Trump really destroyed the Republican party, didn't he?

He destroys everything he touches. They need to convict him. Whatever happens, let him start up a new party, it will be mismanaged and fall apart.

The Republican party destroyed itself. Trump is one person. He doesn't have that much power. He caused chaos and havoc, and Republican leaders made decisions to go with him rather than to push back.

To me, a primary defining moment was when Paul Ryan gave a press conference immediately after Trump said racist shit about an American-born judge whose heritage was Mexican. Paul Ryan told a collection of reporters, "I disavow! I disavow what he said. It is the textbook definition of racism!" and then within a minute, he announced his endorsement of Donald Trump.

That was a moment of selling one's soul to Satan on camera. Members of the GOP almost all did it. Romney, who had been mercilessly attacked by Trump during the campaign, went to dinner with Trump to kiss his ass and try to score a cabinet position, and then was mocked publicly by Trump afterward for having done it. That's a primary reason Romney appears to have a conscience now; had he been appointed to a position and worked in Trump's cabinet, I suspect he'd be a Nicki Haley-type loyalist.

Trump is an evil blob of fat and venom, but he could only do so much without being embraced by sociopathic career opportunists. They are all responsible for this. From Rubio to Graham to Collins, these people who created names for themselves in the media have betrayed all decency and made enough excuses to confirm that had a Holocaust-type event happened under Trump, all of them would have been part of it. Hitler did not kill millions of people; the people of Germany did it.

They have only themselves to blame.

[quote]The Republican party destroyed itself. Trump is one person. He doesn't have that much power. He caused chaos and havoc, and Republican leaders made decisions to go with him rather than to push back.

Yep, this. The Party gave him the power he now has to destroy them.

While it's true that be brought new voters to the repig party, those voters appear to be devoted completely to him and will attack anyone who doesn't bend the knee. Likewise, he catered almost solely to fundies that want to implement some sort of sharia law. In the meantime, they drove away moderates & independents. I really don't know how they self-correct since bringing back moderates means alienating the crazies.

I am not comparing Sanders to Trump in any substantive way here, but their fanatical devotees are fairly comparable. Bernie Sanders is not at all like Trump, but he attracted a following of people who were willing to--even eager to--"burn it all down" if their messiah didn't take it all and rewrite reality as we know it. I think Sanders got a little too carried away with his status with these people, but he is decent and he pulled himself and most of them back. Some regained their sanity and some drifted to Trump. Trump encouraged them to become more unhinged and more anti-American because he is anti-American and he is working at least in part in the interests of the Russian federation. A share of our population was primed for this and Trump is a master opportunist to exploited it almost to the downfall of the country. He will not be the last one. It's about the people and their detachment from reality mixed with real-world frustrations, long-latent hatred and in some cases profound injustices that caused this to happen.

The GOP would be smart to convict him but I doubt they will, and even if they spare him the conviction, Trump will start a third party anyway, just to get back at them. He was ranting for weeks about how the GOP let him down after he lost the election. Now he's looking for both attention and revenge.

OP, I absolutely love the visual imagery of your analogy, but as the earlier comments indicate, GOP politicians were hardly innocent victims. Instead they were culpable enablers and they all deserve to drown a painful death in that car.

Not convicting him will allow him to split the GOP and just like that, it gets even harder for the republicans to win anything. So not convicted we win, convicted we win.

I don’t know why anyone thinks the GOP is destroyed. They will do more than fine in the mid-terms. The more establishment members will be primaried into oblivion, the rest will fall into line and the Republican Party will continue the project of morphing into a fascist entity. That’s what a good chunk of this country wants. Hell,, even Lisa Murkowski walked back her pledge to leave the party if it continues to be the party of Trump.

I mean, yes, life in general will become a living hell under their control...but personally I’m past the point of being shocked at Trump’s sway and popularity. The US is thirsting for a dictator. Maybe Trump will be re-elected or he’ll endorse some other nutjob. But no way are they imploding. More like molting.

As R10 says, the mid-terms will give us a better idea - will Trumpism drive moderates away, or will they hold their noses?

Dump has no loyalty to anyone or anything but Dump. They should be smart enough to figure it out, but they're too cowardly and craven.

People's goldfish memories baffle me.

I have a poor short-term memory, but I remember some things forever.

One of those things is that only a few years ago, the broad conversation was that the Democratic party was tearing itself apart and was certain to collapse from disunity and a war of ideals.

That followed absolute declarations in 2016 that the Republican party was about to die, Trump had zero chance of winning and we were in for a long period of Democratic dominance.

This stuff drives me nuts. No one deals in reality anymore. It's all fanciful projections, predictions that change from month to month and everyone believes. We can't accuse others of being anti-science when we behave anti-realistically.

Polls have been consistently wrong. This year, pollsters admitted it. Yet people believe them and behave according to their fortune telling.

