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| What Does My Party Want? | What Does My Party Want? |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| How do Republicans hold on to the voters Donald Trump brought to the party? | How do Republicans hold on to the voters Donald Trump brought to the party? |
| Securing the loyalty of the millions of white working-class Americans who lined up behind Trump will require that all three wings of the Republican Party — its business faction, its ideological purists and its cultural traditionalists — abandon any idea of strict adherence to core conservative principles on fiscal and social policy. | Securing the loyalty of the millions of white working-class Americans who lined up behind Trump will require that all three wings of the Republican Party — its business faction, its ideological purists and its cultural traditionalists — abandon any idea of strict adherence to core conservative principles on fiscal and social policy. |
| “Just as Reagan converted the G.O.P. into a conservative party, with his victory this year, Trump has converted the G.O.P. into a populist, America First party,” Stephen Moore, a Trump adviser whose résumé includes stints at the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, told Republican House members on Nov. 23. “The G.O.P. is now officially a Trump working-class party.” | “Just as Reagan converted the G.O.P. into a conservative party, with his victory this year, Trump has converted the G.O.P. into a populist, America First party,” Stephen Moore, a Trump adviser whose résumé includes stints at the Heritage Foundation and The Wall Street Journal, told Republican House members on Nov. 23. “The G.O.P. is now officially a Trump working-class party.” |
| Moore is one of the most outspoken advocates of sweeping change, explicitly willing, in the face of a voter uprising, to jettison his own past convictions. In a subsequent National Review article, he made this quite clear: | Moore is one of the most outspoken advocates of sweeping change, explicitly willing, in the face of a voter uprising, to jettison his own past convictions. In a subsequent National Review article, he made this quite clear: |
| Moore is not alone. | Moore is not alone. |
| “Accommodating these new voters’ concerns will be an ongoing challenge, but the political payoffs are immense,” Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the conservative Ethics and Policy Center, wrote. “Bringing them into the Republican fold ... will make the Midwest a new red firewall.” | “Accommodating these new voters’ concerns will be an ongoing challenge, but the political payoffs are immense,” Henry Olsen, a senior fellow at the conservative Ethics and Policy Center, wrote. “Bringing them into the Republican fold ... will make the Midwest a new red firewall.” |
| The surge of whites from Midwest industrial states — or more broadly from the heartland — to the Trump campaign included many voters who were not naturally inclined to the pre-2016 Republican Party. Olsen writes: | The surge of whites from Midwest industrial states — or more broadly from the heartland — to the Trump campaign included many voters who were not naturally inclined to the pre-2016 Republican Party. Olsen writes: |
| In other words, these voters have little or no interest in the anti-government stance that had become reflexive among many congressional Republicans. | In other words, these voters have little or no interest in the anti-government stance that had become reflexive among many congressional Republicans. |
| Accommodation now requires fiscal, business and social conservatives to compromise their beliefs in ways that will be wrenching, if not intolerable, to some. Olsen’s assessment: | Accommodation now requires fiscal, business and social conservatives to compromise their beliefs in ways that will be wrenching, if not intolerable, to some. Olsen’s assessment: |
| In the case of cultural litmus test issues, Olsen argues, newly recruited white working-class converts to Trump’s Republican Party do not consider conservative dogma on gay rights, abortion, gender identity, or traditional marriage their priority. | In the case of cultural litmus test issues, Olsen argues, newly recruited white working-class converts to Trump’s Republican Party do not consider conservative dogma on gay rights, abortion, gender identity, or traditional marriage their priority. |
| Stephen Bannon, appointed senior counselor and chief strategist to President Trump, puts much of what Moore and Olsen say in colorful and perhaps more illuminating language. | Stephen Bannon, appointed senior counselor and chief strategist to President Trump, puts much of what Moore and Olsen say in colorful and perhaps more illuminating language. |
| In a Nov. 15 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bannon described the goal of the “entirely new political movement” he believes Trump is leading: | |
| Bannon is explicit in his identification of the enemy: | Bannon is explicit in his identification of the enemy: |
