Is there really a Republican Party?

Is there really a Republican Party?

At last count, 20 men and one woman have said in public that they are at least seriously thinking about seeking the Republican nomination for president at the convention in July next year.

Six of them have officially kicked off their campaigns, and 10 of them—including the current nominal favorite, Jeb Bush—have at least formed a campaign committee or taken some other explicit action.

None of them has articulated a platform or a coherent set of political/philosophical goals and values that have credible, broad support—I’m not talking unanimous support, just broad support—from Republicans across America.

There is no Republican Party thesis, no identifiable flag that generously and compellingly rallies the troops in the cities and the hinterlands, on the factory floors and in the corner offices, in the men’s room and in the ladies’ room. I’d say there is no raison d’être for the Republican Party that unites the party, except that’s something a fuzzy-brained liberal might say….

I suggest that the political stance that most obviously gets a thumbs up from many Republicans is hatred of President Obama, and I say that with full awareness that “hatred” is a provocatively loaded word. Read it as “dislike for President Obama” if you prefer.

So, is there really a Republican Party in the operative, self-sustaining sense of the word?

I dare say maybe not.

The news media and the cable TV talking heads are going to continue to refer to “Republican Party” candidates, but I think it’s more realistic to refer to the “Republican Throng,” or maybe the “Republican Collection.”

Whoever gets the Republican nomination next year is going to start his campaign by wildly alienating great clusters of folks who claim to be Republicans. Will he run at the head of a genuine political party?

And who will he pick to run for vice-president? Don't get me started....

  

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The good thing is....

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