The Republican Party Is No More

[NanceGreggs]

On December 18, 2019, after a three-year illness, the Republican party finally breathed its last and succumbed to the sickness known as Trumpism. The party formerly known as ‘the Republican Party’ is now ‘the Trump Party’, and those who have persisted in clinging to the principles the Republican party once espoused are not only unwelcome in the Trump party, they will continue to be identified as ‘human scum’ by its Dear Leader.

The demise of the Republican party – although predictable given the lack of morals and ethics of those who have abandoned its core values – came as a shock to those who still proudly considered themselves to be the party of Lincoln, the party that once stood-up to their own president, Nixon, when his corruption was exposed. It came as a shock to those Republicans who still believed that upholding the Constitution superseded all other considerations, and defying the rule of law was a line that no president, regardless of political party, would be allowed to cross.

The Trump party is now a reality. It is a party that does not care if the citizenry is repeatedly lied to, if our national security is jeopardized, if Russian interests are put above the interests of our own nation, if children are locked in cages, if our allies are insulted as our enemies are embraced, if their “pResident” invites foreign influence in our elections, if their “pResident” defies the Constitution, if their “pResident” encourages violence and division, if their “pResident” declares himself above the law.

The Trump Party ‘base’ is comprised of those too stupid to recognize that they are promoting the idea that a US president should be a dictator, free to decide what is lawful and what is not. They are people too dumb to realize that should their “pResident” decide that their rights as citizens are not to his liking, those rights can simply be done away with at his whim. They are people who are willing to accept lies in place of truth, and inane rhetoric in place of facts.

I, for one, mourn the death of those who were once our ‘friends across the aisle’. I mourn the passing of the Republican party that may have disagreed with us, but had the spine to stand up for what they once claimed to believe in. I mourn the demise of the Republican party that knew the difference between right and wrong. I mourn the fact that we may never see that Republican party again, because it has been replaced by a party that has only one purpose – to uphold, protect, and defend the traitor they placed in the Oval Office.

The now-deceased Republican party will be buried – without fanfare or recognition of its passing – under the tens of thousands of lies told by Donald Trump, along with the cover-ups of his criminal behaviour and the enabling of his corruption by the newly-formed Trump party.

The funeral for the Republican party will be held in secret, attended only by those brave enough to show up despite the threat of vitriolic tweets – a threat that Trump party members fear more than anything else. And the fact that vitriolic tweets scare the Trump party tells you all you need to know about just how spineless that party is.

[First Speaker]

1. From Lincoln, Grant, Douglass, Stevens...

….thru Teddy Roosevelt, Taft, Ike...even Nixon, who had his Tory Reform moments...down to this. My God. This is one of the most tragic happenings in our national history...

[former9thward]

11. Steven Douglas was a pro slavery Democrat who defeated Lincoln for the Senate in 1858.

If that who you meant as "Douglass".

[First Speaker]

12. I was referring to Frederick Douglass, the famous abolitionist...

...and Radical Republican...

[DFW]

15. Double "s" gave it away

It is not often spelled with a double "s" and Frederick was probably the most famous figure in 19th century American history who did spell it that way.

[PatrickforO]

23. Here's a fun picture I found on Twitter:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EMvt3bAUYAEWJJL?format=jpg&name=small

[certainot]

27. it's the party of limbaugh and that's why trump studied talk radio in 2014 and that's

why he paraded limbaugh around THE DAY AFTER the mueller report and then again at lunch this weekend, when he wanted to warn the republicans

[Gothmog]

2. trump kills everything he touches

This included the Republican Party

[burrowowl]

5. No Raygun (with the help of ALEC and ignorant voters) killed it and

we have had the living dead one since, here's hoping it gets dead.

[Grokenstein]

7. Yeah, this is more like the chicken with its head cut off.

The body's finally winding down after years of running around crapping on everything.

Richard Nixon was a toad, but Ronnie the Jellybean Naptime Cowboy was a monstrosity. Perhaps he was more symptom than disease, but his rise helped usher in the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich, and all the other treasonous filth since who decided to sell a divided nation out to the Russians for fun and/or profit. (In retrospect it's absolutely no coincidence that Gingrich's orphanage/school workhouse plans mirror the abuses of the Soviet Union.)