Predictions that this party is dead are always followed by predictions that the other party will die imminently. And it never stops.

Has anyone read Nineteen Eighty-Four? In that novel, there are three countries in the world, and two of them are always at war. But the wars are arbitrary and the enemy and the ally changes so often that no one ever has any idea who they're warring with and so they just accept that anyone is the enemy at anytime--or a friend, whatever they're told.

[quote]That followed absolute declarations in 2016 that the Republican party was about to die, Trump had zero chance of winning and we were in for a long period of Democratic dominance.

Early in 2016, not throughout 2016, which people like you always seem to forget. The Republican primaries were a slo-mo clown car crash. Once the Republican convention happened, people started realizing that we had a real problem on our hands. No one knew how embedded the crazy racist deplorable voting bloc was at the time, nor did we have the major signs of creeping international fascism until the summer of 2016. Now it's obvious, but it wasn't obvious five years ago, no matter how much you claim it was.

Ultimately I agree that the GOP won't be destroyed, they weren't destroyed after Nixon or Iran-Contra or WMD, they won't be destroyed now, but they might be destroyed later if Trump's third party takes hold in any meaningful way.

R2 Really? To say Trump doesn't have that much power is absurd. The man has single-handedly stained an entire political party and turned the country completely upside down. I mean...I get that people are responsible for their own actions blah, blah, blah but cut the shit.

It's gonna be a Trump world for a very long time. THAT'S power.

The Republican Party destroyed itself by becoming the party only of its donor class rather than the vast majority of its constituents. It could only offer culture wars and antagonism while its constituents lives got worse.

R15, it’s not really clear that it’s Trump’s world, is it? That will only become clear in the mid-terms, I think. If Trump controls the party and keeps his 74 million bloc together to do his bidding, then he really will be on the brink of changing politics permanently. However, the crucial factor is what happens to the Dem/anti-Trump coalition. If that coalitions doesn’t turn out for mid-terms, Trump will really consolidate his grip on his party because he will look like a winner again.

However, if the Biden voters turn out in the same numbers as this year, Trump will look increasingly like a losing proposition for the Republicans. At the moment they are conceding to him in the hope of avoiding a war in the party, but if he loses them the mid-terms too, the war will start, out of a sense of self-preservation.

We can only hope. Actually, he's the culmination of where the Party has been going since at least the rise to Gingrich.

The fucking Arizona GOP is openly embracing the Q-tards now.

R17 Let me clarify my statement. By "Trump world," I'm referring to the way he's corrupted the political system. He's emboldened the Gym Jordans and Matt Gaetzs. He's influenced the Madison Cawthrons. We're gonna have to deal with Jr. Trumps forever now.

Especially after he's acquitted for the second time.

R17 has it right. But the Republican Party is the Trump Party no matter what. Trumpsters should easily win in red States. . It’s only purple states where they cost Republicans anything. I just wonder how much Trump will care about winning elections for people who aren’t named Trump.

NY will keep him busy with legal issues. I’m just waiting for that shoes to drop.

[quote]The fucking Arizona GOP is openly embracing the Q-tards now.

The Oregon GOP is off the rails, too. Last week, the state party released a resolution saying:

“The violence at the Capitol was a ‘false flag’ operation designed to discredit President Trump, his supporters, and all conservative Republicans; this provided the sham motivation to impeach President Trump in order to advance the Democratic goal of seizing total power."

and

“The ten Republican House members, by voting to impeach Trump, repeated history by conspiring to surrender our nation to Leftist forces seeking to establish dictatorship void of all cherished freedoms and liberties."

Fuck them all - they deserve to be wrecked for all their shit.

All the GOP had to do with Trump is making him disclose his taxes in 2016. Instead, they chose to take the dirty Russian campaign money, through the NRA.

That left Trump with dirt on all of them and no way for them to dump him.

Trump has walked away from his threat to form a third party after advisors talked him out of it, telling him it would only lead to Democrats dominating the government (as if that's a bad thing), according to the article at the link.

He's already looking to influence the primary race for Portman's seat (get ready for a possible Senator Jim Jordan), endorsed the Huckabeast for AR governor, and helped crazy bitch Kelli Ward keep her role as AZ Republican Party Chair.

And we thought we'd stop talking about Trump after January 20. Ha, ha.

It’s love/hate for the establishment Republicans I’m sure. They love the votes of these extremists, but they hate the extremists. For the Republicans it’s always been about placating and fleecing fringe thinkers and “Christians” while simultaneously reducing their own taxes.

Dump destroys everything and anyone he comes into contact with. This is well-documented and clearly evident.

And, like Susan Smith, they blamed it on a black guy.

Amazing the depth the GOP will go just to please Trump's supporters.

