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Though I do think if/when Trump goes away that things do get better. It's this old problem with nearly every movement is that without great organization and buraucracy, the movement dies with the charismatic leader. The MAGA cultists will certainly still be around but they'll find themselves with no one to rally around and god knows Trump and the GOP are doing nothing to systematize their movement because 1. they're not that organized and 2. they have no platform to systematize anyway.
So yeah I think you're right that the base problems are still there but much of the power they have now is in Trump and would go away with him.
Nah. Trump is a pretty bad symptom, but the whole party had been infected for a while. Hell, there could have easily been a Trump like candidate in 2012 if one of those candidates understood media like Trump did.
Trump doesn't understand shit. He just loves attention and will say things that get a reaction.
So in other words; he understands media.
No, he's a malignant narcissist idiot savant self promoter.
Having the combination of a constant need for self-promotion, no self-awareness and absolute shamelessness is ideal for a cult leader, but it doesn't make him smart.
To quote one of the people who know his level of intelligence and understanding best, he's a fucking moron.
We aren't saying he is smart, just that he understands media, especially compared to other Republican presidential candidates.
I think it is sort of like how toddlers "understand" how to manipulate parents. Or cats and owners.
That would be a good analogy. It isn't a great higher level understanding, but it is effective.
Understanding requires conscious reflection and analysis. He hasn't done either since the 80s at the latest.
That's what understanding media is, though.
No. There's no "understanding" about it. It's as instinctive as a fish swimming or a wasp (either kind) ruining someone's day.
I mean none of this happens in a vaccuum so of course Trump doesn't happen if the GOP hadn't aligned this electorate through fearmongering and culture war BS for decades. But the identity of the party today also depends on Trump - like, can you name one person in the GOP with the kind of sick charisma he has that could stoke the base the way he has? There are many that try but apparently Trump's ability to rile up the base is not easily replicated so without him around they have less influence over the base. That is why I think without him they would be weakened.
I agree with you and think infected is the correct term. Republicans are infected with dark money and Kompromat.
I think Trump is a nothing more than a hammer, a dull blunt instrument.
Putin is wielding the hammer.
I doubt it. There's plenty of grifters in that circle ready to jump into the spotlight. Don Jr I'd imagine would be the next in line, followed by Kushner, and the like.
What is the most recent example of republicans "getting better"?
I'd like to say for Dems it was Clinton to Obama, but did it really?
The harsh reality is republicans have been in free fall for generations, and Dems just jumped out of the plane a couple minutes later.
The quality of both keeps dropping, and while D will always be better than R, that's obviously not enough.
They said the same after Nixon, Reagan, HW Bush, and little Bush....
Their power is our political system where unpopulated states are overly represented on the federal level. At the bare minimum we need to unfreeze the House so at least one part is tied to population rather than number of states.
People in flyover states can have 10x the reprentation as someone from a populous state, and that's in the House.
Well I said 'things will get better' meaning overall I think the world is better and the GOP as it is without Trump has less of a grip on their electorate. I definitely don't think the GOP gets better as I said: 'the base problems are still there'.