General Discussion

kpete

(71,996 posts) Sat Jul 23, 2016, 11:16 AM Jul 2016

Frank Rich:The notion that the GOP is deeply divided is based on a conceit of the mainstream media:

............

The notion that the GOP is deeply divided is based on a conceit of the mainstream media: that the #NeverTrump crowd — roughly speaking, the defeated Jeb Bush–Marco Rubio–John Kasich political class, their donors, and the elite conservative Times–Washington Post–Wall Street Journal op-ed columnists who echo them — represent one-half of the supposed divide and that the insurgent Trumpists represent the other. But the two camps in this ostensible civil war are not evenly matched. The #NeverTrump crowd is actually the party’s fringe. Trump did win the Republican primaries decisively, and his voters are the true GOP.

That party is all white — only 18 of the convention’s 2,472 delegates were black, in the estimate of the Washington Post. And Trump’s absurd expression of LGBT solidarity notwithstanding, it’s a homophobic party — its platform not only opposes same-sex marriage and same-sex civil-rights protections but endorses reparation “therapy” for young gay people. And it’s a nativist party that has corporate backers who talk about immigration reform but that in reality has done nothing to advance that cause even when a president sympathetic to it (George W. Bush) was in power.

Whatever Ted Cruz’s fate within the GOP, it would be ridiculous to say he differs from Trump on any of the issues so attractive to the base; even in his supposedly rebellious convention speech, he made a point of endorsing Trump’s signature issue, a wall along the Mexican border. Let us also remember that Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, Rubio, Newt Gingrich, Sheldon Adelson, and nearly everyone else with true power in the Republican Party has signed on to the Trump GOP even if they make a show of holding their noses while doing so. The Wall Street Journal editorial page, once a platform of principled conservative opposition to Trump, is now rationalizing any outrageous thing he says or does on the grounds that Hillary Clinton would be worse. They are all selling their souls to the devil — but in truth they did so the moment John McCain cynically put Palin, all but indistinguishable from Trump, on his ticket eight years ago.

So what is the future of the GOP? Win or lose this fall, it will remain, as it has been for some time, the last outpost of old white America. Riding in on a wave of anti-Obama rage, Trump has made explicit the racial animus that was implicit in the Nixon-Reagan-Bush years. He not only wants to be the new Nixon, but the new Spiro Agnew, Jesse Helms, Lee Atwater, Pat Buchanan, and all of the rest combined. Even if he goes down, his followers are going to be creating havoc for years to come, doing their best to make real the horrific Armageddon-tinged portrait of the nation that Trump drew in his dark and corrosive acceptance speech. The white dead-enders are doomed by demography in the end, but not at the pace one might wish.

http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/07/one-defense-america-has-against-trump.html#

10 replies

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Highlight:

Frank Rich:The notion that the GOP is deeply divided is based on a conceit of the mainstream media: (Original Post) kpete Jul 2016 OP

republican party is screwed qazplm Jul 2016 #1

He wants to be the new greymattermom Jul 2016 #2

"...the last outpost of old white America." Paladin Jul 2016 #3

He said something really important in this piece: The Velveteen Ocelot Jul 2016 #4

Eh. Igel Jul 2016 #5

A party that's ever more marginalized and diminished, at least at the presidential level. Surya Gayatri Jul 2016 #6

which article came out first, his, or taibbi's RS article, posted elsewhere here? Gabi Hayes Jul 2016 #7

just saw the quote about the 'liberal media' Gabi Hayes Jul 2016 #8

The problem is hate radio is very much against Trump Johonny Jul 2016 #9

huh???? that sounds incredible. I hope you're correct, but I can't believe Gabi Hayes Jul 2016 #10

qazplm

(3,626 posts)

1. republican party is screwed

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 11:33 AM

Jul 2016

this racist xenophobic genie is not going back in the bottle. Either they continue to cause real issues within the party, or they break off and form their own party. Either result means Dems will win in the near future (although I suspect at some point it will lead to the Dem party fracturing as well).

greymattermom

(5,754 posts)

2. He wants to be the new

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 11:41 AM

Jul 2016

George Wallace, David Duke, add your names here.

Paladin

(28,264 posts)

3. "...the last outpost of old white America."

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 11:45 AM

Jul 2016

Frank Rich nails it, as usual.

The Velveteen Ocelot

(115,732 posts)

4. He said something really important in this piece:

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 12:02 PM

Jul 2016

...the only defense we have against Trump is his opponent. She must make sure that the other America, the America that is appalled, victimized, and scandalized by Trump and what he represents, goes to the polls to vote "no." Is Hillary Clinton up to it? I don’t know. Yes, she could win by a landslide. But she could well lose, and to believe otherwise is to live in the cocoon of, yes, the liberal media — the cocoon that gave us all of those poll analysts who said Trump could never win the nomination and who kept saying it was only a matter of time before the Republicans’ “best candidate” (that would be Marco Rubio, remember him?) would emerge from the pack to save the day.

A chilling article by Aaron Blake of the Washington Post tracking Clinton’s downward trajectory as the convention convened makes it clear how close this is going to be. While 49 percent of registered voters “strongly dislike” Trump, 47 percent feel the same way about Clinton — in other words, a statistical dead heat of detestation. She has got to rise above that — with a vice-presidential pick, to be announced imminently, who will rally voters rather than bore them, with a convention that isn’t a smug and relentlessly rational legal brief but a fierce rallying cry that also speaks to the emotions, if higher emotions than Trump’s. This is a war in which the country hangs in the balance. You don’t win wars with civility and bullet points.

