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President Eisenhower said, if a political party does not have its foundation in the determination to advance a cause that is right and moral, then it is not a political party; it is merely a conspiracy to seize power. The Covid-19 pandemic has tested the country, and Republicans have failed Eisenhowers challenge.

Trump, who takes credit for everything, and responsibility for nothing, shrewdly knew that the virus would be a problem for him. His first response was to ignore it, then he minimized it, declaring it a hoax perpetrated by fake news and the whole world, just to make him look bad.

Travelers brought the first confirmed cases to the US in late January. By late February, community spread was confirmed, growing from 30 cases by the first of March to almost 200,000 cases by the first of April. With no federal leadership, the states were forced to deal with this on their own, leading to a variety of responses, from total lock down to business as usual. The economic dislocation was widespread, the stock market dropped 37 percent, and a $2 trillion CARES economic relief act was passed in late March.

By May first the case load was 1,091,038 (worldometer.com), with an average daily increase of 29,459, and 68,326 dead Americans. At that point Trump realized that the economic collapse threatened his re-election, and began insisting that businesses and schools open up, getting back to normal, contrary to advice from medical experts. Trumps denial of reality is understandable, given his brittle fragile ego, and his nieces report he has always lied for sport.

But Republican leaders supported his lies. Perhaps they naively believed their religion would protect them from infection. Perhaps they cynically believed the virus was only an urban blue state problem. Perhaps they feared the vengeful wrath of an emotionally unstable president. The result was an abdication of responsibility in a craven pursuit of power, fulfilling Eisenhowers description of a conspiracy.

With Republicans urging people to ignore the virus and get back to business, America experienced case load surges after the holidays in July and September. The center of infection shifted from the northeast to the south, and then diffused across the entire country, hitting the upper mid-west hard. Not wearing a mask, and denying the validity of the virus, became tests of Republican loyalty. As the election neared, Trump predicted that after election day nobody would talk about Covid again, and Texas Senator Cruz claimed that all the Democratic states that were restricting business would immediately open up again in November, implying Covid was just a political ploy. Rank and file Republicans still believe their leaders, even screaming Covid is a hoax as they gasp for breath, while being intubated to save their life.

But Covid is real and didnt go away like magic. Colder weather is forcing people inside and for the third time, cases are surging exponentially, straining health care capacity, so even red state governors are now ordering restrictions. On Nov. 28, US cases hit 13,525,501, with a one day increase of 241,718, and 271,628 Americans dead. It took 10 weeks for the first million cases, and 6 days for the most recent million cases. The holiday season will only accelerate this pace.

To add to this insanity, by a 5-4 vote, the Supreme Court overturned New York States limit on the size of religious gatherings during the pandemic. The founding fathers were ignorant of the germ theory of disease, let alone RNA viruses, but these Constitutional originalists, four Catholics and an Episcopalian, put religious practice above public health. Given that the core of Christs teachings, the Golden Rule, directs the individual to act with regard for our fellow man, this ruling is disingenuous. This is the result of Republicans choosing to pack the court rather than pass further pandemic economic relief.

Society is a balance between individual rights and collective responsibility. Trump is a poster boy for the disaster of an unfettered ego. Democracy is an attempt to moderate those excesses, and public health is an extreme need for social restraint on individual action. Republicans demonstrate by their words and actions that they are just a conspiracy for power, uninterested in the welfare of even their own supporters.

Crispin B. Hollinshead lives in Ukiah. This and previous articles can be found at cbhollinshead.blogspot.com.

Original post:
Another Voice: Republicans lied and Americans died! - Ukiah Daily Journal

I have some political thoughts that I want to share with the readers. Politics is an ongoing process for those of us actively involved. While things like elections are very important, it is only a part of the process.

