By Jennifer Rubin
Columnist |
November 15, 2022 at 7:45 a.m. EST
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) will remain the minority leader, and it is almost entirely because he and the rest of the Republican Party never had the nerve to reject Donald Trump and his crackpot MAGA nominees. Lost opportunities and defeats will continue to plague the GOP unless Republicans offload the former president and drop the election-denying, conspiracy-mongering MAGA extremism that now defines the party.
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In the spirit of preserving a two-party system and baby-proofing democracy against the Mar-a-Lago infant, let me offer McConnell and his cohorts some advice.
First, the GOP message and messengers are toxic. Forced-birth policies are losers, even in red states such as Kansas. Put the kibosh on any more talk of a national abortion ban. The overall tone — angry, mean and defiant — is a big turnoff to women, the largest segment of the electorate. And stop cruel stunts such as shipping asylum seekers to other states and picking on LGBTQ kids. If these are the only things that get the GOP base to the polls, the party is in deep trouble.
Second, welcome the findings of the House Jan. 6 select committee (supported primarily by testimony and documents from loyal Republicans). Once upon a time, after foolishly voting to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial, McConnell recognized Trump’s responsibility for Jan. 6 and insisted the legal system could hold him accountable. Now it’s time to greet accountability with open arms.
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Third, Republicans must pick someone to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee who did not vote to overturn the 2020 election results and has not proposed to cut Social Security. This will be essential for their 2024 prospects, when Republicans will have a shot to pick up seats in Ohio, Montana and Arizona. And wherever possible, it makes sense for the party to back non-election deniers or the least nutty candidate in each race.
Fourth, use the lame-duck session to swiftly reach agreement with Democrats on reforms to the Electoral Count Act. It’s in everyone’s interest to deny characters such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) the ability to challenge electors.
These steps would not only help secure free and fair elections but also signal that the GOP is no longer under Trump’s thumb. No pro-democracy Republican should have a problem with any of these.
Beyond these issues, McConnell and his crew will have to grapple with a likely Trump indictment, either in the investigation in Georgia into his efforts to pressure election officials into flipping the state’s 2020 results, or in the Mar-a-Lago documents case (or both). McConnell could choose to cry foul and paint a target on the backs of the FBI and Justice Department lawyers, as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and others have done. But that is precisely the sort of behavior that has convinced Americans that Republicans are too irresponsible to hold power.
Perhaps McConnell can call on elected Republicans to avoid comment and let the cases play out in the legal system. And in terms of Trump’s presidential campaign (expected to be announced this week), the patriotic and decent thing to do would be for McConnell to reject him out of hand. But if that’s too much, at the very least McConnell should refuse to intervene in the GOP primaries (which might feature his own members).
These steps would not shut down the cult of Trump. The hardcore MAGA followers will stick with him no matter what. But that’s not the point. The point for McConnell and fellow senators is to separate the party from Trump and return the GOP to the status of a normal political party. If McConnell ever wants to return to the majority (where Republicans can continue handing out tax cuts to the super rich and politicizing the judiciary), he can no longer simply hope that Trump goes away on his own.
Would such actions tempt Trump to run as an independent to spite the GOP? Perhaps, but then he wouldn’t enjoy the infrastructure and money the party provides. Even Trump understands what becomes of third-party candidates. Could Trump urge his cult members to say home in the 2024 election if he is not the nominee? I suppose, although tens of millions of Republicans will still turn out, demonstrating Trump’s impotence.
On balance, the riskier move for Republicans would be to continue to genuflect to Trump. While many of Trump’s election-denying candidates lost in the midterms (so far failing to win every governor or secretary of state race in swing states), non-election deniers have done quite well in 2022. GOP governors Brian Kemp of Georgia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Phil Scott of Vermont and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire all won. There is not a lothttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/15/mcconnell-republican-party-dump-trump/ of evidence that separating oneself from the Trump cult costs Republicans in general elections, and there is plenty of evidence that clinging to Trump is a political death warrant.
McConnell could well continue to refuse to rock the boat, meekly accept Trump’s primary picks and remain quiet when Republicans use violent rhetoric. But McConnell’s timidity has left him in the minority. Maybe it’s time to try a different formula. Or maybe he would be happier — like former House speaker John A. Boehner! — in retirement.
