Unfortunately, they seem destined to never meet.
Unfortunately, they seem destined to never meet.
A little under ten years ago — before the rise of Trump, but after the 2014 midterms — I appeared on a morning cable-news show to discuss the transient politics of the day. I cannot, if I am honest, remember our exact topic of conversation, but, whatever it was, I ended up criticizing then-president Obama for his approach and then outlining in as much detail as the truncated format would allow what I would prefer the federal government do instead. Having done this, I stopped talking, leaned back in my chair, and waited patiently for the rebuttal. But it never came. Instead, I was condescendingly informed by one of the show’s ostensibly neutral co-hosts that, if I wanted the conservative moment or the Republican Party to have any say over public policy, then they would have first “to win an election.”
This, I found utterly astonishing. At that point, the GOP had not merely prevailed in the most recent federal elections, but was in its strongest electoral position in 80 years. It controlled the House, with its largest majority since 1928; it controlled the Senate, having picked up nine seats; it controlled 31 governorships; and, perhaps most remarkable of all, it controlled more statehouses than it had in a century. What it didn’t control was the presidency, and, for my interlocutor, this was all that seemed to matter. For him, it seemed, the president and “elections” were synonymous. The only government that mattered was the federal one, and the only branch that mattered was the executive.
I am reminded of this moment whenever I see a political commentator transmute his thoroughly reasonable criticism of Donald Trump into a wholesale condemnation of the Republican Party and the ideas that it exists to represent. It is true that Trump is a capricious, chaotic bore, and that, in their cowardice, many within the national GOP have allowed him to play with their convictions as if they were plasticine. It is not true, however, that this failing has infected the institution in toto. Indeed, if you can bear to glance past the psychodrama that is this year’s presidential election — and to search instead at the state and local levels at which American governance takes place — you will find a Republican Party that, far from being impotent, arbitrary, unmoored, or devoid of ideas, is sensible, focused, and busy contriving and implementing its plans.
I am, I accept, somewhat spoiled in Florida, where, in addition to a remarkable 30-year run of terrific public policy, the state now has a balanced budget and has started paying down the debt. But look elsewhere and you will witness enormous progress, too. In Georgia, Ohio, Texas, Virginia, Iowa, Tennessee, Arizona, and more, Republicans have taken their charge seriously and used the power that they have gained to advance the political ball. In those places, and more, they have cut taxes, reduced regulation, moved toward school choice, protected the right to work, resisted illegal immigration, passed restrictions on abortion, reformed public-school curricula, ushered in permitless carry, and more. Not every state has ticked off every item on that list, and the degree to which each has been able to reach its ideal has been tempered by the usual combination of electoral success and local differences in mood. These failures, however, are not for lack of care or lack of resolve. In Texas last year, Republicans were thwarted in their push for school choice. In response, they primaried the holdouts, and, per Governor Abbott, they now have the votes. That, right there, is how it ought to be done.
In effect, there now exist two sets of Republican Parties in the United States — and, thanks to the repeated mistakes made by primary voters, they seem destined to never meet. In the first group, we have the national party, which is an aimless joke; in the second, we have the state parties, which may be the most effective and accomplished political outfits in the world. I have no interest in downplaying the sins of the national party, which has responded to the serious challenges we face with fecklessness, idolatry, and whining. But I will not extrapolate too far out and indulge in the thoughtless pox-on-you-all nihilism that has become far too common on the Trump-critical side of the aisle. Not only are state-level elected Republicans serious; they are driven by an agenda that would have been easily recognizable as “conservatism” at any point in the last 50 years. Plucky little realist that I am, I remain as indifferent toward “vibes” in this realm as in any other. Credit is due where it is due, and, here, it is due — whatever else may be happening on Twitter and on TV.