[calimary]

34. Yep. It shifted into high gear with St. Ronnie.

The CONS finally found the well-packaged, smooth-talking salesman they’d always yearned for. Someone who’s make their shitty ideas of selfishness and greed sound sooooooooo good and soooooooo patriotic and high-minded and true red-white-&-blue all-American. And who better than a B-movie actor who photographed well and acted so amiable and evening lovable. AND very well-staged, too. With all the right props and backdrops and trappings.

That’s probably part of what motivated trump. To out-Ronnie Ronnie Raygun. donnie’s got a few shoebox trick of his own. reagan was much more of a smooth-talker, though.

Nobody could sell a line like “my heart still tells me that’s true” (even though the facts say otherwise) when the whole Iran/Contra mess was finally exposed like that old Hollywood-leftover fork-tongued cadaver.

[abqtommy]

3. The reTHUGS gave up their status as a party long ago. Now they're officially a corrupt cult.

[world wide wally]

4. Their soul has been dead since just before Bush was appointed by the SC

[C Moon]

6. Lincoln's ghost is probably slapping them in the face while they sleep.

[subana]

8. there used to be skilled politicians in the republican party

now, there are few people who are neither skilled or politicians! After Pres Donnie, they have proven they have no values! They don't value faith, family or any of the other BS values they used to pretend they had! A party that has no values is based on nothing! It's all downhill from here.

[MySideOfTown]

9. I would propose we refer to it as the iTrump Party nt

[Haggis for Breakfast]

10. Say that out loud . . .

No way can I say iTrump. Sounds like I'm affiliating with him and his ilk. NOT HAPPENING.

I'd settle with calling them the Republican'ts.

[ooky]

13. My vote is the Russian Party.

[Stuart G]

14. 2nd that motion..."RUSSIAN PARTY" works for me...(Moscow Mitch - 2nd in command)

[calimary]

32. Third! The Russian Party.

They fuck with our party’s name all the time. So why shouldn’t we return the favor? All that “Democrat Party bullshit. I say we bastardize their name to our heart’s content. How do they like the Russians Party? Russiapublicans? Or republi-CONS (‘cause all they offer us a CON job)? Or more? Why not?

Taste of their own medicine. See how they like it.

[Lock him up.]

16. K&R

Well, they invited them in. They courted them. They went on Faux Noise and praised predators. They wanted their vote. Sleep with... wake up with...

[The Wizard]

17. When Trump got the nomination in 2016

I told people he was hired by the Clintons to destroy the Republican Party from within. Everyone told me I was being ridiculous. Thank you Nance for eloquently stating what I predicted in 2016. I never suspected he was working for Putin, but it turns out he is indeed "The Siberian Candidate."
Remember when Bobby Jindal said the had to stop being the stupid party?
The Romanovs beckon from Hades.

[RobertDevereaux]

18. Correct! The toxic GOP must be buried . . .

permanently and irrevocably . . . in the 2020 federal election and the two elections after that.

[greytdemocrat]

19. Not a delusional post...

But close to one.

If you think the Republican Party is going
down in the near future you are wrong.

The theatrics of the past few weeks and
coming weeks will not see the end of them.

In fact, it may see a resurgence. I know this
will not be a popular post but I think our
Party has made a critical error.

I don't see Mitch giving in. I think he's going to
call Pelosi's bluff.

I think her 1st instincts were correct to not go
here but it's too late now.

[NanceGreggs]

20. I don't think you've understood the OP.

The Republican party is dead, because it is now the party of Trump.

There are, of course, a few stragglers here and there - those who have refused to transition, those who still foolishly cling to the ol' GOP. But for the most part, Republicans have happily embraced being life-long Trump-humpers.

Even after he's gone, his stench will permeate the party that was once the GOP.

[Stuart G]

21. I respectfully disagree. They said the same thing after McGovern lost to Nixon.

Democratic Party won one state: Mass. I worked for McGovern, and watched the returns come in that night.
And they said it was "all over for us." Strange how politics works & who wins in 76? Was it Jimmy Carter?

