Trump's greatest gift to Republicans will also be their downfall: strategist
The biggest gift former President Donald Trump gave to Republicans is finally allowing them to be their worst selves, wrote Democratic strategist David Atkins in Washington Monthly. But, he explained, that will ultimately be their downfall.
"By liberating the GOP to embrace its most noxious impulses, he has breathed new life into the staid culture that nominated John McCain and Mitt Romney while destroying basic norms of public decency and weakening the guardrails of democracy," wrote Atkins. "This has come at a devastating cost to the victims of the hatred Trump fueled. Despite short-term appearances, unmasking the GOP base's most vicious instincts might also be disastrous for the party in the long term."
He noted that it isn't as if the GOP has changed all that much, after all, it was the party of "Watergate, Iran-Contra, the southern strategy, Willie Horton ads, Newt Gingrich, the Brooks Brothers riot, Valerie Plame's outing, Freedom Fries, Iraq invasion lies, Social Security slashing." The main difference is that before Trump, he said that they "pretended to be" decent.
He closed by saying that this tactic may have worked for a while and it may even continue to allow them to dominate politics but that the Republican Party "may face a high price for allowing the cruelest and most vicious elements of American society to run rampant."
He warned that the Trump impact could ultimately backfire on the party and their efforts.
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