Straddling the precipice seems to be where the Republican Party feels most comfortable this year.
Between the elementary school playground slap-fights played out on the national debate stage to massive policy shifts by the party front-runner in a given day, there seems to be ample evidence that the Republican Party lacks both stability and integrity and looks to be teetering in the brink of catastrophe.
Now; I’m not a pundit or a politician, I’m just an IT Consultant sitting on his couch taking a break from the daily grind, watching the debates and eagerly browsing such news sites as Newsmax, CNN, Foxnews and Drudge, and listening to the big 4: Hannity, Limbaugh, Beck & Levin (I seem to be gravitating more towards Levin lately: sorry Savage, you’re just too… Savage) among others trying to learn as much as I can about these people vying for a chance to lead our country.
The field:
Senator Marco Rubio While running an otherwise outstanding campaign, Senator Rubio took a sudden hairpin turn into (Warning! Harry Potter reference ahead!) Diagon Ally & diverted from integrity and principle to start an infantile slap-fight with Donald Trump; the erstwhile inventor of that medium.
While mostly championing the same policies as Senator Cruz, Senator Rubio also has a few policy position changes in his recent past. Not nearly of the magnitude of Trumps wanton flip-flops, but Rubio’s recent past has enough Republican Party Establishment shifts in it to cause some concern among true conservatives that some of his positions may revert once he gains office, and that Establishment elites may have too big a hold on him.
Donald Trump, the reality-TV King of over-the-top self-aggrandizement nearly breaks his arm every five minutes patting himself on the back while switching sides of various policy issues right before our eyes. He’s touted a lot of the same policies as the other contenders, albeit in a schoolyard bully kind of off-the-cuff way that makes you kind of cringe every time he speaks. That would not on its own be so horrible as to stop me from considering him as “my” candidate, until you realize that he has been an Independent, a Democrat and a Republican; all within a relatively short amount of time. That sends shudders down the spine of any conservative, hoping for a sea-change to shift the nation back to its constitutional roots.
Governor John Kasich running a distant 4th without a ghost of a shot at the nomination, hanging on by a mere string for the sake of a glimmer of a hope of somehow being able to exert some influence at the republican convention; possibly vindicating his own ego by spending what amounts to his last penny winning his own state of Ohio, which he will do only with the help of Marco Rubio, who has instructed his own followers to vote for John Kasich in that state. Probably the most clueless and egocentric effort among the lot.
That’s quite an accomplishment of egotism, given that Trump has staked claim to that particular stretch of ground for his entire life. Getting to the Republican Convention with a few rounds of ammunition is his only attainable goal, albeit an empty one at best.
Senator Ted Cruz, the favorite son of the Tea Party movement and constitutionalists seems poised on the brink of doing something great, but can’t seem to rise above the frackus to do more than stay within range of Donald Trump. His message is old-school Reagan turned up a few notches on the frantic-scale.
Among all of the contenders, Cruz appears to be the most stable and unwavering; attacking the policies and inconsistencies of his competitors without sacrificing his own integrity by delving too deaply into the muck and mire.
His bold admonitions of the Republic Party have earned him powerful enemies among the party establishment, and nearly every Republican politician seems intent upon stomping on his head in order to keep him from rising to the top of the Republican ticket. His lack of bravado, however, has not endeared himself with the “angry mob” segment of the Republican Party that currently holds Trump up as their flavor of the month.
What we are left with:
As Republicans we remain stuck in a quagmire of our own making. Just as weak and spineless collectively ourselves as those establishment hacks we’ve railed against and kicked to the curb the likes of former Speaker John Boehner.
- With many Republicans advocating a front runner who’s attracting Democrats & Independents; Trump’s presidency could become the least conservative of any Republican in history. Who knows how quickly Trump will become “Flexible” on the ardent stances he makes now? When the wind changes, he seems to change just as quickly.
- With too many also-rans still hanging on in the race, the Republican Party will never see a viable alternative to Trump and looks to be doomed to follow Trump down the rabbit hole and all the unknowns that will bring.
- Establishment Republicans have completely lost touch with the rest of the country and are fighting a pitched battle against the kind of change which is now inevitable. Be it Trump or Cruz, no matter who comes out on top, the Republican Party Bosses are as good as gone. Neither Cruz nor Trump have any love for that group who have systematically sold their membership up the river with repeated cave-ins to the Obama administration at every possible turn. Their feverish fight against both Trump and Cruz even beyond any reasonable hope of victory has earned them the enmity of both contenders and has assured their own demise. Ever the champions of compromise with Obama, they can’t bring themselves to compromise within their own ranks for the good of the party they claim to represent. God riddance to the lot.
- With Gov. Chris Cristie & Dr. Ben Carson seemingly abandoning their own stated principles to step aboard the Trump Express, it is looking even more inevitable by the day. Unless Gov. Kasich, Senator Cruz, or Senator Rubio suddenly abandon their campaigns and pick a side, the party is on an inevitable course to become nothing more than traveling sideshow under the Trump banner.
As a traditional Reagan Republican myself, I identify most closely with Ted Cruz and his stated platform, and his unwavering history of sticking to exactly those principles has become a very attractive choice for me. The rest of the entire Republican field is either so pitched against change, or so focused on their own ego that it looks as if an extremely dramatic shift in his favor will have to happen in order for his candidacy to become anything other than a consistent 2nd place finisher behind Trump with occasional flashes of brilliance. Like everyone else, his organization can’t overcome Trump on his own, but no other contender is willing to let go at this point, so Trump it will be…
As a party, our own collective inability to work together has doomed us to follow Trump down the rabbit hole and take the consequences that come with it. Who knows what that will bring for our country? We won’t know until we get there, because even Trump can’t tell you what his policies are going to be by then…
Just my view from the cheep seats…
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