Next month, in January 2021, Rhode Island requires city, ward, and town committees to organize and elect officers. On the Republican side, they elect delegates and alternate delegates to the Rhode Island Republican State Central Committee. The local party chair is automatically a state Central Committee member. That is how I qualify to be on the state Central Committee. By law, failure to do so gives the state chair of a political party the authority to appoint the committee members. It will be interesting how this organization proceeds with Zoom meetings and the restrictions of COVID-19. On the GOP side, South County Republicans have been meeting in Wakefield on every third Saturday for breakfast to discuss politics. In March, as I recall, we will be electing state Central Committee officers.

Sue Cienki, our Republican state chair, should be contacted at chair@rigop.com if you are interested in running in 2022. You may want to volunteer also. In Rhode Island, we will still have five Republican state senators but gained two new Republican state representatives, Barbara Ann Fenton-Fung, who toppled House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello from his local representative district, and former state Rep. Patricia Morgan, who is returning after a two-year absence. Rep. Jack Lyle, elected as a Republican state representative two years ago,chose to run as an independent and lost.

The Republican leaders in Providence are state Sen. Dennis Algiere of Westerly Rep. Blake Filippi of Block Island, who represents locally both Charlestown and Westerly. My own state Sen. Elaine J. Morgan of Hopkinton is also a Republican.

The Fenton-Fung win is historic, no sitting Rhode Island House Speaker has been defeated for reelection to their representative seat in modern times.

Hopkiton Republicans have done well this year. On the national level, I was elected a Trump alternate delegate statewide to the national convention. I did not attend, but it is important I note that. On the town level, we doubled our Hopkinton Republican Town Committee. Republicans were present on the ballot for all state legislative districts: Elaine J. Morgan, state Senate, and Donald Kohlman and Justin Price, state representative. Kohlman, a first-time candidate while losing, showed initiative. Rep. Price, who lives in Richmond, was also elected a Trump alternate delegate from the Second Congressional District.

The town level sees two of the five Hopkinton Town Council members elected as Republicans, Mike Geary and myself. Justin Wilmar ran and lost, but I hope he considers applying for a board or commission. Elected unopposed for town office were Edwin Ed James for town moderator, and Larry Phelps for town sergeant.

In closing, if you have any questions about Republican politics or town government in Hopkinton, please contact me at scottbillhirst@gmail.com or 401-529-3240.

Scott Bill Hirst

Ashaway

The writer is a member of the Hopkinton Town Council.

More:
Letter: Republicans are ready to serve you in 2021 - The Westerly Sun

For Trump, the party is a bankable asset under any scenario. Foreign governments considering his companys projects might be more receptive knowing a once-and-perhaps-future president is on the other side of the deal. Audiences may be more apt to tune in if Trump starts a conservative news venture. Candidates looking for fundraising help will be courting Trump, enabling him to stockpile chits. So will members of Congress hoping to make inroads with his base.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Trump confidant, told me hes spoken with Trump about another run and wants to see him mount a comeback. Grover Cleveland did it, Graham said, referencing the Democratic president who was defeated in 1888 and won again four years later. Graham predicted that Trump will indeed run againand that doing so is the best thing for the party, frankly.

Right now, assuming for the moment that Biden wins, its Trumps nomination if he wants it, Graham told me. (Like many other Republicans, Graham has not yet acknowledged that Biden has won the election.) He has a lot of sway over the Republican Party. If he objects to anything Biden [does], it would be hard to get Republicans on board. If he blessed some kind of deal, it would be easier to get something done. In many ways, hell be a shadow president.

Read: The 3 norms Trump could still break

An early test of Trumps enduring influence comes next month in Amelia Island, Florida, where Republican National Committee officials will hold their winter meeting and vote on the partys leadership. No other candidate seems strong enough to dethrone Trumps handpicked chair, Ronna McDaniel, who would serve another two-year term.

I get my most loyal acolytes and keep them in power, and guess what? former RNC Chair Michael Steele, channeling the outgoing president, said to me. Ive got power. Ive got influence.

But relying on Trump to run again could leave the party exposed. If he teases another campaign and backs out, the GOP will have sacrificed itself for him and blocked the rise of up-and-coming candidates for no reason at all. Simply announcing that hell run is enough to potentially clear the Republican field, or at least monopolize the attention that would normally be paid to candidates positioning themselves for the nomination. How are you going to say youre running for president in 2024 when Trump is telling everybody he is? Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, one of the few Republican members of Congress whos been willing to publicly criticize Trump, asked me.

