There is a lot of jockeying among Republicans for the job of who will inherit the Trump cult going forward. A lot depends upon Trump himself, of course. If he keeps up his crusade for the next four years it’s hard to see how any mere politician can unseat him. But you never know. He’s no spring chicken and the bloom could come off the rose as time goes by. He’s exhausting.
However, Republicans have discovered that minority rule through white nationalist “populism”, whether it grows into an American version of the right wing German Christian Democrats or a more familiar straight up neo-fascism, is one way they might be able to maintain their power. That would be a long-term project and we can see who the young turks are who are jumping on the possibilities.
Marco Rubio has been screeching about elites on his twitter feed and Tom Cotton has been going on about America First military might. But it’s everyone’s favorite Missouri “populist” Josh Hawley who seems to see the future most clearly. He teamed up with Bernie Sanders to ask for more cash for the folks. And now he’s announced that he will object to the certification of the vote on January 6th:
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) announced Wednesday that he would object next week when Congress convenes to certify the electoral college vote, a move that will force a contentious floor debate that top Senate Republicans had hoped to avoid before President-elect Joe Biden’s victory is cemented.
President Trump has repeatedly and falsely suggested that the ceremonial milestone presents a last-ditch way to reverse the election results. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other leading Republicans, who have conceded it is bound to fail and will put their members in an awkward position.
In a statement, Hawley said he feels compelled to highlight purported election irregularities.
“At the very least, Congress should investigate allegations of voter fraud and adopt measures to secure the integrity of our elections. But Congress has so far failed to act,” Hawley said.
He will force his fellow Republicans to vote on this, which Mitch did not want to happen because anyone who votes against Dear Leader will have a problem with the cult. But who knows, maybe they’ll all vote to overturn the election which will save them from the wrath of the conspiracy addled base, even as it further destroys our democracy.
This “constitutional coup” attempt can’t work unless the House votes to overturn the election too which isn’t going to happen. But the mere fact that this gambit has gotten this far is absolutely chilling. Trump and the right wing media managed to create a stolen election myth out of whole cloth and then use it as an excuse to restrict voting. It’s the Reichstag fire of vote suppression.
Hawley seems to have a real understanding of what makes the Trump cult click beyond Trump himself. He sees the utility of giving white working class people money. (I’ll be interested to see whether that holds. White racists generally really do not want Black and Brown people to have anything, even if it means they don’t get it themselves.) And he understands the usefulness of feeding the right’s ongoing sense of grievance. If he can put that together in a way that gives the Trump cult that same tribal feeling of togetherness he might just have a winning formula.
The one thing he’s missing is the fun factor that has been a huge aspect of Trump’s triumph. Hawley is basically a wonk. Trump is an entertainer and I think that’s actually the most important part of his appeal. He makes hating fun.
Hawley isn’t fun. Neither are Rubio or any of the other wannabes. It’s going to take a good long while for the cult to come down from that high.
Nonetheless, they are using Trump’s loss to their own advantage. They are Republicans, after all.
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