The turmoil in the Republican Party continues. Will Sunday’s debate create the undeniable tip over to the unknown? A day of reckoning is best sooner than later.
Republican Party Split?
Chuck Todd made a prescient observation based on a lot of background noise throughout the Republican Party that is likely overdue. A split may be imminent. When asked about the dynamics of the race, Todd’s answer was dire for the GOP.
“I think if you are Donald Trump, any normalized debate is going to at least stop Clinton’s momentum a little bit,” Todd said. “But I think, listen to the subtle signals that congressional Republicans were sending yesterday, — a few blind quotes here are there. You heard, if Donald Trump doesn’t have a good night on Sunday, if it’s similar to the first debate, then you may start seeing down-ballot exiting, in some form. Is it just candidates proactively running away, whatever it is. You now have the sense that Trump is, and we — have been here before with him — but one of these do or die moments with the Republican Party, with the McConnell where if it is a debate performance like the first night, it may be unrecoverable. You may see the party, publicly split.”
The sooner the Republican Party splits, the better for America. Republicans willing to compromise, willing to govern must isolate themselves from Right Wing TEA Party ideologues to restart a Congress that can pass laws based on compromises that move the country forward. It will give real conservatives a place to go. In the long run, the reasonable portion of the party demonstrating the ability to govern will peel off misled Republicans from the fringe. The TEA Party and the Right wing fringe will remain, but they will present a nuisance more than an obstacle to govern. Over time a healthy multi-party system will emerge.