Even before the election, heretics inside the Trump-branded GOP were quietly discussing ways to wean the party from a polarizing leader who stood a good chance of losing. There are conversations among elected officials who recognize theres no future with Trumpism. Its a dead end, Jeff Flake, the former Republican senator from Arizona, told me.

Go here to see the original:
The Republican Plan for the Next Four Years Isnt Normal - The Atlantic

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Continued here:
Letter to the editor: Republicans need to learn to fight - TribLIVE

Mr. Easter starts with "Grand Forks Republicans, running on shaky ground on the citys north side, didnt yield an inch on election night. ..." and later goes on to call District 42 "a dependable Democrat stronghold." However, District 42, which includes UND and several nearby neighborhoods on the north side of Grand Forks, has largely remained unchanged since 1990 and has never been a Democratic stronghold during that time.

From 1992 to 2020, only one time (2012) did the Democrats win all three legislative seats in District 42. By way of comparison, Republicans have controlled all three seats five times (1994, 1996, 2004, 2016, and 2020). Republicans aren't sitting on "shaky footing;" they are returning to their long periods of dominance in the district. District 42 represents a solid Republican district, which rarely sends a Democrat to represent them in Bismarck. The relevant question Mr. Easter should be asking is not why Democrats lost, but rather, why does District 42 trust Republicans to represent them?

The answer is simple: District 42 Republicans run quality candidates that relate to, listen to, and deliver for their constituents. The District 42 Republican candidates in 2020, Curt Kreun, Emily OBrien and Claire Corey, resonate with all three of the major constituent blocks of District 42 students, working families, and retired citizens. To address their constituents needs, District 42 Republicans are committed to a platform of Jobs, Education and Taxes.

Jobs are critically important to voters. As a student, you need an economy primed to hire you to pay off your student loans, and a growing economy to create plenty of entry-level jobs with growth opportunities. Working families cant afford to survive on entry level pay, and need a vibrant economy for more opportunities and better pay. Retired citizens look toward the future and fear that without jobs in Grand Forks, their children and grandchildren will be forced to leave for Minneapolis. They want to make seeing their family a daily activity and not a rare privilege.

Education has immediate importance for college students, and District 42 Republicans run candidates that understand UND and college students. Working families need a strong public education system to prepare their children for an ever-changing economy, and to equip them for career-paying jobs. District 42 Republicans run candidates that understand not only the importance of public education, but how to actually deliver on quality education. For the retired citizen, the education system is an important benefit for their grandchildren.

While taxes may not be an immediate concern for many college students, they understand the importance of fiscal tax responsibility and how it relates to their future opportunities. For the working families, tax policies are an immediate concern. A 1% property tax hike or a 1% income tax change is the difference between affording a home and being stuck in the apartment. Every dollar matters to working families, and more of their income they are able to keep eases the transition towards family life. A 1-point tax cut on a familys taxes is roughly $600 in their pockets, which helps their budget in a real way. Retired citizens often fear having to reduce their standard of living as a result of diminished income. An increase in their property tax can force them from their home of 40 years and sacrifice their independence.

The success of the District 42 Republicans is not a mystery. They have a diverse set of experiences that resonate with the districts residents, they are honest with their constituents, and they deliver on their campaign promises.

Curt Kreun is a state senator from Grand Forks. Emily OBrien and Claire Cory are members of the state House of Representatives and also are from Grand Forks. All three are Republicans who represent District 42.

EDITORS NOTE: This piece, as submitted, omitted a phrase from the Heralds Nov. 25 report about the District 42 legislative race. The passage, as written by the Herald, was: Eight years ago, it was a dependable Democratic stronghold, referring to the fact that all three delegates from District 42 were Democrats. Four years prior to that, two Democrats represented the district.

Read the original:
Viewpoint: Republicans on firm footing in District 42 - Grand Forks Herald