As the Republican Party continues Cleansing and cannibalismThe administration of President Joe Biden has worked hard to be an all-American presidency. In fact, that same week, Representative Adam Kinzinger, R-Illinois, who is an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, announced that He will not seek re-electionThe Senate confirmed Biden’s appointment of former US Senator Jeff Flake and Cindy McCain as ambassadors within his administration. Well-known Trump critics and supporters of Biden, Arizona, Flick and McCain have often been Trump targets during his presidency and throughout the 2020 campaign.
Note Flick this summer His nomination “reaffirms the best tradition of American foreign policy and diplomacy: the dogma that partisan politics must stop at the water’s edge.” Adding that “the foreign policy of the United States can and should be bipartisan.” I agree.
While the Republican Party blindly allows Trump to stay on top of it, the former president has taken on the role of the undisputed kingmaker.
While the Republican Party blindly allows Trump to remain its leader, the former president has taken up against The undisputed kingmaker Designed agenda pushed to Ridding the Republican Party of any elected officials or candidates who openly criticized him. It is clear that Trump and the Trump machine and his influence should not be underestimated. it is clear that Trump continues to promote the narrative in his rallies That the elections were stolen. and he give endorsements To candidates who support these unsubstantiated allegations.
unsurprisingly, Trump critics are like Kinzinger They found themselves in trouble with the Republican leadership. And Kinzinger isn’t the only victim: We’ve seen this same cycle play out with other Republicans like Flick, a Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, former Tennessee Senator Bob Corker, oh Representative Anthony Gonzalez and Nebraska Senator Ben Sassi. All of these outspoken legislators were punished, for example by stripping them of their leadership roles or Trump’s endorsement of the candidates That would make re-election almost impossible or pressure tactics on social media.
While it is frustrating to see these elected officials criticized and expelled from a party they have tried so hard — and so bravely — to reform, it should also be a final wake-up call to leadership: the GOP is no longer the Republican Party of the GOP. Bush, Ronald Reagan, Mitt Romney and John McCain. Now it’s Trump’s party. The Republican Party used to be a party rooted in it “Country First”, But now it puts one man’s political ambitions above all else. While the January 6 anti-democratic violence should have led to a clean Republican break with Trump, the party has instead doubled down on its support. So far, Republicans Allegiance to the flags of that day.
But arguably more worrisome is the void left by the departure of men and women like Kinzinger. Who will be left to criticize and speak?
While I am glad that some of Trump’s former critics have found homes within the Biden administration, I hope they will continue to use their positions, platforms, and voices to respond to the ills and efforts of the party that abandoned them.
With the Republican leadership embracing Trump, they have shown their true colors. These weak cowards have embraced an arrogant tyrant and abandoned their guiding principles for the sake of false idols. Trump’s hijacking of the Republican Party, which was never and has never been a true Republican, will harm the party for years to come and secure its position on the wrong side of history.
