As a continuation from last week’s post, I thought recommending fewer posts but analysing them in more detail would be a good idea. Today I have selected an interview with David French, a columnist for the American conservative National Review magazine, about Trump and the general state of the Republican Party. https://www.vox.com/2017/7/13/15958230/donald-trump-jr-russia-collusion-republican-party-david-french
French is remarkably honest here. He admits that the rise of Trump is largely due to the failings of the Republican base. The start of the interview mentions how Republican senators have been disproportionately cautious in their views on Trump’s collusion with the Russians; French concedes that were it Hillary Clinton accused of collusion with a foreign power, Republicans would be nowhere near as tepid. French is scathing in his critique of how the Republican Party failed to stand up to Trump- partly by underestimating him during the primaries, but particularly by using him as a means to advance legislation once he was inaugurated. However, French is without hope. He believes young Republicans are especially anti-Trump and anti-authoritarian, so a genuinely conservative candidate will have a chance, if nothing else, due to demographics. But for now, Trump has taken over the Republican Party, which is why and how most Republicans still express confidence in him.
I appreciate French’s critique here. It isn’t easy to go to a liberal website to attack the party you have supported your whole life. French understands that Trump is fundamentally immoral in his political and personal conduct, and isn’t willing to overlook that for the sake of advancing a few conservative goals. French even goes as far as to believe that the short term victories Republicans will make now will come at the expense of future electability. By associating conservatism with Trump, Republicans will tarnish their brand as the various scandals of the Trump presidency come to light.
Having said that, even as a conservative, French’s condemnation of Trump doesn’t go far enough. He fails to acknowledge the role Evangelical Christianity played in Trump’s rise and continued popularity amongst Republicans. Prominent Evangelicals like Pat Robertson have given their full support to Trump. Moreover, Trump selected Mike Pence to boost his popularity amongst Evangelicals. Nor does French admit Trump’s appeal to the instinctive nationalism of most Republican voters. The ‘America First’ rhetoric of the Trump campaign may have appeared bellicose and protectionist to Republican elites. But to ordinary Republicans, it was music to their ears. Equally, Republican politicians are far more pro immigration than their voters, which is one of the reasons Trump, as the most anti immigration candidate, won the primary. Part of the problem with the Republican Party is that most Republicans don’t adhere to what French would consider conservatism. Instead, they believe in a crude form of nationalism. It doesn’t matter to them how much the government spends, it is who the government looks out for. Most Republicans believe the internationalist outlook of both Democrats like Bill Clinton and Obama, and also Republicans like Bush and McCain, was somehow a betrayal of ordinary Americans. This explains Trump’s anti foreign interventionism, but also his aversion to free trade and mass immigration.
French has fallen victim to the American two party system. Under a proportional voting method, French could set up a genuinely conservative movement, and gain a considerable amount of support that would be reflected in the number of seats the party would win. But in a two party system, the likes of French have no choice but to win the Republican Party back from the Trump supporters. Considering that Trump’s ideology is more in touch with ordinary Republicans than the likes of Rubio or Kasich, an anti-authoritarian Republican Party that can appeal to young people is very unlikely to materialise.
The interview itself is quite long, but I would strongly recommend reading the whole thing. Ultimately I lean to the left on most issues of American politics, and so cannot concur with everything French says. But it is good to read views from the other side on occasion, particularly when they are being as frank as David French is here.
Thank you, Owen, for giving us this thorough glimpse into the state of the Republican party.
What he doesn’t seem to admit is that Congessional Republicans are preoccupied with re- election, and that money is their prime concern (the Democrats are the same – the average Congressman spends, perhaps. half of every day fundraising). They are therefore in hock to the biggest contributors, and naturally look out for them. Culprit – the huge cost of getting your message across on the media. This is why the Republican party is consumed with the idea of a massive tax cut – for their rich funders. It is not a republican party, nor a conservative party, except in the sense of shoring up the oligarchy and thus conserving their jobs, which are well paid, with excellent pensions and gold-plated health insurance.
The answer is a taxpayer funding at election time, say for the sake of argument, $1m. each for tlower house and $3 m each for the Senate. Spend a penny more and you are in jail for a year and lose all benefits. Free from fundraising these people might start thinking about all their electorates. Will it happen? No!