At the 2020 Republican National Convention, the party did not even bother putting together a platform. The decision was both heart-stoppingly shocking, and breathtakingly symbolic. The “GOP” as an organization or entity ceased to exist. It was no longer a group composed of members with shared political beliefs. It was already a religion, but the platform confirmed it. The platform pledged to follow one man and he would tell them what to believe.
For example, at one point, it would have been absolutely assumed and cherished Republican dogma that NATO was one of the United States most important and cherished strategic alliances and it should be maintained with as much strength as possible.
Now we see why they couldn’t possibly do a “platform.” The above is just one example in which Trump might unilaterally reverse the GOP platform, its core beliefs. John Bolton predicted Trump would pull the U.S. out of NATO if reelected (And “Who Wins?” in that scenario should tell us everything about Trump). The NATO thing is just one example of dozens, perhaps hundreds.
All of that is well and good as a political movement. We knew that Trump turned the GOP political movement into a religion some time ago. But those are just beliefs. Everything changes and nothing should be assumed when it comes to money.
For example, Trump was going to start his own party. He had made up his mind on January 2oth. The GOP hadn’t fought hard enough for him (the insurrection wasn’t good enough) in 2020. He changed his mind a week later, after realizing how much he needed the GOP’s emailing list and fundraising ability. At that point, Trump needed the GOP.
Now, however, it appears that the GOP doesn’t believe it has the power to say “No” to a Trump request, no matter how absurd. The Republican party (through the RNC) will use funds that people donated – almost certainly with the idea of electing more Republicans or furthering Republican policy, to defend Trump in his own, 100% private, criminal defense in New York.
The GOP should not be paying for any criminal defense, whether arising within the presidency or not. But it is especially appalling that the GOP would agree to pay for criminal defense charges arising out of how Trump ran his business, criminally.
“Trump is a wealthy businessman with dozens of properties, and he has built an independent political operation, which at last count had more than $100 million on hand.” https://t.co/DSc7zQxrAw [1]
— Julie Bykowicz (@bykowicz) November 23, 2021 [2]
There is no Republican party. There is Trump. Everything the RNC/GOP owns is his, the overlap that became very apparent at the 2020 convention is now complete. It now includes money, the defining factor in any relationship. What’s there’s is his. He is the Republican party.
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[email protected] and on Substack: Alex Jones/Turkeys/Football [3]