From Lincoln to Trump: The Shattered and Destroyed Legacy of the Republicans

“One of the penalties of refusing to participate in politics is that you end up being governed by your inferiors.”

(Plato)

 

The two-party political system of America allows competing ideologies to flourish in the country. While Democrats and Republicans shared a fair set of beliefs in the past, the inauguration of Donald Trump in the Oval Office triggered an event unprecedented in nature.  Through his destructive policies, Donald Trump destroyed Republican party

The policies driven by hate have created a deep divide among Americans, the consequences of which have yet to be seen. Similarly, the future of the Republican party also seems endangered if they don’t allow sane minds to come on top and take over the leadership of the party.

Trump has destroyed the party that came into the spotlight by the inauguration of Abraham Lincoln in the White House. 

A party that was previously known for abolishing slavery in the United States due to the untiring efforts of the first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, is now an emblem of race and hate-driven politics. 

The policies of the latest Republican president, Donald Trump, have not only compromised the American interests but also destroyed the Republican party itself.

As a result, the policymakers who used to raise voices for the interests of the American people now praise Trump as a God. Anyone who speaks against him is either fired or forcefully retired.

The latest example in this regard is the forceful resignation of the Attorney General of the United States, William Barr, in the aftermath of the Hunter Biden investigations. A few days ago, Donald Trump castigated William Barr and signaled to fire him, and today he is no longer the Attorney General of the United States.

Unfortunately, the ultra-nationalist president Donald Trump destroyed the Republican party by his flawed policies across all the spectrums. 

If we look at history, we can easily see that the political system of the United States was dominated by both the Republicans and the Democrats. But as Donald Trump departs now, it seems that under the leadership of the President-elect Joe Biden, Democrats will enjoy a prominent lead in the political system of the United States in the times to come, until a visionary and revolutionary Republican comes into limelight.

During the four years of Trump’s presidency, the Republican party was fairly divided into pro-Trump and anti-Trump factions. Then comes the Trump base, which was established and empowered to keep the anti-Trump faction in check. 

Trump took the party under his authoritarian control, and pro-Trump Republicans helped him to do so. As a result, the United States, along with the Republican Party, witnessed destruction never seen before. 

For the first time in the history of the country, all fifty states came together to condemn the systematic discrimination allowed to flourish under the Trump regime. 

Those who opposed President Trump in his efforts to undermine the democracy of the country were given a tough time by the so-called Trump base. Most recently, supporters of the president took to the streets, chanting slogans against those who have not helped the president to overturn the election results. All of this decries that Trump destroyed Republican Party and the country as well. 

How has Trump destroyed the Republican party, and what lies next for the Republicans? Let’s have a look.

From Lincoln to Trump, A Story of Misery, Courtesy of Trump

 

“The party of Lincoln had a good run. Then came Mr. Trump.”

(New York Times)

The Republican Party is no longer the party of conservatives like Abraham Lincoln or Ronald Reagan, who advocated the doctrines of the limited government. Instead, it has now become a party of the extremists like Donald Trump.

Among all the things that faced the brunt of the Trump presidency, the Republican party is the major one. Donald Trump has triggered the rot in the Republican Party, which has been there for a long time and has grown unheeded. 

The party is now seen as a political party devoid of any ideology or values. It seems that the Republican party is just working to retain power, even at the expense of the democratic traditions of the country. 

Opposition in the political system works to strengthen democracy, a function no longer served by the Republican Party. The Republican Party has become obsessed with the radical attitude of Trumpism. Its ideology has been reduced to authoritarian populism and serving a specific sector of society. 

The policies of the Republicans are often the personal opinion of Donald Trump and are mostly made without any consultation. The viewpoints of the lawmakers and the advisory are of little importance in front of Donald Trump.

In short, Trump is the new Republican Party, filled with the paranoia of non-Republican and radical interests that goes beyond building a separation wall or unleashing fire and fury. 

The long-preached values of character and family values are no longer part of the basic ideology of Republicans. Instead, the party is now home to Trump’s degeneracy and concepts of discrimination and hatred. 

Republicans now have to comply with the standards of President Donald Trump instead of those demanded by the public and the Constitution of the United States. Those who do not come under those standards face backlash from the so-called Trump base. 

Room for the incorporation of the personal opinion of the policymakers and implementers in the policymaking process has drastically been reduced by Donald Trump. He fires anyone who speaks against him.

A clear example in this regard is the removal of William Barr, the US Attorney General, and CISA chief Chris Krebs.

While many people assume that William Barr resigned willfully, it happened just due to the disliking of Donald Trump for not revealing Hunter Biden’s case before the elections.

 

The Tremendous Fear of Trump’s Base in the Republicans:

Trump base is the term that refers to the staunch supporters of President Donald Trump, a majority of whom are composed of the white working-class and different militia and non-militia groups who work for the white supremacy. 

