For the foreseeable future Trump, his style, his ideology, and his values, are the basic form of the Republican Party.
I know that there are those on the right who feel that Trump is some sort of aberration of the political environment. That like some Kaiju from a foreign film he came ashore into the GOP, defeated the party’s defenses, and destroyed its infrastructure. They also cling to the belief that like a rampaging monster in a movie once Trump is expelled, either by being termed out or defeated in the next election, that things will return to what they had been before his sudden and terrible appearance.
To quote a recent film, ‘This is not going to go the way you think.’
As the government shutdown over the wall continues, with every day bringing more stories of deprivation, hardship, and actual danger, Trump’s overall approval numbers slide further into negative territory. A recent NPR/Marist poll shows Trumps; approval vs. Disapproval now stands at an abysmal 53 vs. 39 putting him ‘underwater’ by a whopping 14 points.
When you look below the topline numbers the picture becomes even more clear what is happening.
For Democrats the numbers are 6 vs. 89, but that is hardly surprising.
For Independents he registers an unhealthy 37 vs. 57.
However for Republicans the number are 83 vs. 10 yielding a net positive score of an astounding 73 points. Breaking that group down into soft Republicans, that is people who do not self-identify as strongly aligned with the GOP vs. those who do we get the following results of the soft Republicans it is 76 vs. 16, a 60 point positive spread, and for strong Republicans the number are 90 vs. 5.
Trump is adored by the rank and file members of the GOP. He is not a variation from the norm he is the representation of it. This one fact explains a great deal of the behavior of other elected GOP politicians. With Trump’s net approval among strong Republicans at 85 points and to hold their seats and position all of the pols must first withstand with withering fires of a primary hey will take no action that could inspire Trump’s most dedicated supporters to overthrow than before facing the public a in a general election.
This also means that the best path forward for future GOP politicians is to take Trump’s mantle and wear it as their own. Trump and Trumpism is the future of the Republican Party.
On a deeper level this also indicates that the GOP has become unmoored from any political philosophy. The party that once espoused its dedication to freedom now holds Vladimir Putin in high regard.
