Liberals Should Stop Trying to Save the GOP. Republicans Don’t Want to Be Saved.
Despite the pious wishes of many leading Democrats, the “good old” Republican Party is never coming back. Over the past four decades, GOP leaders set out to transform the party into the perfect vessel for Trumpian extremism — and they succeeded beyond their wildest nightmares.
Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi delivers remarks alongside Representatives Jerry Nadler and Eliot Engel, following the House of Representatives vote to impeach President Donald Trump on December 18, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Sarah Silbiger / Getty Images)
During an appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe last fall, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi condemned Republican lawmakers for collaborating with Donald Trump, arguing that the party had been transformed into a cult. Pelosi’s censure, however, also carried with it a strangely redemptive cadence. “One of my prayers is that the Republicans will take back their party,” the speaker said, continuing:
The country needs a strong Republican Party. It’s done so much for our country, and to have it be hijacked as a cult at this time is really a sad thing for America. . . . What is this? What is this about the Republicans that they don’t care enough about what they believe in as a party — a legitimate party — with beliefs and their view of the role of government? [ . . . ] I pray that they would get us a Grand Old Party again.
Last month, only weeks after the Trump-inspired storming of the US Capitol building, the speaker could still be heard saying much the same thing.
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