On Twitter on Friday, Princeton professor Robert P. George, one of the few conservatives to flourish in Ivy League venues today, thanked President Trump of all people for inadvertently helping so many Democrats convert to the GOP’s side.
Because of Trump, as George put it, “many of our progressive friends have come to believe in 1) truth, not my truth and your truth, but absolute objective truth; 2) federalism; and 3) constitutional limits on executive power. Who knows what’s next?”
Who knows, indeed? Trump has been laying waste to Reaganism as it was known and loved by many in the Republican Party, but he has encouraged its spread among Democrats who never thought much of Ronald Reagan when he was alive.
Liberals, who for a great many years despised the cold warriors and touted the concept of moral equivalence, now are the ones who want to be tough (or at least talk tough) on the Russians, fiercely defending democracy and its practitioners against the autocrats whom Trump seems to like far too much.
In 2012, Democrats called Mitt Romney a warmonger for espousing a less bellicose position than the one they have now embraced. He said Barack Obama was too eager to placate the Russians. Now, the Trump backers who follow their leader think he can’t grovel enough. People who love Trump on the grounds that “he fights!” seem to love him the more he rolls over. But in fairness, if he had instead stood up to Russian President Vladimir Putin, they might have been cool with that, too.
As history shows, it’s nothing new that parties should change their spots and their positions. The Democrats between 1933, when Franklin Roosevelt took power, and 1965, when his protege Lyndon Johnson passed the last of his two great civil rights measures, bore no resemblance to what they became in the years after. They would turn their backs on the middle class and the freedom agenda, and break all ties to their past. Now, thanks to Trump, they have a chance to start over — the promise (or threat) of a wave in November has opened the gates to a torrent of candidates, some of whom might never have thought about running, but who in the light of this Trump-induced fever have seen an unusual chance.
Some are socialists, flakes, and identity warriors, but countering some recent trends in the party, there are also some moderates and a number of veterans too. In the mix now are the likes of Doug Jones, Conor Lamb, and Mitch Landrieu, Democrats who can win in red states and red districts, and may be a bridge back to the FDR/HST/JFK party, our last true majority party, which was torn apart in the late 1960s and which has been long missing.
Trump has done a great deal to needlessly irritate millions of people, some of whom might have supported some things that he did if they didn’t despise him so much. And many of those who really do support him can only do so while gritting their teeth.
Trump is cutting loose millions of people who might be willing to vote for a Democrat more like Jack than Ted Kennedy, who isn’t a Clinton, who doesn’t despise them, who doesn’t lie quite so much through her teeth.
Democrats would be crazy to pass on this chance to reap a large harvest of long-term crossover voters. Which means that they almost certainly will.