I don't think the loyalty to Trump will transfer to any one else

The Republican party would be smart to play hard ball with Trump or he will truly have ruined the two party system in this country.

It's a simple choice for the GOP:

If they want to rid the party of the Orange Menace, all they have to do is round up 17 colleagues to join Democrats and convict him in the Senate, Then hold another vote to disqualify him from running again (only a simple majority is needed). Easy.

If they want this man and his nut job followers to haunt them and drag the party down a dark abyss for many years to come, they just continue to do what they've been doing for over four years: enable his madness.

I don't see Trump as a viable political force - unless he's a candidate. He won't support other Republicans long term because they are not him; and he can't stand to see other people win when he loses.

My prediction is he'll start out acting as if he'll be the candidate and then get bored with it and push one of his kids, possibly Ivanka, and they won't have nearly the popularity he had, and the whole thing will fizzle.

Trump did not destroy the Republican Party. He merely revealed who Republicans actually are. He said out loud the things McConnell, Graham, et. al. were afraid to say, and to their collective amazement, it turned out not only to be alright, but to actually be beneficial.

Only problem is now the members of the crazy underbelly have control of the party, and the establishment Republicans don’t know what to do.

He is a SNAKE. If the Republicans are too stupid or scared to convict him in this impeachment trial, we are going to be having to put up with his meddling in US politics until the day he dies. How can they be so blind not to see that? They belong to him unless they can muster the balls to vote to keep him from ever being able to run for President again. How could they think he could be re-elected? It seems TOTALLY impossible to me for that to ever happen now, especially after what happened on 1/6. He can't win as a Republican OR as an Independent, and he WILL split the Republican Party, so it won't be able to win in 2024. They might as well get rid of him, once and for good.

We need a Constitutional Amendment banning all opposition to the Democrats. All of it. I'm tired of this shit. I'm tired of the lie that "freedom of choice" or "freedom of speech" are good things. They aren't; they enable white supremacy, misogyny, homophobia, and Jew hatred. We regulate every other marketplace, so now it's time to start regulating the marketplace of ideas even more tightly.

The best story out is that Melania has taken to beating up Trump - she goes for his face with her fingernails - because she "cunt tek eat enimoor!"

And THAT is why he had to cancel attending his own final New Year's Bash at Mar-a-Lago at the last minute and head to DC with the Slovenian Slasher in tow. Because he was all scratched up.

And none of the family can say anything because he'd be humiliated and because Melanomia has the dirt on all of them. It's HER world now.

The GOP should have been destroyed before it ever began.

People have short memories. Remeber how the GOP was supposed to be over after Obama won in 2008?

It'd be interesting to see what would happen if the US political allegiances radically changed?

We've seen it happen here in the UK historically, The Whig Party no longer exist and The Liberal Party haven't won an Election for over a century.

Mark my words, they will take both houses in 2022 if we aren’t on our A-game. For the love of all that is gay, please please volunteer to canvas for your candidates. We have to put the pedal to the medal, it’s going to be a FIERCE battle to hold on.

What makes me laugh is how easily Joe stays ten steps ahead of them at all times. We hate America? His speeches are all about loving this country. We hate God? Joe shoves biblical verses down their fucking throats. We want to burn it all down? Joe demands accountability for anyone who riots regardless of party affiliation. Joe is out to tear down Trump’s “legacy”? Joe says it’s all in the hands of the DOJ, he wants nothing to do with it.

It’s like a ping pong match, Joe can just keep swatting the balls back while he’s doing ten other more important things. It is hysterical to watch how he’s got their number lulz.

R41, I agree about Joe. There was a point during the campaign where I thought he was much better at this than people were giving him credit for. Like he was quietly making the right decisions behind the scenes and saying the right things publicly but no one was really noticing any of it.

[quote] For the love of all that is gay, please please volunteer to canvas for your candidates. We have to put the pedal to the medal, it’s going to be a FIERCE battle to hold on.

Oh, dear. Oh, dear.

CANVASS

METAL

Maybe he wanted us to wrap them up in tents and drag them to the polls and get a silver medal out of it. You don’t know.

Bring back to the Fairness Doctrine, when reporters had to actually be journalists, not entertainers.

Trumpism revealed the disingenuous hucksters, who lay bait to the easily recruited cult.

R10, never be an insurance adjuster because you’re terrible at surveying damage.

The US is headed for a full on Fascist theocracy and then to a civil war. Face it, it's over and this is what is needed. There will be much blood spilled, the question is will we all see it and when. I think the Democrats will in the midterms, that always happens, how bad is to be seen.

Missouri bill would allow deadly force against demonstrators and give immunity to people who run over demonstrators blocking traffic.

No R47, the days of Democrats only being interested in presidential elections are over - 2018 and the recent Georgia special election proved that. Republicans will no longer benefit at the polls by having the majority of the country check out of the mid-terms. The electorate is wide awake with a full understanding that their power lies in their vote.

