Well, Nikki Haley has officially dropped out. That leaves Donald J. Trump as the only Republican candidate for President this election year. And that may be more damaging that he and the rest of the party don’t realize, for one simple reason – not a lot of people like him, especially in his own party.
Haley has been vocal about how she won’t “kiss the ring.” Mitt Romney has refused to endorse or support him. Chris Christie, who was one of the first to support him a long time ago, has said he won’t. Even Joe Walsh has come out as one of his most vocal critics. (And I’m talking about the conservative Tea Party Walsh not the Walsh from The Eagles.) Ten years ago, Romney, Haley, Christie and Walsh would’ve been simpatico upholding the Ronald Reagan credo that they should criticize another Republican.
But now, a lot of things are different. Republicans have lost the last three general elections. Trump hasn’t won the popular vote. And he’s won the first time on a technicality which was supposed to keep rabble rousers like him OUT of office. His four criminal indictments followed by whether or not he was involved in Jan. 6 along with the civil suit lawsuit s of which he owes half a billion in fines and judgments makes it harder for him to be seen as an outsider.
The Republican Party used the “outsider” image to sell their candidates. But following Trump losing the Washington D.C. primary to Haley, it shows that this isn’t a good thing. The “outsider” image only appeals to the ones who the Republicans don’t want as their support. Yes, maybe Sen. Mitch McConnell and other old-timers want a reality where white men are in power and women and BIPOC know they’re place at the same time being able to hunt the LGBTQIA community like they’re in “The Most Dangerous Game.”
However, this isn’t working out in their favor. They thought Trump would buckle down and get to work. But that wasn’t the case. Conservative women nowadays aren’t like Phillip Schlafay and Anita Bryant. They really don’t need men to tell them what to do, nor do they want it. Also, a lot of them are still worried about how the Dobbs ruling overturned Roe v. Wade. The Republican Party has a huge identity problem. Gone are the George Wills and William F. Buckleys who managed to present a well-constructed argument and debate. You may not have agreed with them, but you had to admit they did extensive research examining all angles.
Now, it’s “I do my own research.” And by this, I mean, they listen to podcasters and read things online that only match their viewpoints. Facebook is no longer as powerful as TikTok is. Mainly because younger voters use TikTok and many have turned away from Facebook despite its continued efforts to remain more popular. A few days ago, I tried to use some coupons but there was a glitch as they had to manually enter it. I explained to the younger people at the supermarket that Meta, the parent of Facebook, Instagram and Threads, was down for about an hour. But they were surprised. Maybe they used Instagram but finding someone under 30 who is active on Facebook isn’t possible.
And Trump’s TruthSocial has become nothing more than the ramblings of madmen. But it has exposed Trump’s narcissism and egotism even more. Most of the posts have something to focus on him. He is having to draw more attention to himself as part of the downtrodden. Only this isn’t happening as much as it used to. Part of the allure that may have drove people back in the mid-2010s was that he wasn’t a politician. But this is the third time he’s ran for the office. That pretty much makes him a politician whether he likes to admit it or not.
The New York fraud case didn’t help his status as a businessman. All he did was inflate the value of his property to get loans. People who are saying America should be run as a business and pointing to him are really using it to hide their own hatred, bigotry and prejudice. And that’s the only thing the Republican Party is in a civil war to undo. A lot of racist Democrats may have switched sides back in 2008 when Barack Obama was running and later elected.
But the re-emergence of white supremacy groups hit its peak in 2016 with the Ku Klux Klan and Aryan-related organizations. Worse, it led to the people who turned out on Jan. 6, 2021. Republicans have to face a hard truth. A lot of the Proud Boys, Oath Keepers, Threepers and so forth were also out for their blood. I mean, they would’ve hanged former Vice-President Mike Pence if they could. And who knows what else they had in mind. They may understand how American’s government works and that’s what upsets them the most because it doesn’t work the way they want it to.
While it seems the issue at the southern border and immigration might be the Republicans main issue this year along with the economy or the issue in the Mid-East. However, it’s eight months between now and the general election. That’s more than 240 days away. And a lot of things can happen in those days. Gas prices are high now, but they may be lower than $2 by the end of October. The issue with Israel and Gaza may be resolved. And a lot of voters can change their minds between now and then.
