2024 will be a moment in time when our political system, our voters, and even the foundations of our republic will be severely tested.
The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to decide whether Donald Trump is eligible to run for president based on the clear disqualifying requirements outlined in 3 U.S.C. 14th Amendmentthe courts, the Republican Party, and voters are facing an existential crisis.
The immediate challenges facing the Supreme Court are even more severe than the controversial decision. Bush vs. Gore and dobbs vs jackson. Never before has a former president faced such a situation in court. and blame Attempting to “overturn the legitimate results” of an election “by knowingly using false claims of election fraud in order to interfere with the federal government's ability to collect, tabulate, and certify election results.” .
Whether the court follows the Constitution's provisions or rules in Trump's favor, it will be exposed to the charge that, in the words of Justice Amy Coney Barrett, “the court is.”Numerous partisan hacks. ”
Whatever the decision, there is a lot for voters to consider.lots of fear A rematch between Biden and Trump is expected in 2024, but this will be a much different Republican Party than 2020.Like former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) Note, the Republican Party is no longer the party of Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, or even her father. In other words, it is not a conservative party pledging fidelity to the U.S. Constitution.
After a memorable showdown with Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), after Cheney reminded him that the Republican Party was McCarthy's party, which had always been subservient to Trump. Said“This is not their party anymore.”
Instead, the Republican Party seeks to erase the shadow of its former leaders from the collective memory and rewrite history.
Starting January 6, 2021.
Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) described that violent day as “an ordinary tourist visit.” The Republican National Committee characterizes the day's events as follows:legitimate political debate” Others are wrong condemnation Antifa, Black Lives Matter, left-wing Democrats, or the deep state of the Capitol riot. President Donald Trump calls out those jailed for interfering with the official certification of the 2020 election.hostage“And I promise to forgive.”most partIf he eventually returns to public office.
This Republican-inspired historical revisionism didn't stop with the Capitol attack.
Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley answers a New Hampshire voter's question about the causes of the Civil War. Said It was “basically the freedom of how the government is run, what it can and cannot do, what people can and cannot do.” When her inquisitor conducted a follow-up investigation, say it was“surprisingly” she didn't mention the word slavery, Haley responded firmly“What do you want to say about slavery?”
When Abraham Lincoln's Republican Party became the adopted party of the Old Union, it embraced the narrative.Cult of the Lost Cause“The South waged war against the materialistic North.''seize wealth and power” Since the beginning of the 20th century, Approximately 700 laws and regulations It was built in the South to celebrate “.A noble but fateful struggle” At the same time, it reminded African Americans of white supremacy.
Then New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu confronted these lies. began the torturous process of repealing Confederate statutes.The movement spread to other states and caused violence. Especially in Charlottesville, Virginia. a riot broke out After the monument to Robert E. Lee was removed, Donald Trump called it this.stupid”
This transformed Republican Party, remade in Donald Trump's image, is what will appear to voters in 2024, whether he remains on the ballot or not.joe biden I like to say“This is not your father's Republican Party.'' And 2024 will be an election focused primarily on traditional policy differences between liberals and conservatives. Rather, the focus will be on whether voters will support a Republican Party that promotes lies and rejects constitutional norms, or whether they will reject the Republican Party and give it a chance to come back. Founding Principles.
2024 marks almost 10 years since Donald Trump's administration. I rode an escalator in 2015 This is to announce his candidacy for the presidential election. Since then, he has dominated, challenged, and transformed our politics more than perhaps any other leader to date.
As Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) puts it, the Republican Party has become a personality cult serving an “orange Jesus,” abandoning its founding principles in favor of Trump's momentary whims.
Before becoming president in 1861, Abraham Lincoln resisted offers of compromise on the slavery issue. saying“No action or collusion on my part should reduce the Republican Party to nothing more than an egg, unprincipled inside and out.”
Today, Joe Biden says that democracy is “It remains America's sacred cause.”
What becomes of Donald Trump, or his hostile takeover of the party he founded, is for historians to write. As we enter a year that will either end the Trump era or give the Trump administration new strength and power, it's worth remembering the following on the threshold of the U.S. House of Representatives: There is a statue of Clio, the muse of Greek history..
Clio watched the House of Commons on January 6, 2021, and will watch again on November 5, 2024 to see what we decide as a nation and who we claim to be. I will do it.
John Kenneth White is a professor of political science at The Catholic University of America. His upcoming book is titled “Grand Old Unraveling: The Republican Party, Donald Trump, and the Rise of Authoritarianism.” He can be reached at his johnkennethwhite.com.
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