![\"from](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/sites\/533\/2016\/08\/republicans-303843_960_720.png\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
So, look, it\u2019s no surprise that I identify with the Republican Party, but let\u2019s break this down. \u00a0What do I think of as being Republican Party values?<\/p>\n
With respect to the economy, it means a belief that self-reliance and free enterprise are the keys to a strong and growing economy. \u00a0While a safety net is important, the plain fact of the matter is that a generous social welfare state simply doesn\u2019t work in the long run, and that innovation in private business is what makes our economy healthy, and, ultimately, wealthy. \u00a0Punitive levels of taxation and regulation, or special treatment for favored industries (\u201ccrony capitalism\u201d), might benefit the taxers and regulators, but do more harm than good in the long run. \u00a0And strong families, with mothers and fathers, are a key ingredient as well, rather than treating single parenting (and government benefits) as the norm.<\/p>\n
And by the way \u2014 the Tea Party? \u00a0The Republican Party has a track record of claiming to support fiscal responsibility, but not following through. \u00a0The Tea Party\u2019s primary objective was to hold the GOP to that promise.<\/p>\n
With respect to foreign policy, it means a belief that the United States has a responsibility, as a Superpower, to intervene in world affairs to promote human rights and oppose oppressive regimes, with due recognition of all the pragmatic realities of the world. \u00a0And it means a strong national defense, prepared to intervene at any point that it becomes necessary.<\/p>\n
It means a belief that free trade benefits everyone, in the long run, and that, even as Americans working in particular industries may struggle as a result, we\u2019re better off if it trade brings prosperity to poor nations.<\/p>\n
With respect to civil rights and minority-group interests, well, Republicans would say that they unhesitatingly believe in equal treatment under the law, but at the same time, identity-group politics, meant to advance the causes of minorities, taken too far, do more harm than good, by sorting us all into identities based on ethnic origin and sex.<\/p>\n
With respect to \u201clife issues\u201d \u2014 well, once upon a time, this wasn\u2019t a partisan issue, and it was possible to be pro-life and either a Democrat or a Republican. \u00a0Not any longer.<\/p>\n
And the Second Amendment? \u00a0Well, I don\u2019t know that there\u2019s anything distinctively Republican about opposing gun control, but wasn\u2019t a lot of the partisan sorting-out on this a regionalism thing? \u00a0That is, once the coasts and the cities, without traditions of hunting or self-defense, had become Democratic strongholds, pro- and anti-gun control sorted out in that manner.<\/p>\n
With respect to immigration, well, it\u2019s hard to fit this one in. \u00a0It wasn\u2019t\u00a0a partisan issue for many years. \u00a0I oppose an amnesty program unless it genuinely, believeably has a design that ensures it\u2019ll be a one-time amnesty, not just the next in the series, but I don\u2019t know whether I can reasonably claim that this is a\u00a0distinctively Republican point of view. \u00a0The Gang of 8 amnesty try was bipartisan, and the 2006 try was as well. \u00a0To be sure, this is an alignment of business interests and Hispanic voting bloc supporters\/panderers, and those who genuinely and truly believe in open immigration\u2013and the sort of open immigration that these programs promise (via their \u201cguest worker\u201d programs) is supported by politicians and opposed by the grassroots. \u00a0In a way that\u2019s been a problem, to have a divisive issue where the Republican Party finds itself unable to explain its principled beliefs.<\/p>\n
So look at this list of issues. \u00a0What am I missing? \u00a0Sure, I\u2019m glossing\u00a0over\u00a0issues, simplifying, and partisan Democrats may or may not start hyperventilating and saying that Republicans hate the poor and want them to suffer, but you get my general point: \u00a0there is no free lunch.<\/p>\n
And here\u2019s the problem with the Republican Party: \u00a0Donald Trump is not a Republican<\/strong>. \u00a0He arbitrarily and randomly promises government programs, he rejects free trade, he promotes an isolationist foreign policy.<\/p>\n Now, to be sure, he\u2019s not the only Republican who fails this test, though others do in different ways. \u00a0Many \u201cRINOs\u201d legitimately found their way to the Republican Party as being the closer match, of the two, to their beliefs, but others, unfortunately, in their effort to advance their political fortunes, moved ever closer to that accusation of Republicans as corporate shills.<\/p>\n But if we ask the question, \u201cwhat happens to the Republican Party after Trump?\u201d we have to acknowledge two things:<\/p>\n First, that Trump took over the Republican Party for his own purposes, and,<\/p>\n Second, that Republican leadership let this happen. \u00a0Why? \u00a0Partly perhaps because they\u00a0believed they could benefit from his celebrity. \u00a0Partly it was the fault of men like Chris Christie, who figured they\u2019d benefit from a Trump rise. \u00a0Because of the foolishness of the other candidates, for whom the goal of reaching the nomination was more important. \u00a0Their supporters, who never cut them off. \u00a0A winner-takes-all primary system designed to get the eventual nominee to the finish line quickly, without regard for the fitness of that nominee, or, rather, under the assumption that any such nominee would be sufficiently fit and the benefit of a quick nomination process would outweigh the moderate disadvantage of a less-perfect nominee. \u00a0And a view of the Republican Party as a mechanism for\u00a0advancing one\u2019s political career, to be used by whoever chooses to do so under the \u201cRepublican\u201d mantle.<\/p>\n The end result: \u00a0for many Republicans,\u00a0there is no true Republican in this election, so there is no betrayal to the Republican Party in not voting for Trump.<\/p>\n What will the Republican Party leadership do when the election is over?<\/p>\n Unfortunately, they\u2019ll likely declare it to have been a nightmare of no relevance to anything.<\/p>\n What should<\/em> they do? \u00a0(Well, besides listen to me, that is.)<\/p>\n Well, among other things, they need to decide for themselves and then communicate to the country what it means to be Republican, as a brand identity, if you will \u2014 that is, assuming that they believe any of it in the first place.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n image from Pixabay (public domain), https:\/\/pixabay.com\/en\/republicans-elephant-political-party-303843\/<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" So, look, it\u2019s no surprise that I identify with the Republican Party, but let\u2019s break this down. \u00a0What do I think of as being Republican Party values? With respect to the economy, it means a belief that self-reliance and free enterprise are the keys to a strong and growing economy. \u00a0While a safety net is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2209,"featured_media":5137,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[374],"tags":[378],"class_list":["post-5129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-republican-party"],"yoast_head":"\n