Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Demise of the GOP

Demise of the GOP

Historically, the Republican Party had an ideology: It was a staunch supporter of laissez-faire capitalism, opposing any government interference into – or control of – the private sector. Whatever you think of this, it was at least a political stance that no longer seems to surface. Having followed the lead of Donald Trump, the GOP has deteriorated into a party of naysayers: The coronavirus is a hoax; there’s no such thing as global warming; immigrants are bad people, while white supremacists aren’t… And on goes the litany of rank stupidity, deceit, and hatred, devoid of any positive policy. Senate Majority Leader and staunch Republican, Mitch McConnell, blocks any sensible legislation passed on from the House.

The unviability of this position became glaringly obvious in the overwhelming victory of the Democratic Party in the 2018 elections that gave it control of The House. With most polls showing Trump supporters in the minority, it is likely that the Democratic victory will be repeated in the 2020 elections, bringing with it control of the Senate. Most Republicans are aware of this, and have divided themselves into two camps — diehards who are sticking with Trump, and who will probably sink into oblivion with him; and realists with healthy survival instincts, such as Mitt Romney, who want to dump Trump and resurrect the party. With Trump and his cohorts doomed, it’s with the latter that the GOP has any hope of viability. Nonetheless, Trump will run, lose, and take a large segment of the GOP with him, leaving the party in tatters, and in need of reinventing itself.

What will the new GOP look like? Its old, vigorously pro-capitalist position won’t wash. The new generation of young, educated people aren’t buying the historic and destructive inequality that capitalism has wrought. Nor does it accept the rigid class structure imposed by capitalism – a hierarchical edifice that places the wealthy at the top, and, at the bottom, the poor, consisting largely of minorities currently fomenting rebellion in movements such as “Black Lives Matter.” Today’s young were not nurtured in Cold War anti-communist propaganda; to them “socialism” is not the dirty word it was to their parents. There are more college-educated people than ever before; they understand that true democracy requires greater economic equality, since rule-by-money is anti-democratic plutocracy. This leaves the GOP devoid of its traditional theoretical foundation – with nothing on the horizon to replace it. In desperation, one segment lapses into Trump fascism, while another flounders in search of substance – with both segments together forming a minority.

However this is resolved, the new GOP – if there is one – will look nothing like the old one. Goodbye Trump and Mitch McConnell; and hello to whom?

Andrew Torre

Londonderry, VT

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