Columnist |
November 15, 2022 at 7:45 a.m. EST
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) will remain the minority leader, and it is almost entirely because he and the rest of the Republican Party never had the nerve to reject Donald Trump and his crackpot MAGA nominees. Lost opportunities and defeats will continue to plague the GOP unless Republicans offload the former president and drop the election-denying, conspiracy-mongering MAGA extremism that now defines the party.
Sign up for a weekly roundup of thought-provoking ideas and debates
In the spirit of preserving a two-party system and baby-proofing democracy against the Mar-a-Lago infant, let me offer McConnell and his cohorts some advice.
First, the GOP message and messengers are toxic. Forced-birth policies are losers, even in red states such as Kansas. Put the kibosh on any more talk of a national abortion ban. The overall tone — angry, mean and defiant — is a big turnoff to women, the largest segment of the electorate. And stop cruel stunts such as shipping asylum seekers to other states and picking on LGBTQ kids. If these are the only things that get the GOP base to the polls, the party is in deep trouble.
Second, welcome the findings of the House Jan. 6 select committee (supported primarily by testimony and documents from loyal Republicans). Once upon a time, after foolishly voting to acquit Trump in his second impeachment trial, McConnell recognized Trump’s responsibility for Jan. 6 and insisted the legal system could hold him accountable. Now it’s time to greet accountability with open arms.
Follow Jennifer Rubin's opinionsFollow
Third, Republicans must pick someone to lead the National Republican Senatorial Committee who did not vote to overturn the 2020 election results and has not proposed to cut Social Security. This will be essential for their 2024 prospects, when Republicans will have a shot to pick up seats in Ohio, Montana and Arizona. And wherever possible, it makes sense for the party to back non-election deniers or the least nutty candidate in each race.
Fourth, use the lame-duck session to swiftly reach agreement with Democrats on reforms to the Electoral Count Act. It’s in everyone’s interest to deny characters such as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) the ability to challenge electors.
These steps would not only help secure free and fair elections but also signal that the GOP is no longer under Trump’s thumb. No pro-democracy Republican should have a problem with any of these.
Beyond these issues, McConnell and his crew will have to grapple with a likely Trump indictment, either in the investigation in Georgia into his efforts to pressure election officials into flipping the state’s 2020 results, or in the Mar-a-Lago documents case (or both). McConnell could choose to cry foul and paint a target on the backs of the FBI and Justice Department lawyers, as Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) and others have done. But that is precisely the sort of behavior that has convinced Americans that Republicans are too irresponsible to hold power.
Perhaps McConnell can call on elected Republicans to avoid comment and let the cases play out in the legal system. And in terms of Trump’s presidential campaign (expected to be announced this week), the patriotic and decent thing to do would be for McConnell to reject him out of hand. But if that’s too much, at the very least McConnell should refuse to intervene in the GOP primaries (which might feature his own members).
These steps would not shut down the cult of Trump. The hardcore MAGA followers will stick with him no matter what. But that’s not the point. The point for McConnell and fellow senators is to separate the party from Trump and return the GOP to the status of a normal political party. If McConnell ever wants to return to the majority (where Republicans can continue handing out tax cuts to the super rich and politicizing the judiciary), he can no longer simply hope that Trump goes away on his own.
Would such actions tempt Trump to run as an independent to spite the GOP? Perhaps, but then he wouldn’t enjoy the infrastructure and money the party provides. Even Trump understands what becomes of third-party candidates. Could Trump urge his cult members to say home in the 2024 election if he is not the nominee? I suppose, although tens of millions of Republicans will still turn out, demonstrating Trump’s impotence.
On balance, the riskier move for Republicans would be to continue to genuflect to Trump. While many of Trump’s election-denying candidates lost in the midterms (so far failing to win every governor or secretary of state race in swing states), non-election deniers have done quite well in 2022. GOP governors Brian Kemp of Georgia, Mike DeWine of Ohio, Phil Scott of Vermont and Chris Sununu of New Hampshire all won. There is not a lothttps://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/11/15/mcconnell-republican-party-dump-trump/ of evidence that separating oneself from the Trump cult costs Republicans in general elections, and there is plenty of evidence that clinging to Trump is a political death warrant.
McConnell could well continue to refuse to rock the boat, meekly accept Trump’s primary picks and remain quiet when Republicans use violent rhetoric. But McConnell’s timidity has left him in the minority. Maybe it’s time to try a different formula. Or maybe he would be happier — like former House speaker John A. Boehner! — in retirement.