.... Yes, it was. Was the Democratic party "dead"? No it wasn't. There will always be an opposing party. The name might change, but what it stands for will be the same. Lots of money to support the Republican Party.
.......................say it again..........."Lots of money to support the Republican Party"........................
................................again.........."Lots of money to support the Republican Party".........................
................................again.........."Lots of money to support the Republican Party"

...............get the picture?


What happened in the 1972 election? ...Here is why they said Democratic Party was Dead.

It was held on Tuesday, November 7, 1972. Incumbent Republican President Richard Nixon defeated Democratic Senator George McGovern of South Dakota. ... Nixon won the election in a landslide, taking 60.7% of the popular vote and carrying 49 states, and he was the first Republican to sweep the South.
Nixon......................................................................McGovern
Electoral vote‎: ‎520 ....................................... ....... Electoral Vote 17
Home state‎: ‎California........................................ Home state South Dakota

States carried‎: ‎49 ........... ....................................... States carried: 1
Popular vote‎: ‎47,168,710 ....................................................29,174,000
Percent of vote 60.7...............................................................37

The Democratic Party did not die after this election. We won the very next election..

[NanceGreggs]

22. I'll repeat ...

The Republican party is now the Trump party - same party members, same dumbass voters, except now they espouse Trumpism as opposed to Republicanism or conservatism.

It's the GOP that's dead - not those who were once its leaders or its members. They're still around - they've simply been converted to Trumpism, which has replaced the traditional Republican party.

As I said in the OP: "The Trump party is now a reality. It is a party that does not care if the citizenry is repeatedly lied to, if our national security is jeopardized, if Russian interests are put above the interests of our own nation, if children are locked in cages, if our allies are insulted as our enemies are embraced, if their “pResident” invites foreign influence in our elections, if their “pResident” defies the Constitution, if their “pResident” encourages violence and division, if their “pResident” declares himself above the law."

The once much-touted foundations of the GOP - like 'Christian principles', 'family values', 'compassionate conservatism' - are gone, having been replaced by lies, cruelty, and greed.

Will the former GOP return to its former self after Trump is out of office? They'll undoubtedly try. But once you've locked kids in cages and supported a corrupt "IMpResident", it's a looooong way back to being the Republican party of old.

I am a bit perplexed as to how "the Republican party is dead because it's been transformed into the party of Trump" can be taken to mean that the GOP has disappeared or has been defeated. It has simply morphed into a different party - one that is much more dangerous than its previous incarnation.

[Caliman73]

24. I understand but disagree.

I say that the Republican Party has reached the end point to where it was always destined to go. This is not about Party labels as much as it is between conservative and progressive/liberal ideals.

Yes Lincoln was the president we needed to guide the US through the Civil War and Radical Republicans (emphasis on the Radical) were the staunch abolitionists. Yes Roosevelt was great on anti-trust and the environment. Eisenhower was supportive of Unions and public works.

Lincoln evolved (progressed), much the way that an intelligent and decent person would. He was not always supportive of Black people and certainly held views of his time, but he listened. He was also in favor or modernization of society not of preserving the status quo. Roosevelt had ideas so different from his contemporary Republican fellows that he split off and formed what? The PROGRESSIVE Party as his views were not conservative enough for them in many aspects. Eisenhower was sought by both parties as a nominee and chose Republican because of his displeasure with Truman and some of the policies from FDR. He was a moderate neither conservative nor really progressive. We started to get the real ideologues when we hit Nixon, Goldwater, and their ilk.

The struggle hasn't really been about policy but about outcome. Conservatives (now Republican) want Capitalism, unfettered, to determine who is in charge, likely because they know that the system largely favors rich White people, who have always been in charge. Progressives want to even out the playing field and government is the only counterbalance strong enough to stop Capitalism from concentrating all of the wealth into very few hands.

With Trump, the Republicans have had to go "all in" on the idea of favoring the Rich and White people over people of color and the poor. He is a very uncouth and vulgar picture of their values but he represents them all. The Republican Party is not dead, and it is not the Trump Party. It is where the Republican Party would likely have gone to in another 50 years under less extreme circumstances.

