Reps. Devin Nunes and Jim Jordan are still playing to the base.
The Republicans are resorting to gold medal-level mental gymnastics to defend their Mafia boss. If you’re following the impeachment hearings, you can really see how Donald Trump’s rise is the logical fulfillment of the “Base Strategy” developed by former Bush consigliere, Karl Rove.
The 2004 Campaign
During George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, Rove, along with campaign strategist Matthew Dowd and media advisor Mark McKinnon de-emphasized pursuing “independent” voters. The latter group made up a mere 6-7 percent of the electorate. Instead, Rove and co. focused more on driving turnout among the GOP’s conservative base. They knew that Republican voters made up a larger share of the electorate in 2004 than they did during the Reagan years. More crucially, they knew that conservative voters were culture war voters.
The History of the Base
The Base Strategy to lure culture war voters has a long pedigree. Since the mid-20th century, and particularly since Barry Goldwater’s 1964 campaign, conservative voters have been marinating in a right-wing subculture. The growing political awareness of Evangelicals and the free-flowing funds of the moneyed classes have fueled this subculture from the beginning.
Pat Buchanan said it best during his speech at the 1992 Republican Convention. There, he described the contest between Bill Clinton & George H.W. Bush as a “culture war” over “the soul of America.” This “culture war” pitted lily-white, bible-thumping, free-marketing, patriarchal, fried-chicken chomping, evolution-denying “values voters” against the alleged godless, commie, baby-killing heathens in the Democratic Party. The GOP has been playing this tune ever since.
By the end of the 1990s, the cycle was in full bloom. The legacy of the Religious Right, Wall Street, & the Chamber of Commerce combined with the emergence of far-right talk radio, think tanks, the Militia Movement, & the arrival of Fox News to create a massive conservative infotainment subculture. Out of this right-wing subculture, Generalissimo Karl Rove emerged. He mobilized an army of GOP-voting culture warriors who reelected George W. Bush, suffered through Barack Obama’s two terms, & unleashed the wave of reactionary political sludge that put Donald Trump in the White House.
Impeachment Kool-Aid
If you find yourself following the impeachment hearings & wondering why the entire Republican Party decided to quench their thirst with the cultish nectar of the Trump Kool-Aid, remember that the party is still playing to the base.
The Republicans convinced their voting base that the other side is the second-coming of the communist Antichrist. As a result, they have a very DEDICATED voting base. Donald Trump knows how dedicated they are.
President Trump campaigns for Gov. Matt Bevin, who lost his bid for reelection.
“The radical democrats are going totally insane,” His Orangeness bellowed at a November 4th rally in Lexington, Kentucky. “They want to obliterate the rule of law [and] drive out faith from the public square,” Trump warned. He also issued the standard Republican hyperbole that Democrats will, “destroy anyone who calls traditional America American values.” This kind of talk is as culture war as it gets.
The Republican base has been primed for decades to embrace a patriarchal, proudly ignorant, materialistic, capitalist demigod. The conservative subculture has been drinking the Kool-Aid for years, and now the GOP brass has gotten high on their own supply.
Welcome back.
From watching journalists questioning voters about the current political climate, I can clearly see that there’s a heavy percentage of people who aren’t paying attention (but not a clear majority) to current affairs.
Your timeline of Republican positions and platforms is accurate. I forgot all about Carl Rove, Newt Gingrich, and others, since they have been overshadowed by the Trump phenomenon. They laid the groundwork, for sure.
My outlook for America is dire. We have reached a tipping point which may very well lead to our irreversible deterioration. Our decline isn’t impossible. Many great civilizations have fallen in the past. Ours is not immune from the same fate.
I blame much of our decline on the inadequacy of our population and culture. Next, I blame the inadequacies of our system of government. I know this is a very generalized view; and here is not the time for a detailed listing.
Due to our weaknesses, we have opened the door to exploitation. Our country was founded by white Christians who gave lip service to high ideals of freedom and equality – for themselves. After eight years of opposition to the Obama administration, we are now watching the rollback of everything he accomplished for the good of the country. Why? Because white Christians cannot tolerate being governed by a colored man.
Our frailties are clearly understood by foreign powers. They have secured a hold on our government by compromising the perfect stooge for the job (Trump), and his misguided supporters. Foreign interference in the form of clever propaganda and misinformation has succeeded in sowing discord and polarization in our nation. Russia (and China) are familiar with the principles and mechanics of our government, and have turned our strengths against us. We are currently embroiled in an effort to oust a criminal and his criminal administration from power. However, we are caught up in a tangled web of “law and order and process”. We may not recover in time to save our nation.
Thanks for the comment, Michael! I’m going to take some time to think it over before responding. I appreciate you still reading.
Another fine blog, Jarrett, and a well considered comment from Michael Cook. These current times are nuts and your work goes a long way to keeping the public informed on nuanced historical facts not presented elsewhere. We need you out here, Jarrett. People are reading you regardless if they let you know or not. I know it’s not paying the bills as you would like, but you are doing important and crucial work! Please keep ‘em coming!