15 October 2016
By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal
Good or bad for the USA, but Republican Party appears to have gained an edge
over the Democratic Party in the ongoing presidency poll campaign. People of
America are unhappy, if not annoyed, that the Democratic Party too has
convincingly betrayed them.
There cannot be two opinions about the suitability of Republican hopeful Trump
for US presidency in advancing its capitalist and imperialist ideals even as
the ruling Democratic party, pursuing the Bushdom's imperialist policy as its
own, has lost its legitimacy and worth to be the American rulers. Americans
have no reason to trust the Obama-Hillary party any more.
Unlike Democrats, who have rallied in a unified fashion around Mrs. Clinton
for the most part, the Republican Party has splintered around the divisive
candidate since Ronald Trump first began gaining traction among voters more
than a year ago. All of them welcomed Trump phenomenon as a morale boost for
Hillary. However, as the trend began slowing changing in his favor, many of
Democrats and Republicans opposed him.
First there is a feeble protest from
within the Republican Party as, interestingly, less than a week after several
GOP officials called for Donald Trump to step down from the ticket, some have
decided to back him again. After publicly repudiating Donald Trump, some
Republicans have reclaimed their spots behind the candidate, saying they still
plan to vote for him in spite of recent revelations.
That's the odd middle ground where
several Republican officials and candidates find themselves this week. For
them the ''nasty'' comments made by Trump during the primaries were not
disgusting but now Trump's fanatic rhetoric has become totally
''unacceptable'' under any circumstance.
Now they argue: ''It would be wise for
him to step aside and allow Mike Pence to serve as our party's nominee.'' They
have backtracked, telling KILN radio in Nebraska that they will vote for Trump
in November. Sen. Deb Fischer (R) of Nebraska, for instance, revised her
choice: ''I support the Republican ticket and it's a Trump-Pence ticket.''
Perhaps they see the victory for Trump for granted now. Sen. John Thune (R) of
South Dakota faced a similar dilemma after calling for Trump to step down on
Twitter. He, too, decided to remain among Trump's voting bloc. Then Darryl
Glenn, a Republican candidate running for a Colorado Senate seat, swayed his
position similarly. Solid backing for Trump!
Those who now still oppose Trump candidacy are ''establishment'' people who
had earlier forcefully supported Trump thinking his candidature would
strengthen Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton's chances to White House as
the first woman president of the NATO leader nation. In an increasingly
unconventional election year, partisanship hasn't proved as strong of a tie as
it once did. A quarter of elected Republican officials, along with a growing
list of prominent conservatives – most recently commentator Glenn Back – have
sided with the ''Never Trump'' movement. A few have even endorsed Hillary
Clinton's run for president.
The group of outspoken Republicans has cited the businessman's brash rhetoric
and unorthodox attacks on others as factors that make him unfit to serve as
president. Dozens of party members who had previously pledged their support to
Trump changed their tune after The Washington Post canvassing for Hillary,
''unearthed'' a decade-old recording in which he boasted of his aggressive and
nonconsensual sexual conduct with women.
Even as the dust settles, it seems that not everyone who decried the
candidate's remarks plans to follow through on denouncing him entirely. For
some, speaking out against Trump may be about protecting their own image, but
defaulting back to the party's ticket allows them to maintain vital ties in
Congress.
For Republicans who have given less-than-enthusiastic endorsements to Trump,
or even shifted their stances, there's an opportunity to stand in line with
the post-2016 Republican party, whatever form it takes. If brazen Trump
supporters make up the party's majority, they can find favor in the crowd for
supporting the candidate. But if the party takes a more moderate,
traditionally conservative shape next year, they'll be among those who
condemned Trump's racist and sexist rhetoric.
Other defectors and non-endorsers, like New Hampshire Sen. Kelly Ayotte or
Pennsylvania Sen. Pat Toomey, are skirting the lines of party loyalty to save
their own campaigns. In their battleground states, where attracting moderates
remains a key campaign plan, Senator Ayotte has formally denounced Trump,
while Senator Toomey has refused to come to a public conclusion.
