GOP Trumpageddon? Let it Bern!
Bernie Sanders may want to expand his anti-billionaire appeal to a new set of potential allies. The Republican Party was blessed with an overabundance of under-chromosomed candidates for President because each and every one had a pet billionaire or two bankrolling them, via Citizens United. And now, thanks to a self-funding billionaire, they are staring down both barrels of existential Trumpageddon. Who more than the GOP squirearchy, fervently wishing all billionaires aboard RMS Titanic in situ, is more ready to Feel the Bern?
However, let’s look at the Big, Big Picture and wonder – is the destruction of the Republican Party good for America?
By just the Big Picture, the answer is a resounding “Yes!” The Republican Party of Goldwaterism has been artificially propped up like a tin-pot dictator long past his expiration date. Brain-dead since the election of Reagan, they’ve gone anti-reality in order to cater to a succession of “Majorities,” which were really just various crank minorities cobbled together by Atwater and Rove to milk for donations and votes. The sooner that ends, and with it the obstructionism of Congress, and the concomitant triumph of progressive reason, the better off we all will be. Goldwaterism is what ails America. Immediate relief via ass-ectomy is the prescription under the Big Picture.
But what about the Big, Big Picture? America is naturally a fractious people. Should a significant portion of the electorate be completely marginalized and essentially disfranchised? I’m inclined to say, “hell, YES! And it would serve them right!” But isn’t that essentially what they, as individuals and collectively, have been fearing would happen? Isn’t being treated as a minority exactly how they treated other minorities been their 3-AM-staring-at-the-ceiling worry, and the rationale for EVERYTHING that’s brought them to existential Trumpageddon?
Wouldn’t it make us just like them if we did?
So clearly, a fragmented Right would be wrong, right?
Wrong! BREAK ‘EM UP! The Republican Party should fragment because marginalizing and disfranchising their voters is precicely what they’ve been doing. Nixon used to rationalize: “I can’t do what’s right for the country if I can’t get elected.” But then they went and made the act of getting elected – not the result, but the actual process – wrong for the country, and inherently undemocratic.
The Republican Party should drink the hemlock for their own crimes against America. They should embrace Trumpageddon, let this play out and let Trump become the nominee, then walk out and form a new party. Let the entire Republican Party fragment into the Conservative Party, the Christian Republican Party, the Grand Old Republican Party and The NationalTrumpalist Party.
Rather than marginalized and disfranchised, current Republican voters would then be able to have their platforms fully and frankly aired, and they’d be free to nominate according to their own whims and dictates, and they’d have more power to do so thanks to… Democrats?
Yes, Democrats! Because the unified Democrats can take advantage of their fragmentation to square the Supreme Court, to save the planet from overheating, to destroy the concept that money equals speech, to design a fair system of federally-funded elections, and to outlaw gerrymandering as a horse-whipping offense, to the empowerment of all segments of the electorate – Left, Center, and Right.
Thus empowered we Democrats can follow suit and fragment to the four winds, and isn’t this what Bernie’s been saying all along? To drop the ideas of the marketplace and rebuild the marketplace of ideas? To end the politics of money and begin again with just plain politics in its truest small-d democratic sense?
We can all embrace that end goal, but it’s going to take a village to get us there.
~Primo
Here’s what’s on my mind — if Hillary gets the nomination: What happens with all of Bernie’s supporters? Apparently, many of them would not vote at all, or would even vote for Trump, rather than give their vote to Hillary. I’m a lifelong Democrat, and I will vote for the party’s nominee… a bad day with a Democrat is better than any day with a Republican! So the anger of Bernie’s supporters against Hillary is absolutely upsetting to me. Here’s just one report on this hatred of all-things-Hillary. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/bernie-sanders-supporters-wont-vote-hillary_us_56d7571ae4b0871f60edb9fe
It remains to be seen if any of this Hillary hate is the result of “Bernie Bros”. Here are some thoughts about those guys from the Immoral Minority’s Jess Gryphen: “I am beginning to think that a whole lot of these so-called “Bernie Bros” are in fact conservatives masquerading as supporters in order to level misogynistic, and hate filled, attacks from what would be to them enemy lines.
“At least I hope that’s the case.
“Because if not, then Bernie’s support seems essentially to be made up of thin skinned crybabies who could never be counted on to show up at the polls in November in the first place.”
1http://theimmoralminority.blogspot.com/2016/03/well-it-appears-that-my-daughter-was.html
Be vewy vewy careful Primo. Ima thinking the divides are less identifiable than you name. And I fear/suspect there are right leaning DINOs that would align themselves with a Conservative Party or a Christian Republican Party. Ultimately you might arrive at a Conservative-Liberal split, ala the UK, but the road there would be ugly. And frankly I’m too old for ugly.
2I am perfectly fine with marginalizing & disenfranchising insane, stupid and/or evil people.
3Sorry, Elsie, but the vast majority of Bernie supporters are perfectly normal rational human beings who would not even consider handing the election over to Trump or whoever else emerges from the Republican clown car. Don’t believe everything you read. Lots of gleeful folks of bad will spreading mis- and dis- information during this primary season.
4With Dem turnout lower than expected so far in the primaries, it remains to be seen if the Democratic party can pull this off.