It has been argued here on DU and elsewhere that all that's necessary to defeat Trump is a rational showing of how wrong he is about almost everything. Just fire up the Powerpoint and show the folks the truth. I disagree, and so does Frank Rich. You can't counter irrational fear and rage with know-it-all lectures. Gotta get to that lizard brain that Trump appeals to so well. There has to be emotion and enthusiasm, more of the kind of comment Clinton made about Trump trash-talking America. I'd also be sort of inclined to dust off LBJ's old "daisy" ad. LBJ knew how to go for the jugular and we will need some of that.

Igel

(35,320 posts)

5. Eh.

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 12:30 PM

Jul 2016

Trump won decisively.

With a plurality of the votes, not a majority. We like to look at that when considering delegate counts for HRC/BS or popular vote versus electoral college. Not looking at the popular vote, we say, is an injustice, a distortion, not democratic.

Trump got around 13.3 million votes.

Cruz, 7.6 million.

Rubio, 3.5 million,

Kasich, 4.2 million.

Total: 28.6 million.

Trump's share, 46.5%, much of that *after* other candidates had bailed from the race so some people either voted second choice or stayed home because they had nobody to vote for.

But 46.5% is now "all" and a minority represents the "true" (R) party? (All those non-existent true Scotsmen are rolling over in their non-graves.)

Now, the "Never Trump" movement may be a smallish but unknown percentage, but let's not conclude that the overwhelming majority of the (R) base avidly supported Trump when he couldn't even get a simple majority. A lot of Trump voters are going to be like a lot of Sanders voters: they're going to cast anti-votes. Even Trump haters will vote Trump to avoid HRC; even HRC haters will vote HRC to avoid Trump. (With some just staying home or choosing 3rd party candidates. A number of Trumpeters seem to be supporting Johnson, I think his name is. Libertarian. They've drunk the Perot water.)

And, yes, I play strings and guitar, so "trumpeter" is a mild insult. Brassy, usually too loud, out of tune, and they dribble.

Surya Gayatri

(15,445 posts)

6. A party that's ever more marginalized and diminished, at least at the presidential level.

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 01:08 PM

Jul 2016

But, still capable of doing enormous damage:

Even if he goes down, his followers are going to be creating havoc for years to come, doing their best to make real the horrific Armageddon-tinged portrait of the nation that Trump drew in his dark and corrosive acceptance speech.

Gabi Hayes

(28,795 posts)

7. which article came out first, his, or taibbi's RS article, posted elsewhere here?

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 01:14 PM

Jul 2016

they cover much the same ground, taibbi in much more graphic, descriptive terms...but that's what he does

rich is a good writer, most of the time....I've followed him for over forty years, since his stint at the most excellent New Times Magazine, and he's had his ups and downs, mainly ups.

this work is an example of what one almost NEVER sees on TV, where reality is made and ignored on a minute by minute basis

it was good to seem him on with Larry ODonnell last night. too bad he can't get on some of those laughable CNN/MSNBC panels, chock full of the Epshtyns, McEnanys, Piersons, Lewandowskis, Hewitts, Schapps, and the myriad other paid drones, masquerading as at least mentally stable commentators, instead of automatons, programmed propaganda vomiters the SHOWED THEMSELVES to be when they staunchly refused to believe the evidence of their own eyes during the Melania debacle.

NOT one of them should ever NOT be confronted with their complete lack of credibility after performances like the ones they gave during that fiasco.
no reason to ever listen to a word they say, ever again

Gabi Hayes

(28,795 posts)

8. just saw the quote about the 'liberal media'

Reply to Gabi Hayes (Reply #7)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 01:20 PM

Jul 2016

as I said, Rich usually gets it right,

but ARE YOU FRICKING KIDDING ME??????

that's the hoariest cliché of the last, what, 58 years? the advent of Nixon?

I can't believe he's falling for that vapid bit of wingnut propaganda.....very disappointed

has he commented on the media's utter LACK of response to comey's hatchet job on Hillary, most of which he was forced to walk back?

or the unalloyed love affair the media have for Melania, and the rest of the grifter family?

well, you get the drift. very disappointed in that delusional bit of his reasoning. casts doubt on much that follows

Johonny

(20,851 posts)

9. The problem is hate radio is very much against Trump

Reply to kpete (Original post)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 01:35 PM

Jul 2016

there does appear to be every bit of the "I'm loving it" to hate radio when Trump eventually loses. As hate radio goes so eventually goes that party. Hate radio hated McCain, McCain is now marginalized. Hate radio hated Romney, Romney is now marginalized...hate radio hates Trump...Trump will likely eventually be marginalized.

Gabi Hayes

(28,795 posts)

10. huh???? that sounds incredible. I hope you're correct, but I can't believe

Reply to Johonny (Reply #9)

Sat Jul 23, 2016, 01:50 PM

Jul 2016

the major names are among any sort of coterie that would abandon the Repub candidate

the inhalers that listen to wingnutbabble have to be 99 percent for trump, and would treat any apostasy like that the same way the Tpartiers trashed Boehner and Ryan

got any names?

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