I don't routinely have access to Washington Post copy which lives behind a paywall. Today I happened to pick up an issue of the Jackson Hole Daily, a free-for-the-taking advertiser with delusions of grandeur.
JHD reprints WaPo oped material in addition to local happenings. Hence I came across a WaPo opinion piece by Gary Abernathy which said some remarkably insightful things while reflecting on Cheney's loss on Tuesday.
The jilted lovers of the GOP operate under the delusion that Republicans have just temporarily lost their way, and, once they realize their folly will find their way home. But while the GOP fell hard for Trump in 2016, its lukewarm response to John McCain in 2008 and Mitt Romney in 2012 demonstrated that when it came to traditional suitors, the bloom was already off the rose.
Instead of constantly reproaching Republicans for their choices, everyone should stipulate the following: The Republican Party has some lingering conservative leanings, but it is now the populist, Make America Great Again party of its modern leader, Donald Trump.
Even if someone else is its standard-bearer in 2024 - which would be a wise move, considering Trump's self-inflicted wounds after his election defeat - the GOP will not revert to the party of the past. Establishment Republicans who care to remain even modestly influential can pick up an oar and help row. Or, they can jump ship. Lectures and recriminations are futile.
Meaning whatever Cheney does will be futile, a view I share. Abernathy finishes up the column by strongly inferring that Trump is no sleazier than the other leading figures of both major parties. Mark Twain called them our "distinctly native criminal class."
