For most of my adult life the Republican Party has claimed the mantel of belong to the philosophical school of moral objectivism while accusing their political opponents of belonging relativists. As a quick thumbnail sketch of the two points of a view a relativist would agree with the statement that right and wrong, good and evil, are products of culture and can only be judge within a culture, that one should never describe another culture’s practice are wrong or right as you would only be giving a judgment based upon your only cultural prejudices. Objective morality, which is quite distinct from Ayn Rand’s Objectivism, argues that right and wrong exist independent of culture and some thing trans all cultures as wrong. During the cold war this point of difference often came up when discussing the Soviet Union, it’s client states, and it’s aggressive push to spread its totalitarian system throughout the world. It is the basis for Ronald Reagan’s famous pronouncement of the USSR as ‘an evil empire.’ Sentiments I did and still do agree with. The political system of the Soviets and other communist nations created a system of de facto slavery yoking entire populations to the state.
Over the last 17 years the GOP, driven I believe by a belief that winning matters more than anything else and a power negative partisanship have abandoned their morality for whatever they believe will win. And not all of this can be laid at the feet of Donald Trump. Trump had nothing to do with the GOP embracing torture, but it certainly invited him and his ilk into the tent.
Winning has pushed aside all other considerations. This is best illustrated with the following photographs.
Copyright Jeff Widener AP
Given a choice between supporting the men who ordered the tanks into the square are the man who stood in their path, the GOP and its base has thrown their admiration for the man sympathetic to the butchers not the protesters.
copyright Jeremy Pelzer; Cleveland.com
Given the choice between our geopolitical opposition and our own people these men have proudly proclaimed their preference. Yes, these are just two men, but they felt comfortable enough to make the shirt and wear to a GOP event. Polling has shown that among the GOP as Trump has gained the presidency the rank and file member have grown in their admiration of strong man Vladimir Putin. A man who uses the resources of his state to manipulate our elections and does so with challenge from our President.
Is this worth it? Is your tax cut so valuable that you side with dictators and butchers? Is your fear of gun control so great that we must consort with such governments and men? Is that seat on the Supreme Court so valuable that the principals of self-rule and human rights must be abandoned?
What great crisis forces such drastic and damaging deals?
None, that I can see.
