The GOP is a One-Trick Pony Ready to Buck Off Moderate Voters
The news has been filled as of late with story after story of Republican officials going after political opponents and marginalized groups. Whether it be Tennessee state house Republicans expelling two Democrats for petty issues or various other state officials trying to pass anti-trans bills, the GOP has moved to disenfranchise thousands upon thousands of people.
While the moves have generally energized the core base of Republican voters, it has also done the same for younger Democrat voters.
Oscar Brock, a member of the Tennessee Republican National Committee, said that the move to expel representatives Justin Jones and Justin Pearson “didn’t help” the party’s brand. “You’ve energized young voters against us,” he continued, “Worse than squandering support, you’ve made enemies where we didn’t need them.”
The question we must ask ourselves is why have Republicans tacked so far right and risked alienating so many young and moderate voters?
The answer is really quiet simple if you look at the Trump administration and what it was able to accomplish. Besides packing the Supreme Court and getting massive tax breaks for the top 1%, there simply wasn’t much to celebrate on the part of even moderately informed voters.
The administration promised a comprehensive infrastructure plan that would create jobs and fix the country’s crumbling roads and bridges. No plan ever came, even as it was promised days before Trump’s departure. Beyond trying to repeal the Affordable Healthcare Act, there was no healthcare plan presented. When the Covid outbreak began killing Americans by the thousands, there was no lockdown or significant public health measures put in place.
The same can be said of Trump copycat, Florida governor Ron Desantis. Instead of tackling runaway housing prices, he tried to go after “woke” Disney before realizing he would burden taxpayers with over $700 million in debt. No moves on the rampant blooms of red tide, instead a bill to carry and concealed firearms without a permit.
This game of identity and ideological politics that Republicans are playing may bring out the hardcore voters come election day, but those numbers are dwindling. Older, conservative voters are dying off and moderate voters who may have loved the party’s antics eight years ago didn’t show up in 2020, when Republicans lost the White House and both chambers of Congress.
It may appear that the GOP has Democrats and marginalized groups on the ropes, but that’s when the beauty of the American political system shines through. Nothing is forever in government. What is done, can be undone and the country can be led in a new direction.
By refusing to evolve and identify with the wants and needs of younger voters, the Republicans may find themselves in the corral alone, showing off their one trick to nobody.
