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WHOSE party?

Not yours, not mine, not ours. THEIRS.

At their convention in 1900, the Republicans renominated William McKinley for president. They also had a problem on their hands: a boisterous trouble-maker with an exceptional ability to inspire crowds. His name was Teddy Roosevelt, a man more than one contemporary would describe as “the most remarkable man I ever met.” But the Republican Party had never liked Roosevelt, principally because he was impossible to control. He had a penchant for saying exactly what he thought and doing exactly what he wanted, no matter whether it was in line with the approved party platform.

In 1900, Roosevelt had been making a huge nuisance of himself as governor of New York, a position of massive importance in which, as he grew more and more popular, he became harder and harder to control. The Republicans, led by Thomas C. Platt (“Boss Platt”), wanted him out—out of New York, and out of power, period. So they hatched the perfect plan, nominating him for vice president, where he couldn’t do anything.

Roosevelt took the bait. The temptation of being a top man in Washington, D.C., was too great for him to resist, even though he knew he’d have no real power. And when McKinley won the election, the political bosses were doubly delighted: They had the White House, and they had managed to move TR from the vital role of New York governor to the totally impotent role of vice president.

The vice presidency at the turn of the century was a political graveyard, where politicians were sent to be gently eased out of power forever. We had not yet arrived at the modern tradition of having vice presidents generally rise to the presidency, or at least to the nomination. A vice president wasn’t even guaranteed to be nominated as the running mate for the second term of the president he had served. (McKinley’s first vice president was Garret Hobart, although he had a particularly good reason for not getting a second term—he died in office of a heart attack.)

Teddy Roosevelt’s political career was considered over when he went to Washington as vice president after the Republican victory of 1900. And it would have stayed that way if not for a freak twist of fate: In September 1901, McKinley became the third American president to be assassinated. Roosevelt was elevated from obscurity to the office he most desired and was best-suited to fill. The political bosses realized they had made a mistake, but it was too late: Their mistake haunted them through three presidential terms (two of TR’s and one of Taft’s). And then, after Taft’s first term, things got really bad.

TR wanted to be president again. He thought Taft was doing a mediocre job. And he argued (with a certain logic) that he’d never really had the two terms to which an American president was traditionally entitled because he’d only been elected president once—his first term, remember, had merely been the completion of McKinley’s.

But the Republican Party hated TR even more by 1912, even if the voters adored him. So they renominated Taft against the popular consensus. In response, TR founded a third party, the infamous “Bull Moose” party. This split the Republican vote, though in the process, TR got more votes than Taft, the only time in history that one of the two main parties finished in third place. This handed the presidency to Woodrow Wilson, one of the most destructive men of the 20th century (and the first academic to be elected president). Wilson never would have stood a chance had the Republican nomination gone to TR—he was elected with a mere 41 percent of the vote, an historic low.

But from the Republican perspective, it was better to lose the presidential race and have a Democrat in power with whom they could work—one who could play the game and be part of the machine—than it was to have someone who couldn’t be controlled. They never again made the mistake of nominating a man who wasn’t under their thumb. At least, not until 2016.

So remember: The GOP isn’t really our party. It never was. That is the central truth that the Trump phenomenon has exposed—or exposed anew. It’s a political machine, just like the Democratic Party, and it wants to run itself, not be run by “ordinary” people like you and me. Trump’s nomination the first time around, from the GOP’s perspective, was a huge mistake, just as TR’s had been. And they have no intention of repeating that kind of mistake.

Keep the story of the 1900 Republican Convention in mind, too, when you think of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: He’s a huge success in Florida, and is the only governor standing up to the federal government in any meaningful way. What could be better than to seduce him away from that role with the promise of the presidency? Kill two birds with one stone, and kill America, too, while you’re at it.

Trump was a huge mistake: He was the biggest mistake machine politicians had made in over a century. The success of Trump’s presidency dealt establishment politicians a heavy blow. A second Trump term might kill them, and they know it.

Nah, not a chance. They’ll kill HIM long before they ever let that happen, count on it. Don’t dare kid yourself that they wouldn’t, or couldn’t, or don’t dare to. As I keep saying, that leaves us with just the one option, and we all already know full well what that option is.

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8 thoughts on “WHOSE party?

  1. Modern Republicans love Teddy Roosevelt. He was nothing but a big war, big government progressive. Our second progressive president after the tyrant Lincoln. A curse upon both their names.

    1. TR was accomplished and admirable as a man.

      Maybe admirable as lower-level politician, up to governor of NY; I’m not a huge fan but he was better than the other options.

      As President? TR was a progressive. No more need be said.

  2. They’ll kill HIM long before they ever let that happen…

    Possibly. But then, why has he not already been assassinated?

    Answer, they know we’ll know, and they are afraid of what we’ll do. They may be afraid of Trump’s 2nd term more than they fear us though. We’ll see. Maybe.

    I still believe the republicans have made the deal, deny Trump the nomination because he will be under indictment for xyz. And I also believe certain republican governors, like the one that sat back while a state citizen had his home ransacked by jackbooted thugs from the federal government, know all about the plan and approve of it.

    It may not happen, because they will also be afraid of the fallout.

    1. Possibly. But then, why has he not already been assassinated?”

      I’m still amazed that there weren’t more attempts at it during his term in office, honestly. Happy to have been proven wrong on that prediction, but still.

      1. I’ve predicted more than one thing that I’m happy didn’t happen 🙂

        There is also the possibility there were attempts we don’t know about.

    2. The Seduction of The Ring is a powerful Corrupter.

      I don’t know about RDS. Just the suspicion that he’s really bought already is enough to lose my support as long as Trump remains the viable alternative.

      Here’s the thing. The GOPe ALWAYS march out someone to be the “frontrunner” and the “inevitable” and their choice. In 2016 it was ¡Jeb!.

      The Season to get serious about that is upon us. If we don’t see The Establishment Candidate trotted out soon and RDS steps up instead, I think it is certain that he is really their choice.

      1. I think it is certain that he is really their choice.

        That part stands on it’s own 🙂

        When Karl Rove is pushing your candidacy, there is a reason.

      2. And the GOPe’s real conundrum –

        Normally they would trot out several alternatives to the real choice in order to keep the alternative choice vote totals low. But how do you do this with Trump? President Trump’s support hasn’t dropped one bit (contrary to the deep state comments) and nothing they can do will reduce that. The more they run the fewer votes their main choice gets. And then there are the ones that just decide for theirselves it’s a good idea to run.

        They know, and I know, there is only one way to stop Trump short of assassination, indictment and then the R party declares him unfit for the nomination. But then Trump does a 3rd party, which is not a problem in and of itself since 1) the election is rigged and 2) if the election wasn’t rigged a 3rd party usually splits the vote and is a loser.

        But here’s the real problem, the 3rd party is 50 million + strong from inception and it will not go away, which means the R party is done.

        A real conundrum for the corrupt R’s.

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