Biden has been in office 6 days and you already think this is over. Wait until the indictments begin.

We are already in a civil Cold War and we have been in one since the moment George W. Bush said “you are either for us or against us.“

That 45 Republican Senators voted today in favour of Rand Paul’s objection - RAND PAUL - is the GOP’s Guyana moment and they are choosing to drink the Kool-Aid. What can possibly be their electoral future when they not only decline to knock Trump out of the game but also approve of the insurrection of the capitol...? It’s like watching the mass suicjde of a death cult.

They’re like battered housewives refusing to leave their abuser because they don’t believe they can exist without him. It’s hilarious that all of them are ignoring that no one in the Trump administration can actually get a job - their fate is writ large all around them but just like Trump’s other devotees, they don’t believe it will happen to them. Pathetic.

If we do not completely destroy the GOP now, then we never will. They are worse than the Nazi party because Germany was only under their control for 12 years. We have had to deal with these motherfuckers since 1854. If we do not make it illegal to be a Republican, they will come back with an out and out fascist. Or worse, somebody who is so reactionary he will literally make fascists look like hippies by comparison. Someone so bad you will be begging for Trump back on your hands and knees.

R52, the GOP is falling apart before our very eyes. Unfortunately people conflate this with the country - but they are not the country, they are a political party that at last count had the hardcore support of 23% of the electorate. Again, not the country.

What GOP Senators fail to do will be done by New York State, Georgia, Dominion, etc. Justice will prevail. That this lot can’t see the political dead end they are hurtling towards - do you really think a majority of the country is going to subscribe to a wacky conspiracy theory that is being debunked before their eyes - is their problem. The rest of us will be just fine.

Forgive me for not reading through this thread and I'm sure it was already said, but it bears repeating over and over and over again. Trump is not some almighty powerful being who took over the GOP. He merely exposed them for who they have been from the moment the Dems took up the mantle of Civil Rights.

LBJ quote, Southern strategy, McCain's "black child," xenophobia, fear-mongering, hate, prejudice.

We all know who makes up most of the GOP's base. The media just chose to ignore it. Chose to ignore the elephant in the room to go on about "economic anxiety." Fucking horseshit.

That a Donald Trump with his idiocy, immorality and ignorance of governing could become president and Obama had to be "perfect" to ascend to that same office, speaks to how warped this country truly is. Obama had to be Cliff Huxtable while Trump could be Bill Cosby - and still win.

I agree with the posters who think the midterm elections will be crucial. If Dems can keep the house and the senate or even can expand their hold, a big part of the battle will be won.

This was never just a short walk in the park, it's a marathon to keep those mobsters away from positions of power.

In a lot of ways this all feels like the rise of Hitler and the Nazis, except voting is still a remedy. A substantial part of republicans in Congress are fond of extremist ideas - dismantling constitution, democracy and rule of law. They want a Russian oligarchy type government where they can steal the country blind and hold all the power. There's no sugarcoating this, that's the situation America faces right now.

As far as recorded registered voters go, don't Republicans make up a smaller percentage than Democrats? Arent there more Democrats and independents than them when combined? Fuck them. They are the minority of this country.

Chris Hayes:

The central story of American politics right now is that one of the two parties is *radicalizing against democracy* in front of our eyes. There are tons of other stories as well, but they all come after that, I think.

Axios sometimes gets good scoops but it's analysis and narrative journalism isn't very impressive.

[quote] but it's analysis

Oh, dear!

The fact that the Republicans won’t vote to convict him means they’re not broken. Rather, they’re just as shitty as ever.

R56, to give you an idea: 12 MILLION more people voted for Dems than Reps for the Senate back in 2018. We are beholden to a system that allows a garbage state like KY with fewer people than NYC alone and NO money, to take this country down with them. Countless Republican Senators combined represent fewer people than CA.

It’s 30 Republican Senators from 15 states whose combined population is less than that of CA which has 2 Senators.

And in the Senate alone, Democrats have a +15M majority in the popular vote that put them there than Republicans.

With any amount of luck...

Many, many Republicans are no longer interested in rolling over on sensitive issues. They may lose, but they will now fight.

R62, it's just sickening. It offends me more that they don't even have fucking money, yet they want to control where the money they DON'T contribute goes. It's like a homeless person you give money to demanding they get to own your house.

If both Presidents Bush had not been wimps, then there never would have been such interest in Trump to begin with.

Last time I checked there was still a Republican party. But it seems to be full of nuts and and old people. Probably time to get a new party. The rational one should just get out.

The GOP has been rotting for some time- they went off the rails with Trump.

[quote]Trump really destroyed the Republican party, didn't he?

Did you not notice that they GAINED House seats in the last election?