Does the GOP ever recover from the Trump "hi-jacking" of their Party?

[kentuck]

The way I see it, they have to expunge him from their Party. But to do so, would require significant sacrifice.

Do they truly think they can survive as a Party on the backward and dangerous ideas of Donald Trump? At the present time, the majority of voters in the GOP do indeed support Donald Trump.

We do not point out this reality in order to save the GOP, but rather to save our nation from the threat posed by this wannabe dictator.

Perhaps they think they can run their races without supporting their President? That would be very difficult to do.

If they wish to survive as a conservative Party, they must find a way to rid themselves of Donald Trump. I do not doubt but that they have discussed these options.

If they want to go into the future as the Party of Trump, that is their decision. If they decide to rid themselves of the scourge within their Party, there would probably be some sacrifice required? They would probably lose the Senate and maybe, the House?

But, it would show that they stand for something besides the Trump agenda. Otherwise, they are on a steep downward spiral. They have a difficult choice.

[DetlefK]

1. Even if they wanted to, they can't: They have driven their own voter-base into his arms.

The republican establishment whipped up anti-establishment sentiment in their voter-base to fire them up for a fight against Obama.

This anti-establishment credo backfired when Trump the Non-Republican won the republican primary by making the republican voter-base choose him over the republican establishment.

Clinton was the establishment-candidate. Trump was the anti-establishment-candidate.



The GOP has turned their voters into Trump-voters by firing them up over and over again, up to the point where Republicans started believing their own lies (e.g. holding 60 votes to repeal Obamacare).
If the GOP were to send Trump into exile, he would take maybe 25% of the republican voter-base with him. This political bloodletting would be lethal.

So, here's your choice:
An illness that will ruin your life or a therapy that will cure the illness but ruin your life in a different way?



And which Republican could probably succeed Trump? Which Republican could match his indifference to facts, traditions and norms?
Would the same people who voted for Trump, with all the polarization and fire, vote for a boring republican candidate like Jeb or Romney?





I wrote it here on DU a while ago:
If I were Paul Ryan, Trump's victory in the republican primary would make me very, very, very worried.

[kentuck]

2. They recovered from Nixon.

And they would probably recover from Trump. There would be some short-term loss, in my opinion, but the Democratic Party is not the most popular option at this time either. It would be to their advantage to cut the cord with Trump, the sooner the better.

[spanone]

3. let's hope not.

[kentuck]

4. If they don't...

...the damage may be irreparable?

It's a tough choice: Do we wish to save the GOP if it saves our country? Or are we willing to gamble that we can survive that which has befallen us?

[Trust Buster]

5. They obstructed for 8 years in the shadow of the 2008 financial crisis and were rewarded well.

This is a center-right country. There is nothing Republican's can do at this point that the majority of voters will punish them for. They control the entire federal government and the vast majority of state legislatures. Was this OP intended to be tongue in cheek ?

[kentuck]

6. I think they have superior political propaganda.

Which does not necessarily mean that the country is center right? Although it may be?

I think it's more of a case of "pay me now or pay me later".

Are Democrats ready to wait until 2020 and attempt to take back the House and Senate?

Which, by then, will have given Trump time to consolidate his gains and make it difficult for Democrats to win, in my opinion?

Or try to get rid of him as soon as possible. That seems to be the only options that I see?

Those that are waiting for Mueller to come forth with the evidence may be waiting a very long time? No matter what evidence he brings forth, it is still up to the Republican House and Senate to act upon it. That is the bottom line, as I see it.

[usedtobedemgurl]

8. Gerrymandering.....

Our country is not a center-right country or they would not even need to gerrymander. They were not rewarded for obstruction, they did districts so they could steal it. Studies have been done and there are more liberals and progressives than conservatives, they have just rigged it.

[Dustlawyer]

7. I worry over how long we can keep him tied to the Orange Asshole!

They will pretend he never happened like they did W.

The other thing I would like to see is the Democratic Party embracing populist ideas. Americans are really tired of the corruption of corporate influence. The Democrats are in a position to take advantage of the meltdown that is the current Republican Party, but have not come up with the candidates or the policies that will send a message to the Democratic Donor base that they cannot be the tail that wags the dog. We need m ore than a few tweaks ourselves in order to fully capitalize on the Trump era.

[kentuck]

9. I would agree that the Democratic Party should be embracing populist ideas, such as single-payer...

...or Medicare for All.

However, the problem that I see is how long can we bite this bullet? Can we survive day-to-day with a "Russian Roulette" government? Can we wait for the big "shock" that Naomi Klein talks about?

And who is to say that Trump and his Party will not be stronger in 2020 than they are now?

Perhaps we have no choice?

It does seem to me that the GOP is holding all the cards right now, but they don't know how to play them.

[Dustlawyer]

11. The Republicans will not be strong in 2020 unless they find a really great candidate.

Whether Trump makes it that far or we have Pence, Ryan or whoever, they will continue to piss off America. Pence or Ryan will be failures due to their heartless attacks on the poor and middle class.

I do not view populism as a bad thing. I am one of the ones tired of the corruption in Washington and unless something is done about reigning in the money in our politics soon, we are headed for some serious trouble. Many voted for Trump not because of the hate, but because of the Establishment in Washington has only been serving the Donor Class to the exclusion of everyone else.

They used to throw us a few bones at least, but the greed has gone into overdrive the last couple of decades. Obama did give us some good things like the ACA, but tempered that with appearing to dismiss the Public Option out of hand. His biggest mistake was not going after Wall Street after the crash. This more than anything ignited the populist movement among liberals. OWS was a direct result and it showed that both Party's are too cozy with the fraudulent bankers since none went to jail. Hillary didn't help her cause with the high dollar speeches to that group, even if they were benign.

Americans are sick of taking a back seat to the wealthy and big corporations. We have a great opportunity to dramatically take over if we pay more than lip service to the American people. Infrastructure, raising the minimum wage, single payer, beefing up SS and increasing taxes on the higher incomes would send the right message. Also, pledging to prosecute wealthy fraudsters and Wall Street big wigs for their fraud would draw Independents to the Party in droves.

[kentuck]

13. What happens between now and 2020?

Do you think we will be in a much larger war?

Do you think there is any chance of Trump consolidating his power and winning again in 2020?

[dmosh42]

10. Many people now see the Republicans as the "party of treason".

They are knowingly colluding with known cooperatives of the Russian
government led by a former KGB operative who never denounced his
past.

[Voltaire2]

12. So far they haven't suffered, so in that sense no

they can't recover.

[DinahMoeHum]

14. No. Their condition is terminal.

And they willingly went with him.

[DFW]

15. Trump didn't hijack the Republican Party. He now epitomizes what they have become.

A majority of Republicans still support him. He is not their anomaly. He is their standard bearer. He is their boy.

Ignorance and arrogance are no longer the features of their fringe. They are the standards by which they live. Republicans are not ashamed of ignorance and arrogance. They honor them. Trump didn't hijack them. He got their nomination because their rank and file decided to drop all pretense that Trump was something they were not..

[MineralMan]

16. My concern for the well-being of the Republican Party is nil.

I'm much more concerned about the Democratic Party and the fate of the nation. The Republicans can go pound sand.