If the ideas that represent the foundation of your party are unpopular, what do you do to stay in power? Here are some options:
- KEEP SCREAMING ABOUT SOCIALISM AND HOPE THE DEMOCRATS RUN THE COUNTRY INTO A DITCH: Trump is already doing some of that in his campaign.
- THE MCCONNELL OPTION: Who needs to win elections to hang on to power? The federal system, the filibuster, and friendly judges will block the Democrats’ agenda. It’s a half loaf, but that’s a lot better than nothing.
- NATIONAL CONSERVATISM: Drop the regressive tax cuts and deregulation and go with a more populist and nationalist economic policy. Persuade the PBPs to go along by warning them about socialism.
- SOFTEN THE SOCIAL CONSERVATISM: Those old white Christians aren’t being replaced, you know.
- THE ORBAN OPTION: McConnell plus vote suppression, extreme gerrymandering, and a variety of First Amendment violations. There is a market for it. Some GOP intellectual leaders are already on board.
So which will it be? Most of them are not mutually exclusive. I would bet on the first two, and not the next two. The Orban Option? It’s a real and frightening possibility.