Remember the famous garden scene in “The Godfather,” when Marlon Brando’s character, Don Vito Corleone, warns his son, Michael, played by Al Pacino, that someone close to the family will arrange a meeting where Michael will be assassinated?
The real-life political equivalent of that landmark cinematic moment is playing out before our very eyes, with the Republican National Committee and congressional Republicans. On the omnibus, on the Second Amendment, on border safety—almost every issue—the GOP continues to betray the family. Who is the family? The American people, that’s who.
In fairness, yes, Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation, the president’s constitutionally bona fide federal judges, and tax reform were big wins in the last year. But we didn’t elect the biggest GOP majority in the modern era to take baby steps, did we? We colored the map red (even though guaranteed red states no longer exist) to take giant leaps, especially after eight years of mostly impotent GOP opposition to President Obama. And let’s be honest: 90 percent of the reason our map was red was because of President Trump.
Is the Republican Party Trying to Lose?
After the 2016 election, I wondered if the Republican Party would be the Super Bowl LI Atlanta Falcons of American politics—hold a record lead, blow the lead and lose the game. Now, however, I’m beginning to think the GOP is the 1919 Chicago White Sox. Eight players from that team, whom we refer to as “Black Sox,” were banned from baseball for life after they stood trial for conspiracy to throw the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds.
After 14 months of observing the GOP under President Trump, I cannot come to a conclusion other than: they are losing on purpose, or are trying so meekly that their wins are accidental.
We know politicians being in-touch with small business owners and working families isn’t their strong suit. But are Tessio Republicans such as Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell, and my senator, Marco Rubio, amongst others, really that much in GOP la-la land that they still haven’t figured out why Donald Trump was elected?
Trump’s win was far more of a shattered glass ceiling than Obama’s win, or (gasp!) a Hillary Clinton win (the former received votes due to his race; the latter due to her sex). Trump is the United States’ first civilian president, and received the most votes in the history of his party’s primary. Rather than ride that unprecedented wave of momentum, the GOP keeps wiping out like a three-year old on a boogie board for the first time.
The well of the lesser of two evils has run dry for the Republican Party, I fear. We didn’t elect Republicans to live under Democrat policies, such as catch and release, Planned Parenthood funding, Obamacare status quo, and sanctuary city funding, all of which were included in the $1.3 trillion omnibus the president signed last week.
No, signing it doesn’t necessarily mean we’ll get some or all of those policies, and yes, the president should have vetoed it (and used an executive order, which I’m not always a fan of, to fund the military). But what really happened was McConnell-Ryan “leadership” gave the president a Democrat-lite bill, knowing he’d sign it.
Why were Democrats celebrating, and Republican voters lamenting? Because the GOP, once again, spent more time asking Democrats what they wanted, rather than asking Americans what we wanted. I suppose the Republicans, as is their standard operating procedure, were hoping for favorable reviews with MSNBC, The New York Times, Morning Jo(k)e, and the rest of the DMIC (Democrat Media Industrial Complex).
We keep running the same losing play, time and again: be all things to all people; let emotions, and not facts, dictate our decisions and rhetoric; and, worst of all, attempt “diplomacy.” Diplomacy is mostly how weak men and women try to appear strong. We only hear “compromise” out of the mouths of Republicans, who are happy to play the Democrats on their field, under their rules.
The GOP Is Afraid to Fight
In 2009, President Obama lectured helpless Republicans with his “elections have consequences” remark. Translation: I won, you lost, and I don’t need to work with you—you need to work with me. He was correct. In 2013, Obama said to Republicans, “Go out there an win an election.”
Well, we won, and won, and won—more than 1,000 congressional and state wins since 2008. So with all these victories, why do so many faithful Republican voters feel like we’re losing? As a sidenote: none of you think the same Democrats who cheered Obama’s statements believe them now, right? “Elections have consequences” and “Win an election” transformed into “Trump is Julius Rosenberg and Alger Hiss.”
I want someone to find me one instance under Obama when Democrats in Congress, or anywhere, for that matter, asked what Republican voters wanted. No one can, because none exist.
The Republican Party is afraid to fight, and erroneously continues to believe that record amounts of money raised will miraculously convince Democrats to vote Republican. Record amounts of money will not turn a mediocre candidate into a dynamic and exciting candidate. Republicans are losing elections they shouldn’t even have to get out of bed to win.
How will we entice viable candidates to step out of their family and work lives to run for national, state, and local elections? The RNC outspent the DNC 11-1 in the Conor Lamb-Rick Saccone congressional race a few weeks ago in Pennsylvania, and still lost. So much for fiscal conservatism and minding the store.
Every time the Republican Party gives the Democrats what they want, they slap us all in the face. They slap in the faces those who contributed their hard-earned money, volunteered their time, advocated their candidacies, knocked on doors in hot and cold, licked the distasteful glue of envelope mailers, and elected them. This is why I am organizing a Demand-To-Be-Heard trip to the Republican National Committee’s spring meeting May 4. Those interested in attending can contact me through the means listed in my bio, at the conclusion of this article.
Elections have consequences. So why have the consequences of our wins meant acquiescing to the Democratic Party, a party that openly exploits children for political gain, is openly bigoted, and wants to legislate slavery reparations?
In “The Godfather Part II,” Michael Corleone’s brother, Fredo, betrayed him. But Fredo’s perfidy was unintentional. He wasn’t very bright, and didn’t comprehend that he was being used by rival gangster Hyman Roth.
Tessio, however, knew exactly what he was doing. He gambled, thought he would get away with it, but eventually met his fate of sleeping with the fishes. There are too many Tessios within the GOP, and my warning to them is this: Don’t ever take sides against the family again.