| Bannon’s worldview was evident in the Trump campaign’s closing argument, a striking two-minute commercial that mixed images of closed factories, multiracial workers, piles of hundred dollar bills, shots of Hillary and the Clinton Foundation, Trump rallies, busy Chinese assembly line workers and footage of George Soros, Janet Yellen, and Lloyd Blankfein — all of whom are Jewish. | |
| . | . |
| Trump provided the voice-over, which was taken from a speech he gave in West Palm Beach in October: | Trump provided the voice-over, which was taken from a speech he gave in West Palm Beach in October: |
| This ad was part and parcel of an election that has put some of the most vocal House Republicans, including the vaunted Freedom Caucus, on notice that defying Trump’s right-populist orientation could put their political future at risk. Since its formation in Jan. 2015, the caucus, a group of roughly 35 Republicans with ties to the Tea Party movement, has repeatedly blocked efforts by Republican leaders to produce compromise legislation that could win Democratic support. The group was largely responsible for the forced resignation of former Speaker John Boehner. | |
| “Trump dominated — in the primary and general elections — those districts represented by Congress’s most conservative members,” Tim Alberta wrote in National Review (he is now at Politico): | “Trump dominated — in the primary and general elections — those districts represented by Congress’s most conservative members,” Tim Alberta wrote in National Review (he is now at Politico): |
| Among these archconservatives, who in the past had been fanatical in their pursuit of ideological purity, the realization that they can no longer depend on unfailing support from their constituents has provoked deep anxiety. | Among these archconservatives, who in the past had been fanatical in their pursuit of ideological purity, the realization that they can no longer depend on unfailing support from their constituents has provoked deep anxiety. |
| As Alberta put it: | |
| Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, plans to make full use of Trump’s leverage to keep recalcitrant members of the Freedom Caucus in line. | Kevin McCarthy, the House majority leader, plans to make full use of Trump’s leverage to keep recalcitrant members of the Freedom Caucus in line. |
| In a Nov. 29 interview at the Washington Post, McCarthy noted that the caucus had been a thorn in the side of House leaders, but now “there’s less ability for the Freedom Caucus to do those types of things” — blocking leadership bills, for example, especially those measures that have Trump’s backing. | In a Nov. 29 interview at the Washington Post, McCarthy noted that the caucus had been a thorn in the side of House leaders, but now “there’s less ability for the Freedom Caucus to do those types of things” — blocking leadership bills, for example, especially those measures that have Trump’s backing. |
| McCarthy pointed out that “Trump probably did the best” in the districts of caucus members, and | McCarthy pointed out that “Trump probably did the best” in the districts of caucus members, and |
| Various initiatives outlined by Moore, Olsen and Bannon could easily die on the vine; nevertheless, the open debate among Republican operatives and advisers stands in contrast to the Democrats’ tortured struggle to address those aspects of identity politics — race, immigration, gender and sexuality, for example — lurking beneath the large scale defection of white voters. | Various initiatives outlined by Moore, Olsen and Bannon could easily die on the vine; nevertheless, the open debate among Republican operatives and advisers stands in contrast to the Democrats’ tortured struggle to address those aspects of identity politics — race, immigration, gender and sexuality, for example — lurking beneath the large scale defection of white voters. |
| The incendiary nature of identity issues has prompted the two leading candidates for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez and Keith Ellison, to purposefully focus on anodyne concerns. | The incendiary nature of identity issues has prompted the two leading candidates for the chairmanship of the Democratic National Committee, Tom Perez and Keith Ellison, to purposefully focus on anodyne concerns. |
| “Our universal message of access to economic opportunity resonates with the ironworker in northeastern Ohio and the immigrant in South Florida,” Perez told the Huffington Post, referring to two states Clinton lost. “We sometimes have a relationship deficit with our voters, because we’re not communicating that message.” | “Our universal message of access to economic opportunity resonates with the ironworker in northeastern Ohio and the immigrant in South Florida,” Perez told the Huffington Post, referring to two states Clinton lost. “We sometimes have a relationship deficit with our voters, because we’re not communicating that message.” |
| Ellison, in turn, matched Perez for blandness in a prepared statement on Dec. 7: | Ellison, in turn, matched Perez for blandness in a prepared statement on Dec. 7: |
