With more than a year to go before the 2024 election, a constellation of conservative organizations is preparing for a possible second White House term for Donald Trump.
Trump served his purpose. He showed that the answer to the question of “I’ll do what I want, what are you going to do about it?” is often “Nothing”. He exposed the fact that the Constitution offers little to no real way of enforcing the rules stated in it. He exposed every weakness that our entire system of government has, and he has coralled enough extremists on the right to force others to go along with his plans or face either political or physical retribution. He spent the past 8 years drawing a roadmap in orange crayon that even he could follow.
The MAGA movement has grown bigger than he is. Eventually, other GOP leaders and even the voting base will realize that the movement can and will go on with or without Trump. They will realize they don’t specifically need him, and they’ll be looking for his successor. And that’s when you have to worry. DeSantis has the personality of aged cheese, and Ramaswamy looks to be all sizzle but no steak. But eventually, somebody is going to emerge. Somebody is going to have all of Trump’s ideas, all of his charisma, and none of the baggage.
And that person will be infinitely more dangerous than Trump could ever dream of being. Trump may not have a grand plan because he has the mental capacity of a cashew. But the next person will. And that’s when we’re in trouble. If someone had enough ability and intelligence to enact even 10% of the MAGA movement’s ideas, Trump’s presidency will look like utopia by comparison. You know how DeSantis keeps saying he wants to make America like Florida? That. That’s what we’d get from whoever Trump’s successor ends up being.
We now know that the ostensibly disillusioned right will never join us, and so we’re going to have to watch this experiment unfold however it will.
The only thing I have to add to this is this: the “ostensibly disillusioned right” is significantly larger than a lot of people thought it was. And the sheer number of them means that no, they aren’t just a fringe group. They are large enough to make the rest of the party fall in line whether they want to or not, because they know that moderates cannot mathematically win without them. They’re not even the majority in their own party, but they’re still large enough to be able to say “If we don’t get our way, nobody else is getting their way either. Including you.”
They’re not large enough to have any mandates at the federal level, currently. That math changes dramatically if they win, and pull off their proposals.
The 2024 election will either elevate them to true power or break the back of this movement, as we saw with the Tea Party. If they don’t secure some actual, not-easily-undone wins in the near future, the party will devour itself from within.
Maybe the most defining characteristics of this bloc is that they need to win or they hold the losers as responsible - this has been true for every appointment, every lower-tier repz their view of the opposition, and basically everyone on Earth except Trump himself.
2016 was the start of what ended up being a defining war for the heart of America and 2024 will be modern America’s Waterloo, one way or the other.
They have enough control in enough states to effectively “take their ball and go home” if they don’t like the way things turn out next year. It doesn’t take an overall majority, just a few local pluralities.
Douglas Adams called it in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:
The President in particular is very much a figurehead — he wields no real power whatsoever. He is apparently chosen by the government, but the qualities he is required to display are not those of leadership but those of finely judged outrage. For this reason the President is always a controversial choice, always an infuriating but fascinating character. His job is not to wield power but to draw attention away from it. On those criteria Zaphod Beeblebrox is one of the most successful Presidents the Galaxy has ever had — he has already spent two of his ten presidential years in prison for fraud.
Yeah, thinking he has a “vision” of anything besides cash, hamberders and prostitutes is giving him way too much credit. The plan to ruin society existed well before he entered politics and has nothing at all to do with him except he typifies Republican attitudes and makes a great frontman for them.
Anyone that thinks the Orange Buffoon has a plan other than get as much cash from the marks as possible is willfully ignoring the obvious.
It’s the people behind him we have to worry about. Like the Fedlist society.
This.
Trump served his purpose. He showed that the answer to the question of “I’ll do what I want, what are you going to do about it?” is often “Nothing”. He exposed the fact that the Constitution offers little to no real way of enforcing the rules stated in it. He exposed every weakness that our entire system of government has, and he has coralled enough extremists on the right to force others to go along with his plans or face either political or physical retribution. He spent the past 8 years drawing a roadmap in orange crayon that even he could follow.
The MAGA movement has grown bigger than he is. Eventually, other GOP leaders and even the voting base will realize that the movement can and will go on with or without Trump. They will realize they don’t specifically need him, and they’ll be looking for his successor. And that’s when you have to worry. DeSantis has the personality of aged cheese, and Ramaswamy looks to be all sizzle but no steak. But eventually, somebody is going to emerge. Somebody is going to have all of Trump’s ideas, all of his charisma, and none of the baggage.
And that person will be infinitely more dangerous than Trump could ever dream of being. Trump may not have a grand plan because he has the mental capacity of a cashew. But the next person will. And that’s when we’re in trouble. If someone had enough ability and intelligence to enact even 10% of the MAGA movement’s ideas, Trump’s presidency will look like utopia by comparison. You know how DeSantis keeps saying he wants to make America like Florida? That. That’s what we’d get from whoever Trump’s successor ends up being.
.
The only thing I have to add to this is this: the “ostensibly disillusioned right” is significantly larger than a lot of people thought it was. And the sheer number of them means that no, they aren’t just a fringe group. They are large enough to make the rest of the party fall in line whether they want to or not, because they know that moderates cannot mathematically win without them. They’re not even the majority in their own party, but they’re still large enough to be able to say “If we don’t get our way, nobody else is getting their way either. Including you.”
.
They’re not large enough to have any mandates at the federal level, currently. That math changes dramatically if they win, and pull off their proposals.
The 2024 election will either elevate them to true power or break the back of this movement, as we saw with the Tea Party. If they don’t secure some actual, not-easily-undone wins in the near future, the party will devour itself from within.
Maybe the most defining characteristics of this bloc is that they need to win or they hold the losers as responsible - this has been true for every appointment, every lower-tier repz their view of the opposition, and basically everyone on Earth except Trump himself.
2016 was the start of what ended up being a defining war for the heart of America and 2024 will be modern America’s Waterloo, one way or the other.
They have enough control in enough states to effectively “take their ball and go home” if they don’t like the way things turn out next year. It doesn’t take an overall majority, just a few local pluralities.
Indeed, Trump is just the rodeo clown to distract the public from the cowboys trying to hogtie them.
Douglas Adams called it in The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy:
Douglas Adams was the much needed satirical wrecking ball of “organized society”. I miss him so much.
Yeah, thinking he has a “vision” of anything besides cash, hamberders and prostitutes is giving him way too much credit. The plan to ruin society existed well before he entered politics and has nothing at all to do with him except he typifies Republican attitudes and makes a great frontman for them.
Now, now, let’s not forget he’s also interested in raping kids