sort of disgraceful when the tax cut gets passed and they immediately have these bonuses. . .

Write $1,000 checks to people? Wasn’t the whole point of the tax cut to free up money for investment? I mean, the government can just write checks to people. It doesn’t have to go through a middleman, you know. Give ’em to everyone, not just the people who work for certain favored companies.

I found it slightly creepy — sucking up to Trump and to the Trump administration in hope of favors. . . I think Trump is an example of a certain kind of corporatism that’s dangerous. . .

So, the companies decide, we have to then cozy up to the federal government, and you do go towards a kind of Third World-type system, a kind of crony corporatism, as opposed to free markets with the emphasis on free.

Kristol is also taking on Fox News, which some would say is the “Office of Information” for the Republican Party. He says he was removed from the Fox rotation because he refused to blackball someone Roger Ailes didn’t like. Kristol says it was just a personality thing, and it was unfair to attack the person just to please Ailes.

I was on Fox for 10 years really, 2002 to 2012. I think it was pretty good. It was a little tilted right? Sure. Now Fox is sort of — 75 percent of it seems to be birther-like coverage of different issues. . . There’s a gradual increasing of recklessness.

. . .look at — Tucker Carlson. . . I don’t know if it’s racism exactly — but ethno-nationalism of some kind, let’s call it. A combination of dumbing down. . .and stirring people’s emotions in a very unhealthy way.

MediaIte also quoted Kristol regarding Fox.

“I mean, it’s funny but it’s sad,” Kristol replied, before concluding that this saga proves “Bannonism is winning.”

“Look a at the [sic] Hill Republicans, look at the conservative commentators, many of them” Kristol explained, “they are now in the possession of serious conspiracy theorizing, paranoia, hostility to basic American government institutions in a way that I would have a year ago would have been impossible.”. . .

“What fringy websites once said is now said by Fox News hosts. What losing primary candidates who got 8% of the vote in some Republican primary somewhere once would have said is now being said by mainstream Republican senators,” Kristol continued. “So that is what is upsetting about it.”

Breitbart quotes Kristol as saying it’s not just Fox. The whole party seems to be going what Lindsay Graham called, last year, “batsh-t crazy.”

Look at the Hill Republicans, look at the conservative commentators, many of them — they are now in the possession of serious conspiracy theorizing, paranoia, hostility to basic American government institutions in a way that I would have a year, 18 months ago would have been impossible.”

Will Pence remove Trump? Will the GOP withhold the nomination from Trump? Will there be a new, centrist third party? Will Trump lead us to a new corporatist fascism? Is Tucker Carlson a racist? Can things get any more nuts? For those of you old enough to appreciate the 1960’s TV reference—tune in here to find out—same batsh-t time, same batsh-t channel!!