5I am comfortable with either Senator Sanders or Secretary Clinton as our President, but first things first. There has to be a a huge push to inspire rational people to unify and vote a Dem into office. Unity is our hope.
The Rethuglicans are holding a circular firing squad.
Relax and enjoy.
6Elsie, I’ve talked/argued with some Bernie fans (I’m one myself) online and what I get from the ones who talk about voting Trump is that they are either:
1. trolls,
2. people who really wanted Rand Paul, (?)
and
3. idiots who think that one vote in one election takes us all into Utopia without any further effort. (I doubt if they would vote anyway if it was a choice between that and frisbee golf. Too long spent standing in line.)
And I’m hoping for pretty much the same thing the article calls for, but not being sufficiently evolved morally my preference would be some Second Amendment Solutions among themselves before, during, or after any parting of the ways.
7Promo: You’re talkin’ snacilbupers here. So it’s gonna take a pillage.
8It will take more than A village, it will take ALL villages.
And towns, cities and states, as well. This is not Britain; we were not grown organically from root stock dating back a thousand years. We are weeds, scattered about, and encouraged to grow in our own environment. Without an evironmental identifier, we drop into the fetal position and beg for death.
Surely a Texan–with one of the most notable identifiers–knows this?
9If Hillary gets the nomination, I sincerely believe Bernie will step up and support her which may very well solve the problem of his supporters sitting the election out. He’s a honorable man who, under no circumstances, wants to see any nutty Republicans become president. As for the “Bernie Bros”, I think it’s very possible they could be trouble making trolls. He did let them know in no uncertain terms that he did not want that kind of support…”crap” in his words.
10I follow election news pretty closely, and this Bernie Bros crap is all news to me. From what I’ve read sources for this ‘anybody but Hillary’ stuff comes from places like the Washington Times. Has it been on Faux Noise?
Other democratic nations operate with several different political parties. I don’t see why the USA can’t do the same. I have absolutely no problem with the snacilbupeR shattering into several smaller parties. America does better with Democrats running the show.
11I have been waiting for years for the (sincerely) religious Republicans to wake up, take a good look at the moneybags really running their party, and drop out in droves. This split is not happening the way I expected, but if the GOP establishment sheds the ugly racist dung-ignorant SOBs, that would be a good thing too. Not that the GOP establishment is anything I want running the country either — I just want the SOB side to be left without the ability to elect anybody nationally.
12Primo and Debbo, right on!
13I’m a Hillary supporter, but I believe that Bernie will step up if he loses the nomination and make it clear his supporters should support her. I believe Hillary willl do the same.
Of course, I’ve never really understood the concept of having to get “excited” to vote. “This person will be nominating judges for the Supreme Court and they serve for life” has always been enough for me.
14I take voting very, very seriously. When I was a teenager, I carried petitions door-to-door (yes, young’uns, they used to be on paper and signed with pens) to get 18-year-olds the right to vote. Our reasoning was that if they were old enough to fight in Vietnam, they were old enough to vote in the USA.
We won that round, and I turned 18 in 1972, the first year 18-year-olds could cast a ballot. I turn out for every Democratic primary and every general election, every year.
I support Bernie Sanders, but (just like Bernie) will support our party’s eventual nominee.
15If Hillary gets the nomination, do you really think she wouldn’t do backflips to keep as many of Bernie’s legions as possible to bury Trump? She’s not the enemy so much as the recipient of “that vast right wing conspiracies'” unending bovine poop pile.
Besides, a Trump/Teahadi SCOTUS??! :-
16Here’s a thought if it goes this way….
Hillary — President
Bernie — Senate Majority Leader
She and he work together to set the policies. She proposes legislation. Bernie marshals the forces to get it through Congress. Of course, this depends heavily on strong Dem turnout to get more Dems elected to Congress. And, of course, there are those important Supreme Court nominations which the Senate must confirm. She can’t do it alone. Neither can Bernie. We all have to wake up and work together. Just sayin….
17We need a 2 party system but not these Republican frat boys!
18Or Sarah palin.
@JAKvirginia
19Laughed at loud at “take a pillage” and said “exactly”
Then read charles r phillips and thought “but I like pillage imagery better”
@Zyxomma
got a couple of years on you; turned 21 just days after the 1972 general election. Also voted D then and ever since. Was on my college newspaper & wrote editorials with same wording as your petitions, and signed more than one such petition. Recall being disappointed that turnout was rather low among 18-21 year olds. Sigh.
Primo: great post.Thanks.
Lyntilla: “Of course, I’ve never really understood the concept of having to get “excited” to vote. ” You are a very sane person. One time I am glad to be part of the sheepledom is that I regard, after more elections than I can count, that going to the polls and voting is a responsibility, not a pep rally.
20Cruz has Robert Mercer
Rubio has Paul Singer
John Kasich has Ken Langone
Trump has Trump
I’m sure there are many more involved but those are some quick highlights
although probable the names above should be in reverse order (of whom has whom)
21I’m not sure the GOP is organized enough to fragment.
22“candidates for President because each and every one had a pet billionaire or two bankrolling them, via Citizens United. ”
Cruz has Robert Mercer
Rubio has Paul Singer
John Kasich has Ken Langone
Trump has Trump
I’m sure there are many more involved but those are some quick highlights
although probable the names above should be in reverse order (of whom has whom)
23