The Post-Modern Nihilism of the GOP

The Republican Party gives up on persuasion.

May 10, 2021

Politics is often described as the art of persuasion. In a society where the people select the leaders of their government by voting, convincing voters to back a particular candidate or party or to support specific policies is the measure of political success. To paraphrase Al Davis, the late owner of the NFL’s Oakland Raiders, it comes down to“just win, baby”. The game for democratically-elected officials is persuading a sufficient number of people to vote for them.

Or so it was until the Republican Party abandoned all principles except the pursuit of political power.

Political persuasion takes on many forms: Promises to deliver specific policy prescriptions, a time-honored trope of electoral politics. In campaigns, incumbents seeking re-election run on their records while challengers often claim they will bring change to government. Flogging cultural issues not directly related to questions of governance is a cynical way to energize certain segments of the voting public. Fear-mongering exploits the anxieties of segments of the public; in its contemporary form it forecasts a dystopian future hell if voters choose the wrong candidate.

What is different about today’s Republican Party is its manifest disinterest in persuading more people to vote for Republicans. The trend is that the party is shedding supporters. The Gallup organization reported that in its “polling throughout the first quarter of 2021, an average of 49% of U.S. adults identified with the Democratic Party or said they are independents who lean toward the Democratic Party. That compares with 40% who identified as Republicans or Republican leaders. The nine-percentage-point Democratic advantage is the largest Gallup has measured since the fourth quarter of 2012.”

Despite these numbers, the GOP is not making an effort to attract more voters, especially independents, to its side. Quite the opposite- the party is working very hard to limit the access to voting of the demographic groups that vote for Democrats. The party has chosen voter suppression over persuasion. GOP-controlled states such as Georgia, Texas, Montana, and Texas have already enacted laws designed to make casting a vote much more difficult. In this sense, we have entered the realm of post-modern nihilism: Republicans are no longer attempting to compete for votes- their goal is to win elections by denying Democratic voters access to the ballot.

This naked cynicism has ripped the Grand Old Party in two. Traditional conservative Republicans fear the party’s focus on energizing the base by running extreme candidates will all but eliminate the chances for success in the 2022 elections. Pundits point to the grip that former President Trump has on the party. The take in vogue among left-leaning politicians and center-right Never-Trumpers is that the GOP has become a cult of personality in service to the whims of the vindictive former host of The Apprentice. Trumpists dominate the Republican National Committee Leadership and many of the state and local party committees. The result is a party heavily invested in Trump’s Big Lie about his election loss. It has become a party of grievance and victimhood without an affirmative policy agenda to counter the popular proposals of President Joe Biden.

The result is open conflict between the majority of Trump cultists and the few remaining traditional conservative Republicans. Rep. Liz Cheney will be voted out of her leadership position in the House Republican caucus for having the temerity to vote to impeach Trump. The other 9 Republicans who also voted for impeachment are on a hit list. More worrying, especially to Senate MInority Leader Mitch McConnell, is the . consequence of January 6 insurrectionist attack on the Capital that has led corporate donors to reevaluate their financial support for Republican candidates and causes. Losing any significant part of the donor base would hinder Republican chances of retaking the House majority and breaking the 50-50 tie in the Senate in 2022.

It seems evident that a party whose leading lights include Congresswomen Majorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert, Congressman Matt Gaetz, and Senator Ron Johnson would not be faring well given the popularity of President Biden. But the reality is that the Democratic House majority is a slim 218-212 with 5 seats to be decided by special election later this year. More significantly is the control Republicans have of state governments: 27 governors are Republicans; in 20 states, Republicans control both house of the legislature; and in 23 states, the Republicans have a trifecta of both houses and the governor’s mansion. In a year where states will redraw their Congressional districts, the gerrymandered maps are being readied. This gives the Party’s higher-ups the hope that they can reclaim power in the next two election cycles.

In the near-term this current zombie GOP will inflict damage on our political system. Pressure will remain on the Democrats to overcome Republican obstructionism and negative politics. The potential for systemic reform of our political system and its institutions remains tantalizingly within reach.

In the long term, the turmoil with the Republican Party threatens the stability of our democratic republic. A two-party system requires each party to be viable political entities, capable not only of winning elections but in governing effectively. Following the chaotic Trump administration, the line from was once the party of ideas to a party driven by ideology and finally to a cult that rejects the core principles of democracy seems very clear.

Nihilism is but one side of conventionalism; its creed consists of negations of the current so-called positive values, to which it remains bound.
Hannah Arendt

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