Paul Ryan’s Moment

     

Last August, Justin Gest, a political scientist shared in a Politico article that 65% of recently surveyed white Americans would support a party committed to “stopping mass immigration, providing American jobs to American workers, preserving America’s Christian heritage, and stopping the threat of Islam.”

If anything, Gest’s article and research show that even if Trump loses in November, Trumpism has already won with a core group of voters in the Republican Party. There is much speculation about what a defeated Trump would do after the election. He could retire, start a media company to cater to his audience, try to lead the GOP, or create a 3^rd party. Whatever he does, he isn’t going away and neither is his base.

Paul Ryan, the current leader of the GOP, has an opportunity to finally show leadership on November 9.  He shouldn’t wait for Trump or some Alt-Right leader to start a 3^rd party, he should force them. Indeed, by officially repudiating all Trump voters who are interested in a populist, protectionist, nationalist party, and by inviting them to leave the GOP, Ryan can reach three lifesaving goals for the GOP.

First, he would get rid of the toxic elements that the GOP has let grow in their ranks over the last two decades. Second, he could recommit the party to its 'Reaganesque' ideology with limited government, free markets, entitlement reform and an assertive foreign policy. Finally, and most importantly in my view, Ryan could reclaim many centrist Democrats and independents by suggesting that the new GOP will not consider science, religion and abortion to be partisan issues anymore. The new GOP could embrace the overwhelming climate change evidence and state that abortion and religion are issues that should be dealt with at the family and personal levels, not at the political level.

Many of my conservative friends will disagree with me on this. Also, I believe my wish is a long shot, but if it were to happen, the new centrist GOP would take enough voters from the Democrats and independents to largely compensate for the extremist fringe that will leave it for Trump or any of his successor.