Vivek Ranmaswwamy is the future of the GOP
There is a lot of talk these days about what is to become of the Republican Party once Trump is gone. It seems a bit premature considering that Trump is still very much present and whether he wins or loses, he’s not going anywhere until he’s six feet under. Still, the man is 77 years old so it’s natural to consider what’s going to be left of the hulking wreck of the GOP once he leaves this mortal coil.
The fact that Trump is the runaway favorite to win the 2024 Republican nomination despite the 91 felony charges he faces in four different cases really says it all about where the party is today. Polling over the past couple of weeks confirms that most Republicans still believe The Big Lie and are convinced that his legal troubles are trumped up charges by a Democratic Party Deep State conspiracy. Whether they actually buy this is debatable, but it’s clear that they are sticking with their man regardless. Criminal or not, they like what he’s selling. No, actually they love what he’s selling. And what that comes down to is transgressivism.
They love his crude defiance of all social norms, that he acts as though they don’t even exist. They love that he doesn’t follow the rules or even follow the law if that’s what it takes to get what he wants and they love that their enemies can’t make him capitulate even when he’s caught red-handed. They believe that he is being persecuted (just as they believe they themselves are persecuted) for saying things that aren’t politically correct and they love that he won’t stop doing it no matter what. They love that he will do whatever it takes to own the libs, even if it doesn’t make any sense because that is what it will take to Make America Theirs Again.
Are the attitudes that fuel this love for Trump the new ideology (if you want to call it that) of the Republican Party? I hope not but I really don’t know. The sinking of the good ship DeSantis shows that it takes more than “anti-woke” policies to capture these voters’ attention. Trump proved that policy in general is an after thought in today’s GOP. (They didn’t even put out a party platform in 2020, instead just opted for a statement that essentially said, “we’ll have what Trump’s having.”) Trump has no ideology and neither do the MAGA followers. It’s all about defiance, disobedience, breaking the rules. He makes it ok for his followers to let their freak flags (or giant Trump flags) fly, just as he does.
There’s a term for people who do this: edgelords, defined as “someone who intentionally expresses opinions that are likely to shock or offend people, especially on the internet, as a way of making others notice or admire them.” I’m reminded of a young fellow who joined the racists marching at Charlottesville who explained what it was all about for him:
It’s kind of a fun idea. Just being able to say, like, ‘Hey man, white power!’ You know? To be quite honest, I love to be offensive. It’s fun.
Don’t underestimate the fun factor. In a recent Times/Sienna poll of the Republican field they actually asked where the candidates rated on the fun scale and nobody came close to Trump. When it comes to traditional personal qualities one might seek in a president, other candidates actually rate higher on such characteristics as “likeable” and “moral.” But when asked who was more “fun” Trump’s lead on that characteristic, 54%, matches his position overall in the race. That’s what makes him different. He makes owning the libs fun.
So where does this go from here? We caught a glimpse this past week of how that might play out in a Trumpless world. At last week’s Republican debate the nation was introduced to a charismatic gadfly by the name of Vivek Ramaswamy, a previously unknown biotech entrepreneur who has made a surprising surge in the polls after impressing audiences in Iowa.
In the debate you could see that he has a flair for the dramatic and cared nothing for the usual rules and norms of these political events. Like Trump in the 2016 debates he insulted the other candidates, calling them all “bought and paid for” obnoxiously provoking attacks, all the while pledging undying fealty to Donald Trump. He backed the idea of invading Mexico, denied climate change agitating for more use of fossil fuels, and promised to pardon Trump if he wins the election. And it was all delivered with a big, playful smile that gave the audience permission to enjoy the transgressive, edgelord fun.
Most of his commentary is simply bizarre, clearly designed for the express purpose of going viral. He talks a lot and he talks very fast and most of it makes little sense. Here’s an example that will make your head spin:
This is a man who says he wants all students to pass a civics test. Not that it matters, The Republican base doesn’t care that this is nonsense. They just like the sound of it.
Ramaswamy was called to task on the Sunday shows for a couple of particularly odious comments he’s made on the issue of race. CNN reported that he’d snidely declared:
I’m sure the boogeyman white supremacists exist somewhere in America. I have just never met him. Never seen one. Never met one in my life, right? Maybe I will meet a — maybe I will meet a unicorn sooner. And maybe those exist too.
And he called Rep. Ayana Pressley, D-Ma.,who is Black, “a modern grand wizard of the KKK” and then complained that he was offended that journalist Kara Swisher had referred to him as “Ramasmarmy” citing it as an example of racist speech. That’s a quintessential edgelord trick, to make a heinous comment and then cry victim for something much less egregious, laughing all the way. CNN’s Dana Bash and NBC’s Chuck Todd pushed him hard but he just talked and talked, mostly gibberish and right wing buzzwards, until there was nothing left to say.
There isn’t much good news in this, I’m afraid. This man certainly isn’t going to become the nominee — they have Trump after all — but he’s the one candidate who really gets what the new Republican Party responds to. He’s a very smart, highly educated, savvy, modern hustler who has found that he has a knack for politics. I’m afraid that the era of the GOP edgelord is right around the corner. And it’s not likely to be much fun for the rest of us.