I swore I wouldn’t write a column about the ridiculous, racist, hate-filled Republican presidential candidacy of publicity-seeking billionaire Donald Trump. It’s already won him massive over-coverage from all those shallow people who play journalists on TV.
But then I realized Trump’s candidacy really could be an important turning point in American politics.
Trump could save the Republican Party by destroying it, just like a nutty officer once said about leveling a village in Vietnam. Trump is openly revealing how much modern Republicans rely on veiled racism and public ignorance to win elections.
That’s why Republican strategists keep saying one of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s greatest strengths is his popularity among the most extreme voters in the party.
What’s driving Republicans absolutely crazy and cutting directly into Walker’s strongest support is that Trump expresses in plain language right out loud the hatred of non-whites Republicans have always pandered to using far more subtle, coded language.
Walker has perfected maintaining a façade of boyish innocence while exploiting racial hatred by simply activating racist stereotypes already in the minds of bigoted voters. He talks about the need to drug test poor people before letting them have food stamps or unemployment benefits.
The overwhelming majority of poor people in need of government assistance, of course, belong to the white majority. But Walker knows the racist stereotype is lazy, drug-addled, criminal minorities.
Open Bigotry on Display
Well, if such subtle, low-key appeals to racism work well for Republicans, Trump figures brazen, open bigotry should be a box office smash. And that’s exactly how it’s worked out.
Ever since Trump opened his campaign by attacking immigrants crossing the Mexican border as murderers, rapists and every other variety of low-life scum, he has shot to the top of Republican presidential polls.
Walker’s big lead in Iowa disappeared with Trump virtually tied now, 19% to 17%. In New Hampshire, home of the first primary, another early Walker lead vanished. Now Trump is on top with 24%, with Jeb Bush second at 12% and Walker dropping to 7%.
It stands to reason Trump would most hurt those candidates who appeal to the most extreme audiences. Why would hate-filled racists support some Republican wimp who delicately dances around the issue of white supremacy when they can vote directly for a blunt-talking bigot?
Only in today’s Republican Party would an openly offensive candidate be described as “a breath of fresh air.” Republican primary voters are some of the angriest right-wing extremists on the planet. They’ve had it with coy innuendo. Let the war crimes and atrocities begin!
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Walker and other Republicans are helpless to stand up to Trump. He employs the same inflammatory arguments they do against immigration reform, government programs and reducing income inequality. The only difference is that Trump delivers those messages with the verbal equivalent of a flamethrower.
Recognizing their common appeal, Trump already has singled out Walker for attack.
In an Iowa rally, Trump made fun of Walker sucking up to him by bringing a plaque to his office that honored him for financially supporting Walker’s past elections. Trump wondered aloud if Wisconsin paid for the plaque.
“Wisconsin’s doing terribly,” Trump said. “First of all, it’s in turmoil. The roads are a disaster because they don’t have any money to rebuild them. They’re borrowing money like crazy. They projected a $1 billion surplus, and it turns out to be a deficit of $2.2 billion. The schools are a disaster.”
Never mind that Trump’s a cartoon. His campaign has become a barometer to measure how many modern-day Republicans really believe in honest, conservative values and how many are drawn primarily to the party’s far darker appeals to hatred based on race, gender or sexual preference.
There are two ways this ends disastrously for Republicans. The first way, of course, would be Trump continuing his lead in Republican polls and winning primaries, delegates and the nomination.
No matter how cynical anyone may be about politics today, there really are far too many decent people in America ever to elect an obnoxious, bombastic, egotistical, racist clown of a billionaire as president of the United States.
Alternatively, Trump’s monumental ego and piles of money also allow him to run as an independent, third party candidate just like another egotistical billionaire, H. Ross Perot, did in 1992. Ironically, it helped an earlier Democratic nominee named Clinton defeat an earlier Republican nominee named Bush.
Either Republican disaster would be well deserved. Modern Republicans sold out their legacy as the party of Lincoln with a “Southern Strategy” of openly appealing to racists and extremists.
The best thing that could happen in U.S. politics would be for racists, extremists and other angry American misfits to settle into their own permanent minority third party.
Then Republicans could rebuild themselves into a legitimate major political party again based on honest, conservative principles instead of veiled and not-so-veiled racism and dishonesty.
