What Republicans Want

And why Trump is their guy, warts and all.

schadenfreude - “pleasure derived by someone from another person's misfortune.”

I’ve been writing a bit about former president Donald J. Trump recently, in-between bits about the crazy woke scene. I guess I’ve had enough of a psychological break since the election to actually do that without losing my shit.

First, when Trump made a bad speech to a small crowd at a wedding; then when he issued an official press release calling the election The Big Lie I called him the sorest loser; and finally when Liz Cheney made the news for her coming ouster from the GOP—and why the Republican Party actually hasn’t changed as much as we think since George W. Bush. Bye-bye Liz, may you rot in obscurity.

Through all of this, I find myself wondering what it is exactly about Trump that Republican and conservative voters find so appealing. Despite being a lefty, I definitely have some “conservative values” to add a little pepper to my salty progressive ones. But those values are not anywhere to be seen in Trump. Family values? Nope. Limited government? Not that I can see. The Golden Rule (treat others as you want others to treat you)? Good grief, no. Trump has no values other than his own net value, so for someone like me he’s empty and hollow; for others, I think he’s more of a cipher.

My thesis has been that the modern conservative movement is largely fueled by schadenfreude. Trump is popular because he pwns the libs. He is funny and he’s good at making fun of people. Nobody in the Republican primary debates in 2016 could even hold a candle to Trump. He didn’t need to know much about foreign policy or tax policy or what the Christian Coalition cared about. He just needed to call Marco Rubio “sweaty” and Ted Cruz a “pussy” and Ben Carson a “child molester” and everyone loved it. It wasn’t politics as usual, it was politics as theater in a way few politicians can really pull off because few have the showmanship skills of Mr. Trump. And that continued into and throughout the duration of his presidency, though his ire was often turned on foes outside the GOP. Elizabeth Warren was “Pocahontas” and Hillary Clinton a “nasty” “monster” and so on and so forth. Hell, some of Trump’s insults even resonated with your humble narrator. For instance, speaking of George W. Bush Trump said: “You mean George Bush sends our soldiers into combat, they are severely wounded, and then he wants $120,000 to make a boring speech to them?”

Damn that’s a good one.

But I think it goes further than mere schadenfreude. Indeed, there are plenty of Republicans who dislike Trump’s wild, abrasive temperament but still appreciate that he made numerous gains for ostensibly conservative causes.

I’ll leave this next bit to reader John Burkhart, who does a good job explaining why he—as a Republican—still backs Trump despite not caring for his personality.

To understand why Mr. Trump is so popular with the Republican Party isn't rocket surgery. Let's go down the list.

Republicans want to Curtail illegal immigration. Mr. Trump started a wall, tried to end DACA (which, I will remind you, failed to pass a Democratic congress early in Mr. Obama's administration), and enforced the border. Mr. Bush did... none of these things.

Republicans wanted an end to the Iranian treaty that never actually had been submitted to the Senate. Mr. Trump did so. Remember General Soleiman, wanted terrorist? I sure do.

Every US Presidential nominee (Republican AND Democrat) since I was born had promised to move the US Embassy in Israel to Jerusalem. Mr. Trump was the one who actually did so.

Republicans are a party of "Law and Order". Despite what you may have read, Mr. Trump seemed to be the same. While the Democrats push for literal havoc on the street (et tu, Ms. Walters?) and the Federal Investigation of local police activities, Mr. Trump's actual words: "We have to respect our great people in law and order. We don’t want anybody hurt," (2021). Ms. Cheney's equivocations would probably be ignored in a rank and file member, but they're not appropriate for leadership.

Was he perfect? No. He's abrasive and probably a megalomaniac. The Republican party would love someone who has done the things Mr. Trump has done *without being Mr. Trump¹. But to the Republican voter, there doesn't seem to be a way to cut that line, so they'll take the person that does the things. [emphasis added be EK]

As an aside, Mr. Trump seems to be emblematic of a lot of the conservative people. Getting kicked off Facebook and Twitter seems to be more and more of a status symbol. See also Project Veritas, the New York Post (albeit temporarily), and as of today, Lifesitenews.

This is a great point and one that I have trouble getting to on my own, since pretty much none of these issues are high on my personal political totem pole. Or, rather, because I have philosophical differences with how to achieve many of them.

I am all for curtailing illegal immigration, but I think we achieve that by helping—instead of hindering—our South and Central American neighbors. The American government has backed fascist coups, right-wing death squads and any number of other atrocities throughout Latin America, and this has created instability and economic hardship. Our ongoing war on drugs only adds fuel to the fire, giving power to cartels and corrupt governments.

I’m all for “law and order” also, but I believe this is achieved often through fewer laws and less violence rather than tougher laws and more violence. I think our prisons are beyond overcrowded and that non-violent offenders are better served through rehabilitation and counseling than imprisonment. I also don’t believe the “defund the police” movement was either coherent or helpful to the broader cause of police reform. Antifa isn’t helping matters, either.

I’m not sure most rank and file Republicans care that much about the Iran deal or the location of the US embassy in Israel quite honestly, though certainly the more involved Republicans probably do. These are more the chattering class’s hot button issues, and I suppose a steady diet of Fox News and rightwing talk radio might convince voters that this matters more than say, the fact that the Mexico wall was never built and ObamaCare is still an entitlement.

One achievement you can definitely give Trump (and McConnell) is the Supreme Court, which is now firmly in the hands of the GOP for years to come. Trump appointed three SCOTUS justices during his 4 years and that will be by far his most enduring legacy. On that front, his success is indisputable—much to the chagrin of the left.

As for getting kicked off of Facebook and Twitter and the status badge this earns conservatives lately, I can’t argue with that point either. While the woke left has its own litany of bizarre political priorities, one I’ve noticed on the right is this newfound victim status that seems so prized. The sense that conservatives are being oppressed is strong these days. It doesn’t help that so many of the loudest idiots on the left spend their days screeching about “white fragility” and “anti-racism” and how terrible white, cishet men are. But then again, the ridiculous right and the ludicrous left are a match made in heaven—even if they’re dragging the rest of us down to the other place.

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Photo by Tim Gouw from Pexels

1. I bolded this line because it’s interesting to me. “The Republican party would love someone who has done the things Mr. Trump has done *without being Mr. Trump.” I’m not so sure that’s true, actually. Some Republicans would clearly prefer it, especially those who value decorum and basic human decency. But I think a very large portion of the GOP really does adore Trump primarily because of his demagoguery rather than his actual political achievements.