[NanceGreggs]

29. I, too, have to disagree.

If as little as eight years ago, someone had said that the Republicans would elect a twice-divorced, thrice-married, adulterous, self-proclaimed pussy-grabbing liar, they would have been laughed at for espousing ludicrous nonsense.

They would have been told that RW Christians, particularly Evangelicals, would never support such a nominee.

And yet, against all odds and traditional wisdom, they did.

If someone had predicted that those same ‘Christians’ would support the “pResidency” of a man who would take children away from their parents and imprison them in cages, would promote violence, would balloon the deficit in order to give tax-cuts to the top 1%, they would have dismissed that prediction as lunacy.

And yet, here we are.

This was not a natural progression for Republicans – it was a 180 turnaround. Traditional GOP principles have been completely abandoned, ‘Christian values’ have been reinterpreted to align with the bleatings of a man who was never a Christian by any stretch, ‘alternate facts’ have been accepted as actual facts, and the truth is now a matter of opinion rather than a matter of recognizable reality.

As I have stated many times, the average Republican voter is an ill-informed, easily-manipulated idiot – and what the GOP has accomplished is leading the incurably stupid to fully accept everything they once abhorred.

This is not where the GOP was eventually headed – it’s where the GOP has deliberately led their sheep in order to cover for the party’s enabling of an anti-American, treasonous dumbass – because they can’t admit the fact that they put a Russian asset in the White House.

[Caliman73]

30. Disagreement is okay.

I understand and respect your opinion on the matter. Yes it certainly does look like a dramatic break from what the Republican Party purports itself to be. I think we have a difference in perspective.

My contention is that I never accepted that Republicans were the party of "family values" and "fiscal responsibility" and all of the other crap they said they were. All of their principles were always a lie to me. Since Reagan ran up the deficit to give tax cuts to the rich, their ideas of personal responsibility were always a lie.

Republicans are the party of unfettered Capitalism and White Supremacy. They are the party of protecting the White power structure. Republicans have been the party of big business since the Gilded Age. They faced a monumental backlash after their ideas crashed the economy in the 1920's and were in the political wilderness for some time. They courted White supremacists and religious bigots since Nixon ran in the 60's using racial and cultural resentment to stoke up the masses of people scared of women, Black people, and anti-war protesters who were demanding a change in government. The Republican took most of the Democratic Party's conservatives when they took the Dixiecrats in. They have never been able to openly support xenophobia, racism, and sexism because it is socially unpalatable, but they did support it with dog whistles for immigration policy, reproductive rights, and opposing the unfairness of Affirmative Action and other social welfare programs on "fiscal responsibility" grounds.

I don't see it as a 180. I see it as the Republicans stoking their populist rhetoric too far so that it got out of their control. Now they either have to go with it, or admit that they were just using the racists, sexists, and religious bigots to maintain power for the wealthy. They have painted themselves into a corner more than abandoned their principles.

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

25. It's now the Shithole Party

[NanceGreggs]

26. And that party is doing its utmost ...

... to turn the US into a shithole country.

[lordsummerisle]

28. k&r n/t

[RainCaster]

31. There is one small group trying to resurrect the GOP, the Lincoln Project

This is a small group of traditional conservatives, not those neo-con jackasses, and they believe in small government. George Conway is among the founders. I wish them all the best.

[certainot]

33. it will end a lot faster when democrats figure out the only unique advantage the cons have is

talk radio and it's been kicking our ass for 30 years

[greymattermom]

35. Maybe talk radio is obsolete.

What about podcasts? How do they lean on the whole, and who listens to them?

[certainot]

36. its still a messaging monopoly that made trump possible, created the

'deep state' bullshit behind trump/gops defense, is what keeps gop politicians in line, disinforms and motivates trumps base, reaching 50 mil a week from 1500 well-coordinated radio stations.

it's ubiquitous and in most parts of 40 states with 80 senators it's the only free easy ssource for politicss while driving, working, and doing chores

it is why we are in this mess, more than any other single factor - because liberals and dems and the 'left' ignore it

if putin and trump would pay $1000/hr for radio political ads 1200 radio stations would be worth 1000 x 15 hrs/day = about $5BIL/year