This Trump base helped him to reach the White House in 2016 and has been rewarded by the president as an attempt to empower them. These radical groups are often supported by Trump from the podium, a clear example of which was seen in the presidential debate when he supported “Proud Boys,” one of those organizations.

The Trump base, during these four years, became powerful enough that the Republicans had to comply with their standards to get a well-respected position in the party.

Party leaders are too afraid to have an opinion against President Trump, as they do not want to see public rallies against them, similar to the one witnessed in Washington against those who did not help Trump to overturn the election results. 

The Trump base requires the party leaders to betray the values and integrity upon which the US political system stands. They seek to pursue their interests over the nation.

A prominent example in this regard was seen when the exploiters tried to turn the peaceful protests against George Floyd’s murder into violence. 

White evangelicals are some of the firmest supporters of Donald Trump. This is not because Trump belongs to their faith, but because the president appointed more than 200 judges to the federal courts from this large majority religious group. 

Due to this fear of the Trump base, Republicans remained quiet even on the most dangerous actions of the president. They backed Trump when he declared a phony emergency at the southern border to siphon money for the so-called Trump Wall. 

They stood behind him when he was impeached for pressurizing Ukrainian authorities to make cases against his political rivals. 

They backed him when he pushed the country toward a racial uprising. They also supported him in spreading misinformation about the pandemic destroying American healthcare and killing the masses.

They are behind him when President Donald Trump is trying to sabotage the electoral process of the United States. 

The Republicans no longer believe in an ideology of serving the nation and “Making America Great Again.” Instead, they believe in the slogan “Making Trump President Again.”

Trump Destroyed Republican Party: Destruction of Conservatism, the Republican’s Ideology:

The Republican Party used to be a party of Lincoln and his conservative ideologies of free trade and limited government. Unfortunately, these ideologies no longer linger in the party. During four years of Trump’s presidency, Republicans witnessed many events, which was in no way a fight for the conservative ideology upon which the party stands. 

Trump’s presidency is full of using tyrannical powers, which forced many life-long Republicans to put their career aside for the new and emerging Trump base. 

Stuart Stevens, a life-long Republican, who devised campaign policies for nominees like Mitt Romney, John McCain, and George Bush, now believes that the Republican Party is a threat to American democracy. 

Stevens is currently working on a book called It Was All a Lie to expose the failures of President Donald Trump as a Republican president. 

Stevens, in one of his interviews with Politico, said that since the inception of Donald Trump in the White House, Mr. Trump had formed his own standards of being a Republican. He said that “You are either for him and this America or, if you are against him, you are against America.” 

He also criticized the Republicans who try to support Trump in his every step. Mentioning Republican Senator Mitch McConnell, Stevens said, “Mitch McConnell will think Trump will be remembered as his fool, and I think the odds are pretty good it is going to be the other way around.” 

Another strategist of the Republican Party, Rick Wilson, in his interview, on a YouTube channel Salon, termed the Republican Party as “dead.”

He further argued that the party has gone astray from the conservative values of limited government and has been involved in the expansion of debt, abuse of the executive power, and expansion of mainstream abuse of people. He further said that “all of those things are repugnant to a conservative.” 

 

A Deep Divide in Republicans: Another Trump Achievement

The Republican Party is currently divided into the following three factions, and the credit goes to no one else other than Donald Trump himself. 

 

• The first faction of the Republican Party includes those who have been with Donald Trump from the very beginning. They knew what he was going to do, and they wanted to be a part of it. They shared the dream of America that President Donald Trump was going to build. This group includes life-long Trump supporters such as Patrick Joseph. 

 

• The second faction includes those who had no interest in Donald Trump or his ideology but stayed with him driven by their hatred toward the anti-Trump groups. Their hate for Trump haters is strong enough to keep them at peace with everything that President Trump does. This group includes Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell. 

 

• The third, and the most interesting, faction, is the one that has hated Trump from the very beginning and knew what destruction President Trump would bring for the country and the Republican party. This includes South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham. 

 

This division in the Republican Party is expected to break after Donald Trump leaves office. 

The next few years will be extremely challenging for Donald Trump, as he will not only face the Supreme Court for the crimes he has committed during his rule but will also have to keep the party intact. 

However, there are few chances that Donald Trump will be able to keep the party intact. Soon, the time will come when the ideological factions of the party will rebel, and at that time, either Trump will have to leave or to see the destruction of the Republican Party. 

 

Conclusion

The Republican Party, also known as the Grand Old Party, is no longer grand at all. It used to be the party that advocated a free and strong America, but the four years of Trump’s presidency have shown that it no longer serves these motives. 

Trump has not only destroyed America but has played a significant role in the destruction of the Republican Party. Through his action, policies, and rhetoric, the president has undermined the very political system that serves as the base of democracy.  

The party no longer works for the conservative values and has a new agenda of Trumpism. There is an evident division in the Republican Party, and eventually, this division is going to destroy it. 

As Trump spends his last days in the White House, the senior leadership should re-think the direction in which the Republicans have been headed in the last four years.