A lot of main media outlets keep reporting on Trump as if he’s a normal candidate. He’s not. He’s a power-hungry megalomaniac who wants to sycophants telling him he’s the best person who ever lived. I’m sure this time four years ago before “shelter-in-place” became part of the common American vernacular, people were worried about the possibility that Trump might get re-elected. But the way he handled Covid-19 and other factors such as protestors being hit with tear gas so he could do a silly photo op outside of a church showed his ineffectiveness as a leader.
Younger voters don’t live under the idea that hard work equals great wealth and high-paying jobs. They see people like Trump as part of the problem not the solution. And it doesn’t help matters his history is in rental property as well. Rent is way too high. People can’t pay their bills and they shouldn’t have to work two jobs just so they can stay in debt. I have a feeling we’re going to hit another housing crisis by the end of the decade if not sooner. By Trump inflating the value of his properties, it hurt other people.
The mindset isn’t the same. The reason so many people in the summer of 2023 made jokes about the rich people who died in the Titan Submersible was people were fed up with the glorification of the wealthy. People are dying every day because they don’t have enough to eat, can’t afford their medication and/or their utilities are cut off or evicted. Why should we have sympathy for the same people who don’t have sympathy for us?
And as Trump continues to talk about the 2020 election as rigged, how many people will still believe him? There has been no proof of it. And the Jan. 6 insurrection coup attempt was a direct result of his lies. How come no other Republicans who won or lost in 2020 had their results questioned? It’s impossible for someone like Trump to believe people just don’t like him. Because in this country, we’ve always hoisted people who are rich and famous up as popular. Or at least we’ve been told to.
Trump turns 78 in a few months. While the media keeps focusing on President Joe Biden’s age, we must realize that Trump has shown more signs that he’s not mentally stable. And just because Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can do push-ups doesn’t mean that he will make a great leader either. I’m not cutting Biden any breaks. I wish there was someone else. I hate that we are constantly relying on a bunch of people who should be in a retirement home to make decisions.
I will say, I can understand why the U.S. Supreme Court voted the way it did on the Colorado ballot issue. Trump hasn’t been convicted in connection with that case yet, but we all saw it. If you scream “Fire!” in a crowded room with the purpose of causing damage, you’re still responsible even if you didn’t trample anyone. Maybe the more liberal-minded justices knew that it could work in the red states if they approved it. They could technically argue any opposition to a sitting President and government could be seen as insurrection. The Republicans in this country are just crazy enough to do such a thing.
We’re no longer electing leaders. We’re instead trying to keep people out of office. And until we get all sides on this issue, we’re not going to have much luck. I’ve been looking at the last few Republican candidates for President for the last couple of decades. Most of them have been strong critics of the sitting Democratic President but no real policies. Bob Dole was a critic of Bill Clinton. Mitt Romney was a critics of Obama and Trump was a critic of Obama’s too. We need a better strategy than “Let’s turn the pillow over to the cool side for the time being.”
However, with Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Joe Manchin not seeking re-election, it could help put more Democrats in the Senate. And considering this current Congress has done the least in modern times, the Democrats may retake the House of Representatives. If that’s the case, it could lead to some changes, now that Sen. Mitch McConnell is stepping down as GOP leader.
Very few candidates would seek the Presidency after having lost the popular vote twice and especially after leaving the Oval Office. Jimmy Carter didn’t. George H.W. Bush didn’t. And Lyndon B. Johnson was smart enough to know in 1968 that neither side wanted him to return. This is obviously Trump’s last attempt to stay out of prison as he will use the election lost (which I hope happens) to work in his favor. But I don’t think they’ll be another Jan. 6. Mainly because people will be expecting such a thing and be on the lookout.
In fact, it might be harder this election year for a lot of the intimidation. While many states in 2021 and 2022 tried to pass legislation making it harder to vote, it’s actually backfired. What people are seeing is they are being prevented from voting. And some states, like Georgia, found themselves losing the Major League Baseball All-Star game.
And while the media seems to continue to focus on the ages of Biden and Trump, the ages of voters is an issue. There’s going to be a younger crop of voters this year that have only known school shootings, and a pandemic that ruined their teenage years. They also remember who was in office during this time. I’m not a religious man but people couldn’t have seen this sign even when it made them literally sick to their stomachs.
Biden’s has some issues with his handling of Israel. But this isn’t really America’s war. I ask people who question if they think Trump will do any better.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 