HomeUploadUpload DirectHotlinkRandomAbouttheme toggle
Expand

Can the Republican Party Survive Trump?

Views:1014
@ReasonVids

A political party can be destroyed by warring factions after it nominates a celebrity candidate and loses its coherence. That’s what happened…after 1848, when the Whigs backed Zachary Taylor.
----
Subscribe to our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/ReasonTV.
Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Reason.Magazine
Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/reason

Reason is the planet's leading source of news, politics, and culture from a libertarian perspective. Go to reason.com for a point of view you won't get from legacy media and old left-right opinion magazines.
-----
Donald Trump, who four short years ago was viewed by many GOP operatives as an erratic outsider, has just been re-nominated as the Republican Party's standard-bearer. But whether he wins or loses, can a party without any guiding principles survive?

How do old political parties die, and how are new ones born?

Imagine a political party that has lost its ideological coherence and is torn apart by various warring factions. Then an outsider and celebrity candidate emerges with no fealty to the party's policy agenda and with no previous political experience. He goes on to connect with voters and retake the White House.

That's exactly what happened in 1848, when the Whigs backed Zachary Taylor.

Political scientist Philip Wallach, a resident senior fellow at the R Street Institute, published a 2017 paper on the parallels between Taylor and Trump.

"Taylor was a very disruptive force for the Whig Party," says Wallach. "His victory was, of course, something they were very excited about, but he didn't govern in exactly the ways they would have preferred."

Weinstein sees a parallel with the mid-19th century in that voters are again open to alternatives.

"This is, in some sense, the natural outgrowth of the fact that the parties long ago stopped serving the interests of the American public," says Weinstein.

Weinstein launched an initiative called Unity 2020, which intends to use online crowdsourcing to nominate a center-left and center-right candidate to run and govern as a team. He says by circumventing the usual political process, candidates will avoid being so easily corrupted.

But in the 19th century, there were fewer obstacles to challenging the major parties.

"For a third party to be able to get some votes was much easier," says Wallach. "It just had to be able to print ballots and distribute them to a network of supporters….Nineteenth-century politics were just much more open and fluid than our politics today."

The Libertarian Party's presidential nominee, Jo Jorgensen, is on track to getting on the ballot in all 50 states, and she says she offers a better path forward than either Trump or Biden.

"People are realizing that they don't have the choices that they used to have. And I think they're getting fed up with government telling them at every turn what they can do," says Jorgensen.

But Wallach is skeptical that a third party can disrupt our modern duopoly.

A third party or independent candidate has never triumphed in a modern presidential election, with the strongest contender being former President Teddy Roosevelt's 1912 campaign under the Progressive Party banner. The self-funded billionaire Ross Perot's run in 1992 eventually spun off the Reform Party, which never won a national election but did become the site of Donald Trump's first foray into presidential politics.

"That leaves us wondering, where would a successful a third party come from?" says Wallach.

He believes that, based on the death of the Whigs, to be successful the Libertarian Party would need to win in statewide races and then merge with defectors from a collapsed Democratic or Republican Party.

"Americans are frustrated because they don't have any control over their own lives," says Jorgensen. "And all they know is that it's the two old parties that are making them feel this way."

Produced by Zach Weissmueller. Opening graphic by Lex Villena.

Music by Stanley Gurvich licensed by Artlist.

Photo credits: CNP/AdMedia/Newscom; DNC via Sipa USA/Newscom; Tetra Images Tetra Images/Newscom; Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Newscom ; Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call/Newscom; Leah Millis/Reuters/Newscom; Leslie Spurlock/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Jeremy Hogan/ZUMA Press/Newscom; Antonio Perez/TNS/Newscom; Nuri Vallbona/Reuters/Newscom; Leah Millis/Reuters/Newscom; Stanton Sharpe/SOPA Images/Sip/Newscom; Gary I. Rothstein/UPI/Newscom; David R. Frazier/DanitaDelimont.com "Danita Delimont Photography"/Newscom

libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
gop
,
donald trump
,
election 2020
,
third parties
,
libertarian party
,
jo jorgensen
,
bret weinstein
,
unity 2020
,
andrew yang
,
jesse ventura
,
gary johnson
,
joe biden
,
democrats
,
whig party
,
zachary taylor
,
free soilers
,
tulsi gabbard
,
william mcraven
,
intellectual dark web
,
kamala harris
    Thumbnail for How Portland's Protests Drifted into ‘Dangerous Territory’4:24
    How Portland's Protests Drifted into ‘Dangerous Territory’
    ReasonVids
    979 views
    Thumbnail for Ms. Garcia thinks it's ok to hit a kid for biking on the sidewalk 2:59
    Ms. Garcia thinks it's ok to hit a kid for biking on the sidewalk
    publicfreakouts
    2029 views
    Thumbnail for FLUMINENSE VOLTA AOS TREINOS COM AUSÊNCIA IMPORTANTE | RECORD OFICIALIZA TRANSMISSÃO DO BRASILEIRÃO | Sentimento Tricolor1:41:53
    FLUMINENSE VOLTA AOS TREINOS COM AUSÊNCIA IMPORTANTE | RECORD OFICIALIZA TRANSMISSÃO DO BRASILEIRÃO | Sentimento Tricolor
    invidious
    190 views
    Thumbnail for Chocolate and vanilla0:09
    Chocolate and vanilla
    EricaPolarBear.Archive
    279 views
    Thumbnail for Vegeta (SSB) and Goku (SSB Kaioken) vs Golden Frieza and Perfect Cell1:50
    Vegeta (SSB) and Goku (SSB Kaioken) vs Golden Frieza and Perfect Cell
    memology101
    1143 views
    Thumbnail for Ibram X. Kendi: The Latest Black Messiah11:47
    Ibram X. Kendi: The Latest Black Messiah
    AmericanRenaissance
    1633 views
    Thumbnail for 3 Takeaways from the New Hampshire Primary2:57
    3 Takeaways from the New Hampshire Primary
    ReasonVids
    861 views
    Thumbnail for How not to give away free samples | Viva La Dirt League2:30
    How not to give away free samples | Viva La Dirt League
    invidious
    401 views
    Thumbnail for Leo and Rocko Sing The 2007 Emmy Song | SomePkmn-LovingDude3:07
    Leo and Rocko Sing The 2007 Emmy Song | SomePkmn-LovingDude
    gggknezz123
    344 views
    Thumbnail for The Miami GOP Debate in 90 Seconds2:05
    The Miami GOP Debate in 90 Seconds
    ReasonVids
    1068 views
    Thumbnail for HUMILIATING: Gen-Z Can't Answer the Most Basic Questions | Fleccas Talks11:22
    HUMILIATING: Gen-Z Can't Answer the Most Basic Questions | Fleccas Talks
    invidious
    348 views
    Thumbnail for Meet the Builders of the Western Wo...Um...Wait....10:29
    Meet the Builders of the Western Wo...Um...Wait....
    AOUisgay
    429 views
    Thumbnail for Usually I detest musical numbers, but I'll make an exception 1:02
    Usually I detest musical numbers, but I'll make an exception
    bestofupgoat
    253 views
    Thumbnail for คุยชิวๆกับ ดูบอลกับแนท แดน แอชเวิร์ธ  5 เดือนปลิวแล้ว | Isoon Channel1:55:24
    คุยชิวๆกับ ดูบอลกับแนท แดน แอชเวิร์ธ 5 เดือนปลิวแล้ว | Isoon Channel
    invidious
    121 views
    Thumbnail for Episode 15 - Hold Back The Night6:47
    Episode 15 - Hold Back The Night
    murdochmurdoch
    1224 views
    Thumbnail for dIvErSiTy iS oUr StReNgTh!!!12:23
    dIvErSiTy iS oUr StReNgTh!!!
    bestofsaidit
    737 views
    Thumbnail for I Used My Drone To Destroy Helicopters Again… 😳 | War Thunder1:00
    I Used My Drone To Destroy Helicopters Again… 😳 | War Thunder
    invidious
    118 views
    Thumbnail for Jstns Cracked Defense | RL Moments0:32
    Jstns Cracked Defense | RL Moments
    invidious
    382 views
    Thumbnail for Based and Alpha Holy Man kicks the cops the fuck out of his Church2:20
    Based and Alpha Holy Man kicks the cops the fuck out of his Church
    bestofpoal
    1358 views
    Thumbnail for DSP's Legacy IS in State of Decay17:19
    DSP's Legacy IS in State of Decay
    memology101
    1235 views
    Thumbnail for J6 - Diversity Officer Aquilino Gonell (under oath):  “I was bleeding from both hands, [had] a maimed foot, hit on the head, sprayed with pepper and bear spray, beaten, punched, pushed, pulled, and assaulted."2:12
    J6 - Diversity Officer Aquilino Gonell (under oath): “I was bleeding from both hands, [had] a maimed foot, hit on the head, sprayed with pepper and bear spray, beaten, punched, pushed, pulled, and assaulted."
    AOUisgay
    474 views
    Thumbnail for AirBnB Made D.C. Affordable for Tourists. The City Council Just Voted to Rein It In.5:52
    AirBnB Made D.C. Affordable for Tourists. The City Council Just Voted to Rein It In.
    ReasonVids
    942 views
    Thumbnail for Clojurescript with Shadow-cljs, Reagent, and Emacs (CIDER) , and Tailwind - reusable components. | Mike Zamansky26:23
    Clojurescript with Shadow-cljs, Reagent, and Emacs (CIDER) , and Tailwind - reusable components. | Mike Zamansky
    invidious
    491 views
    Thumbnail for The Simpsons - Personal Vegetables2:16
    The Simpsons - Personal Vegetables
    clips
    959 views
    Thumbnail for Small Nuclear Reactors Have A Big Problem | Sabine Hossenfelder7:14
    Small Nuclear Reactors Have A Big Problem | Sabine Hossenfelder
    invidious
    186 views

points

Permalink
Reply
libertarian
,
reason magazine
,
reason.com
,
reason.tv
,
reasontv
,
gop
,
donald trump
,
election 2020
,
third parties
,
libertarian party
,
jo jorgensen
,
bret weinstein
,
unity 2020
,
andrew yang
,
jesse ventura
,
gary johnson
,
joe biden
,
democrats
,
whig party
,
zachary taylor
,
free soilers
,
tulsi gabbard
,
william mcraven
,
intellectual dark web
,
kamala harris
TOS  •  Add Keywords  •  Donate  •   Analytics  •   DMCA  •   Puzzle