By David Glenn Cox
Trying to understand the Trump disaster is like studying archeology. A fragment here or a piece of pottery there, leaving huge gaps in our understanding. Ronna McDaniel the head of the GOP is trying to extract a loyalty oath. In the finest traditions of the leadership principal. Rule one. The leader is always right. When wrong, see rule one.
Now remember, this is the Party of Trump were talking about. This isn’t the Moose Lodge or the American Legion. This is the Republican Party of Margie of Mental land. George “Will you take a check” Santos and Lorne Boebert, our lady of infancy. You could easily find yourself in trouble signing a blank check like that. A check you know you don’t ever want cashed. And nobody wants to do it. All McDaniel’s is trying to do is keep the Party together. You promise to support the Party nominee…no matter what.
That’s a dangerous document to sign given the instability inside the Republican Party. Plus, they run up against the Republican conundrum that they all lie. Trump signed such an agreement, and it wasn’t worth a brass farthing. So, anyone who signs is mistrusted by the others and get’s no gain from it but loses from it.
They can’t trust each other because of the dirty dozen. The usual suspects who aren’t the largest voices in the House, but are the loudest. Kevin (Charlie) McCarthy as their mouthpiece with a hand up his back. Trying to keep peace inside Bedlam and herding the same cats over and over.
A legacy left behind by the hole left from the cult of personality. The cult leader can’t delegate loyalty, “You will now worship this guy just like you worshipped me! You will bow and scrape and buy merchandise just like it was still me!” Thirty percent of Republicans still find themselves attached to the Orange disaster. But thirty percent ain’t even half of their own Party. Not enough to win the nomination but enough to keep someone else from winning.
And so, nobody wants to sign. Polarization inside the Party. Nobody wants to sign on to a potential Trump – Marge Tater Greene ticket. Or a Desantis – Nikki Haley Confederacy promising, “Racism today, Racism tomorrow and Racism forever.” Banjos playing through the broken glass, ghosts of a George Wallace scenario. Throwing a lasso around the angry racist vote quick before someone tries to stop them and baking it into the pie.
Since the Trump Party is already extremely racist, as most fascist governments are. It makes it easier to assess blame and deflect responsibility. So where would those DeSantis/Haley votes come from exactly? Would they take from Trump or draw in a new generation of angry racist voters? Are they assuming the racist vote is the largest voting block inside the Republican Party and there are enough votes for everybody?
Heads or tails a far-right Party liable to alienate the independent voters in the large way. Trump on Steroids, on the comeback tour. Already firing off barbs at each other even before the weigh in. This campaign looks to be a dirty one. Hazy versus crazy, Trump is a known quantity and DeSantis has the personality of a bag of rotting potatoes. With a genuine Nixonian persona who never looks happy even when smiling. A televangelist smile or a funeral director’s smile.
But every day, the clock ticks on and another piece or archeology is cataloged. Mr. Jesse Benton was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Benton was convicted of funneling $25,000 from a Russian businessman to the Orange disaster’s campaign in 2016. Plus, five other charges involving dark money. So, the facilitator is convicted but what of the beneficiary of this crime? How can Trump escape, if his agent has already been convicted?
Going into campaign season with a lot of Trump bad news in the offing. Combined with the trepidation most Americans feel about book banning. It’s a dangerous course that you can only get away with in the American South since many haven’t liked books since Darwin anyway. It’s easy to ban books where they fear books. And to be able to ban them with just one magic word…”Woke.” 2+2=5 Winston.
Eliminating the imaginary threat by direct action preserving the purity of thought through the abolition of contrary ideas… ending wokeness. To make a large public demonstration of accomplishing nothing. But how is that message going to sell outside the Confederacy?
There are lots of negative stories. About the half-pint Schicklgruber that only add to his negative/negative Nixon personality. And Trump picked up on that throwing a steady stream of barbs. DeSantis is a newcomer on this stage; with Trump as the grizzled old veteran.
Make DeSantis the counter puncher on the defensive and not the aggressor. They are going to write books about the Trump personality until books are finally banned. But Trump is fatally flawed with his legal and money troubles. This frightens the Party because that could become the dark theme of the 2024 election. “Trump Convicted!” Contributions dry up!
None are onboard with anybody. Until they’ve become oppositions camps where compromise is homeless, and arbitration is treason. The broken-down Trump circus rolls into town with amateurs and understudies or the sad DeSantis parade with his book banning culture war.
This political pugilism means they must fight to the death in the primaries. Spending time and money that could be better spent in talk and mediation. But don’t listen to me fellas! You boys fight it on out to the end, even if it takes you two years. With the Republican House on fire with radicalism and infantilism. Becoming Meme’s for nonsense and buffoonery. Having your picture taken with a child’s balloon? Really? WTF Charlie Brown?
Son Tzu would say; Never stop your opponent from making a mistake. Ronna McDaniel’s has a herculean task ahead, some would say impossible. Trying to hold together a political party on the verge of a civil war with itself.
“And thus I clothe my naked villainy
With odd old ends stol’n out of holy writ;
And seem a saint, when most I play the devil.”
― William Shakespeare,
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