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Can the Republican Party return to its roots? It’s worth remembering that President Donald Trump, a former Democrat, who then turned Independent, then turned Reform party, and then went Republican, took the helm of the GOP by being the opposite of everyone else running at the time.
Trump made having no experience look “cool.” Yet if he were trying to play doctor, we would have thrown him out of the operating room in less than two seconds.
America was willing to try anything. The system was not working (and still is not working). After Barack Obama’s presidency, the lines had been drawn between “the good and bad,” depending largely on party affiliation. Some Americans refuse to acknowledge the obvious and move along with their respective teams – red or blue.
No, Trump has clearly not been an Abe Lincoln Republican kind of president. He is the antithesis of Lincoln as he has done more to divide America than nearly all of our modern-day presidents combined. Lincoln, on the other hand, dedicated his life to uniting America by winning the Civil War. Civil rights laws and Trump also do not fit together. By way of executive orders he stopped a paper trail (EEO-1 compliance), made disparate treatment a thing of the past, and even eliminated enforcement of disparate impact. After Lincoln’s efforts, by contrast, Black Americans gained opportunities via Reconstruction (though they were limited and after the Great Compromise of 1877, nearly reversed).
No, Trump has clearly not been a Ronald Reagan Republican either. Reagan exclaimed repeatedly that tariffs were a stupid thing to do as they would hurt America and Americans. Reagan ended wars. He did not start them. Reagan said that if you are with me 70% of the time he could accept that versus being with him only 30% of the time. Trump attacked good Republicans despite them
being with him 90+% of time, mainly over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files – which could go down as one of the biggest coverups of the century. Reagan wanted a big tent, while Trump was happy to return to a “Leave-It-to-Beaver” era when everyone saw only one color – white.
The newly gerrymandered congressional districts were supposed to help their respective teams, but they didn’t. Americans did vote for a team, but it was truly a referendum on Trump.
It was easily foreseen. I reported that Trump, state by state, was liked by just 3% of the population. That means that in the very few states that had a favorable view of Trump, the population totaled merely 11 million folks out of a nation of 350 million people. I joked that 100% of Americans hated cancer while 97% of the population per state hated Trump. Yes, Trump beat cancer by just 3% points. Distorted possibly, but point made.
I predicted 55+ senators for Democrats and more than 240 Democratic representatives in the House. The actual final count surpassed that number in the House and could do the same in the Senate.
Republicans have been the party of fiscal responsibility. Trump did not embrace this principle, nor did his Trumpists. They have run massive budget deficits and have added trillions to our national debt.
No, the folks caught in the blue wave had no ideas, new or old. They could have campaigned on saving Social Security and Medicare, devising a plan to balance the budget over the next five to 10 years, as well as immigration reform. If they had, they would have fared far better.
New ideas? They could have proposed a series of amendments to the Constitution that would prevent any future president from running roughshod over Congress. Heck, the Democrats would be wise to take up the mantle on pursuing that idea. That would be far more consequential than endless investigations into Trump that will merely tell us what we already know, while sucking up the political oxygen in the room.
What contributed to the GOP’s huge loss? The administration denied the affordability issue, did not put forth a plan to end the war in Iran, it brutalized and struck fear into many Hispanics, it fired a disproportionate number of
women and Blacks in the military, it even refused to allow Black engineers to interview for federal jobs and discouraged defense-related companies from interviewing Black engineers at a traditional jobs forum.
Black Americans quietly but strategically gave Trump and his sycophants a message. The turnout was huge. Now five Black people will be sworn in as governors, potentially eight Black people will be U.S. senators – and we will see a very large Congressional Black Caucus. Three of the largest states in the nation – California, Texas, and Florida – will all be led by minorities.
On race relations, I would argue facetiously that Trump’s disdain for fairness has unexpectedly done more than 100 years of initiatives by the NAACP and Urban League combined to advance the political fortunes of Black Americans.
Trump and his followers on the Supreme Court have even changed the face of Harvard University. The class of 2030 is nearly half Asian (43%), even though Asians represent merely 6 or 7% of the general population. Am I the only one who sees a problem here? It may not be a disparate treatment matter, but it is clearly a disparate impact issue.
Yes, there were a number of dramatic changes as a result of Trump’s actions. If he decides to keep it up, he should realize that with the states being majority Democratic too, maybe, just maybe, an age-limit amendment of 80 could be introduced and passed. Upon ratification, it would immediately remove him from office.
No, I am not trying to evoke humor. We changed, via a constitutional amendment, the age for voting from 21 to 18 in just 100 days after its adoption by Congress.
Republicans must return to their core principles and values, and should not condone Trump’s vanity projects.
“We the People” have the power to create real and lasting change.
Gary Franks served three terms as a congressman from Connecticut’s 5th District. He was the first Black conservative elected to Congress and first Black Republican elected to the House in nearly 60 years. Host: Podcast “We Speak Frankly” www.garyfranksphilanthropy.org