| In a postelection analysis on Dec. 5, Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, and Page Gardner, president of the Women’s Voices Women Vote Action Fund, were cautious when they referred to identity politics in the Clinton campaign: | In a postelection analysis on Dec. 5, Stanley Greenberg, a Democratic pollster, and Page Gardner, president of the Women’s Voices Women Vote Action Fund, were cautious when they referred to identity politics in the Clinton campaign: |
| For the left coalition, the tangled issues of race, gender, immigration and identity are inescapable. Crime as an issue is similarly divisive. Over the weekend, for instance, Garry McCarthy, the former Chicago police superintendent appointed by Rahm Emanuel in 2011, breached Democratic norms and made national headlines when he blamed Black Lives Matter for a rise in violent crime. In a radio interview, McCarthy showcased the kind of potentially explosive material that could split the Democratic Party: | |
| McCarthy also pointed out that, “less than half of 1 percent of all the shootings in this city involve police officers shooting civilians.” | McCarthy also pointed out that, “less than half of 1 percent of all the shootings in this city involve police officers shooting civilians.” |
| Nor did McCarthy stop there. He contended that | Nor did McCarthy stop there. He contended that |
| In late November such liberal icons as Bernie Sanders and President Obama cautiously broached the subject of identity politics. On Nov. 20, Sanders told a group in Boston: | |
| That same day, Obama addressed reporters traveling with him in Lima, Peru: | That same day, Obama addressed reporters traveling with him in Lima, Peru: |
| In a centrist challenge to Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House Leader, Tim Ryan, an Ohio congressman who presented himself as a champion of the “flyover states,” argued against campaign strategies in which | In a centrist challenge to Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic House Leader, Tim Ryan, an Ohio congressman who presented himself as a champion of the “flyover states,” argued against campaign strategies in which |
| Alarm bells went off. Ian Millhiser, an editor at the liberal website Think Progress, turned to Twitter on Nov. 20 to accuse Ryan of sexism: | Alarm bells went off. Ian Millhiser, an editor at the liberal website Think Progress, turned to Twitter on Nov. 20 to accuse Ryan of sexism: |
| Then in December, Bobby Rush, a black congressman from Chicago, told the Boston Globe that if Democrats shift their primary focus to the “white middle and working class” and take “for granted the black working class or the black underclass, the party will add an arm and lose a body.” Rush warned: | Then in December, Bobby Rush, a black congressman from Chicago, told the Boston Globe that if Democrats shift their primary focus to the “white middle and working class” and take “for granted the black working class or the black underclass, the party will add an arm and lose a body.” Rush warned: |
| A Vox.com postelection headline, “The whole Democratic Party is now a smoking pile of rubble,” contains more than a grain of truth. | A Vox.com postelection headline, “The whole Democratic Party is now a smoking pile of rubble,” contains more than a grain of truth. |
| At the moment, the Democratic Party is structurally fragile and its members have shied away from the kind of radical upheaval Republicans have been forced to embrace. Nonetheless, Democrats will soon face enormously risky decisions. | At the moment, the Democratic Party is structurally fragile and its members have shied away from the kind of radical upheaval Republicans have been forced to embrace. Nonetheless, Democrats will soon face enormously risky decisions. |
| Does the party move left, as a choice of Keith Ellison for D.N.C. chairman would suggest? Does it wait for internecine conflict to emerge among Republicans as Trump and his allies fulfill campaign promises — repealing Obamacare, enacting tax reform and deporting millions of undocumented aliens? | Does the party move left, as a choice of Keith Ellison for D.N.C. chairman would suggest? Does it wait for internecine conflict to emerge among Republicans as Trump and his allies fulfill campaign promises — repealing Obamacare, enacting tax reform and deporting millions of undocumented aliens? |
| Or should the party edge toward the center, attempting a strategic reposition on thorny issues of race, immigration, gender and identity, in effect acknowledging pressures from the right — the very pressures that delivered crucial white votes to Trump? | Or should the party edge toward the center, attempting a strategic reposition on thorny issues of race, immigration, gender and identity, in effect acknowledging pressures from the right — the very pressures that delivered crucial white votes to Trump? |
| Democrats face a vast unknown — unable to stand still and unable to make reasoned choices until they know to what lengths, demonic or inspired, Trump might go. | Democrats face a vast unknown — unable to stand still and unable to make reasoned choices until they know to what lengths, demonic or inspired, Trump might go. |