This is pretty much a companion piece to the column I wrote yesterday about the Tea Party era goals coming to fruition in the Trump 47 administration. After I'd finished it, I offhandedly told someone that it probably could have been a two-part effort. When my first cup of coffee began to take effect this morning I remembered that my offhanded remarks often contain kernels of inspiration. Hey, there are a few upsides to my lack of a filter.
Like most lifelong (political life, that is) conservative Republicans, my relationship with the party has, for the most part, been a fraught one. There have been far too many "With friends like these, who needs enemies?" moments in my voting life.
My early years weren't rough — I came of political age when Ronald Reagan was first running for president. Being a Republican was popular even on college campuses back then. I thought I had it made.
The first massive dose of Republican-induced disappointment hit me during the 1992 presidential election. I distinctly remember standing in the voting booth for what seemed like a week while trying to figure out what to do. There was no way I was going to vote for Bill Clinton, and every time I had heard Ross Perot speak, I got the feeling that he was heading off to do something disturbing with buttermilk and waterfowl as soon as he was done.
I was supposed to vote for George Herbert Walker Bush. It had already been eight years since I first worked on a Republican campaign, and I felt that I was going to happily be a part of that political machine forever. The high of getting my first real taste of political activism during President Reagan's landslide year had obviously given me unrealistic expectations.
Of course, I voted for HW, but not before wondering what not casting a vote at all for president would mean. More than three decades of "You've gotta be kidding me," angst with the Grand Old Party would follow.
I've written a lot in the past year about President Trump's much-needed transformation of the GOP. In yesterday's column, I wrote that he "ignited a flame" that "began burning the uniparty weeds that were choking the Republican Party." Those weeds were mostly the Bush era go along to get along squishes who held sway in the party.
It was the Bushies who acted like their hair had been set on fire when it became obvious in 2016 that Donald Trump was going to win the Republican nomination. Along with their consultant class grifter/fluffers, they did everything they could to undermine Trump during his first term. Much to the relief of liberty-loving Americans, Trump's steely resolve was no match for the GOP's Bush/Cheney invertebrate wing in the long run.
The influence of Mitt Romney ( Can I please have my 2012 vote back?), Lizzie "I'm Just Like Lincoln!" Cheney, and their ilk have been thwarted for now. I pray that it is gone forever.
I fear, however, that it could come back. Congressional Republicans are Beltway Swamp creatures, no matter how much they seem to be on our side in a given moment. Yes, most of them are supporting the president right now, but that's because, unlike the Democrats, they've properly interpreted the data from last year's election. They know how popular President Trump and his agenda are, and they want to be on the winning team. The support isn't rooted in deep principles or ideology for many of them.
That means that they're easily buffeted by the winds of political convenience and could be blown off course once President Trump leaves office in 2029.
The good news is that their desire to be part of the popular crowd right now could be helping to cement Trump's effect on the Republican Party for those who come after him. They are eager to help the Trump 47 administration in its efforts to overhaul the status quo.
As I mentioned in yesterday's column, the most ambitious parts of President Trump's agenda — slashing the federal bureaucracy, stopping illegal immigration, and nuking the Department of Education — are the stuff of Tea Party conservatives' dreams. If Congressional Republicans remain firm in their support of the president while working on all three, the long-term benefits will be undeniable and difficult for GOP moderates and Democrats (Redundant?) to deny. Oh, they'll try. One big thing that we learned last year, however, is that American voters are no longer easily swayed by leftist fiction.
Put simply, the more successful Trump is in implementing the changes he's promised, the better for the future health of the Grand Old Party and the Republic.
If you are fortunate enough to have any Republican representatives in Congress, now would be a great time to tell them not to blow this opportunity.
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