I’m a believer in a robust two-party political system, a system in which each party advocates for what it truly believes is best for the country. We haven’t had that for a while. Of course, that’s not news.
Neither is it news that there is a good chance Donald Trump will relegate the Republican Party to Davy Jones’ Locker with the Whigs and the Bull Moosers when he sinks the GOP ship of state in November with no survivors.
Republicans are rightfully worried. Odds are now good they will lose the presidency and the Senate, and perhaps lose even more seats in the House. And each day, it seems, Donald Trump is doing everything in his power to make that happen.
Republicans are in a tight spot. They can go down with the ship or they can risk Dear Leader’s wrath by trying to find a life jacket and go it on their own.
There is, however, a third alternative, perhaps the only one that gives some of them a fighting chance in November — storm the bridge, take over the damn boat and (metaphorically) toss the captain overboard.
Trump is in many respects the weakest he’s ever been. He’s losing support in droves among moderate Republicans, independents and conservative Democrats. He’s making huge mistakes every day that are driving away supporters, especially the elderly and suburban women. He building the case for losing due to non-existent fraud. He’s lashing at any anyone and everyone who dares question him. He’s picking fights even the most MAGA of his supporters know he can’t win, but they still have to support him because they’ve got nothing else.
It’s a perfect time for Republicans to take back their party and, perhaps, save their own skins (I’m looking at you, Sen. Graham). All they need to do is get together and say, “Enough is enough. This guy is killing us and it’s time to stop him.”
Then they send their top brass to the Oval Office and they say, “Look, Mr. President, you’re dragging us all to defeat with you and we just can’t stand by and let that happen. So here’s the deal. You resign immediately for sudden health reasons and you get to leave the White House to a hero’s farewell. If you refuse, we sabotage your candidacy and at the convention suddenly someone else is the candidate. If you don’t think we can do it, we assure you we can get on the phone this morning and by this afternoon have a $5 billion war chest to defeat you. And you know as well as we do that you don’t have enough loyal people left around you to stop us. You want to sic William Barr on us? He’ll be impeached by the end of the month. Don Jr., Eric, Jared? Three empty suits. Ivanka’s the smartest person around you, but she doesn’t have a constituency. Melania will probably turn on you and we wouldn’t be surprised if Barron didn’t kick you in the nuts. Oh, and all your “loyal” followers? Ninety percent of them will forget about you 10 minutes after you’re gone, and like puppy dogs will start following the next guy who feeds them red meat. So, you see, the choice is yours, a hero’s farewell or a very embarrassing ass-kicking. Take your time. Think about it. Let us know your answer by noon.”
All Republicans have to do to make this happen is realize what the rest of us already know: Trump can’t hurt them any more than he already has or will by November, while by uniting against him they can engineer a coup that will put an end to it.
Now, I know there are a lot of people who would cheer the demise of the Republican Party, but that wouldn’t be good for the country. There is no viable third-party to fill the void, which would give those on the fringe the upper hand and lead to even more chaos.
Republicans need a chance to reclaim their party and try to put it on a sane path toward a robust two-party system. Maybe they can, maybe not. Maybe the white supremacists rise to the top, maybe the Lincoln Project team does. But you need to get rid of the aberration before you can try for a return to normalcy.
And I know there will be a lot of people opposed to giving Republicans even the slightest glimmer of hope in 2020, but at best it will be false hope. Let’s face it, if Trump resigns lyin’ Mike Pence ascends to the presidency and is very beatable. If it gets to the convention, who do they have warming up in the bullpen. The only name that comes to mind is Nicky Haley, but she’s got a lot of holes in her game and comes with a lot of baggage. Plus she’d have to mount a nationwide campaign starting less than three months from the election.
No, I think the damage has been done for 2020 and Republicans know it. The virus isn’t going away and the economy isn’t coming back by November. It’s on their watch and they’re going to pay for it.
No, they need to be looking ahead to 2024 with Biden likely a one-term president. But if they let Trump stay in office until he’s crushed in the election, they risk him hogging the headlines for at least two years while they’re getting beat into submission by a Democratic majority in Congress for at least two years and quite possibly four.
Now, some will say this is just a fevered dream with no basis in reality. But the truth is all it will take to make it a reality is for enough Republicans to grow a pair and think about saving their own skins.
We all know the emperor has no clothes. All Republicans need to do is band together and point it out.