As a candidate who has brought first-time and disenfranchised voters to the
forefront in massive numbers, Trump has proven he can mobilize a passionate
group of people. The pressure from voters has been mounting to support Trump.
They also have a lot of constituents who strongly support Trump and view
defection as disloyalty.
The Republican candidate's view that America should remain great in its own
right, and that its involvement in international partnerships is more of a
burden than a blessing, is naturally antithetical to international
cooperation. After his first debate with Hillary Clinton, several US allies
expressed fear of an isolationist America withdrawing from a dangerous world,
putting ''America first,'' in Trump's words, and giving little weight to
anybody else's opinion.
Meanwhile, the UN's top human rights official has joined the chorus of Donald
Trump critics. UN human rights chief and Jordanian Prince Zeid Ra'ad
al-Hussein told reporters that he is very concerned about the Republican
presidential candidate's attitude towards human rights issues, particularly
the use of torture. ''If Donald Trump is elected, on the basis of what he has
said already and unless that changes, I think it's without any doubt that he
would be dangerous from an international point of view,'' said Prince Zeid,
who spent many years living and studying in the USA. Last month, Zeid also
criticized Trump's reliance on divisive racial and religious rhetoric, which
he said could put already vulnerable people at greater risk of losing their
rights. ''We have to be on guard to see that in the end vulnerable
populations, populations at risk, do not again see their rights deprived
because of a view that is in the ascendancy based on false premises,'' he
said. The human rights chief said that his concern for the potential
consequences of Trump's election compelled him to speak out.
With Election Day less than one month away, the factions that constitute
today's Republican Party may have reached a parting of the ways, as House
Speaker Paul Ryan and presidential nominee Donald Trump engage in an
extraordinary political struggle over the soul of the GOP. Will Nov. 9 mark
the beginning of the return of the GOP of Representative Ryan – traditional,
conservative, devoted to smaller government and lower taxes? Or is the
Republican Party now the Party of Trump, nativist, populist, nostalgic for an
undefined past?
If Trump loses, the outcome is far less predictable. It is possible that he
will fade almost as quickly as he emerged, defeat having punctured his
bellicose image. Presidents are the face of their party. Trump would win the
election and almost certainly would win this intramural contest, as well. The
billionaire's priorities and supporters would define the GOP after four (or
eight) years in power.
Ronald
Trumps is sure what said during the primaries was just an essential gimmick to
impress upon the Republicans choose as candidate for the presidency and he won
that. Quite likely Trump would, if what the trends suggest is real, win the
White house too. His tough views pushed virtually all his Republican primary
rivals in his direction. Opposition to a path for citizenship for those
present in the US illegally may now be a litmus test for future GOP
presidential aspirants. Similarly, Trump may have flipped the party's
long-standing pro-free trade position. His tirades about jobs lost to China
and Mexico, and the need to reverse that trend, get the crowds at his rallies
roaring.
Demographic trends
within the Republican Party underlie many of these attitudes. The GOP is
becoming whiter, older, more male, and less educated than the nation as a
whole. During the years of the Obama presidency, GOP gains among whites and
men have enabled the party to offset corresponding Democratic gains among
nonwhites and women.
Whether or not Trump would be a defiantly hawk to pursue the Bushdom rule of
invading energy rich Arab world more aggressively than what Bush-Obama duo
have done so far, is different matter, but obviously American voters do not
expect him to be the first ever elected revolutionary leader to wind down all
ongoing terror wars and honestly and sincerely work for global peace.
American public, which remains a helplessly silent spectator of what the
pentagon-CIA duo has been doing world side, is ready now for any political
eventuality.
Whether that works
for Republicans, and produces a party that can win presidential elections at a
time when the US is becoming less white, remains to be seen.
After a long period of stable gridlock,
American politics has entered a newly chaotic period. The party coalitions are
realigning too. It does mean the GOP may be entering a period of instability
unprecedented in the modern era. If Trump loses, party leaders may vacillate
between approaches, first attempting to unite the GOP around a general
anti-Clinton philosophy, then perhaps acceding to certain aspects of Trumpism.
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