Will The GOP Heal Itself Or Die After Trump Is Gone?

The United States used to have a viable two-party system. The Republicans were conservative and business-oriented. The Democrats were moderately liberal and worker-oriented. The two parties debated and eventually compromised for the good of the country.

That system began to go wrong in the mid-1960s. As a Democratic president signed several civil rights bills into law, southern racists abandoned the party and became Republicans. The Republicans were happy to have them. They thought they could use them while controlling them, and that worked - for a while.

Then the evangelicals began to flex their muscle through the "Moral Majority" movement, and their leaders cast their lot with the Republican Party. The GOP wooed them by siding with them on the abortion issue, homophobia, and the curtailing of women's rights. Once again, the GOP thought they could use them to retain power while keeping them in check, and that worked - for a while.

As jobs fled rural America, another disgruntled group showed itself. And this grew into the "Tea Party". Since the nation had a Democratic president (Barack Obama), this new group of discounted voters allied themselves with the Republican Party. Once again, Republican leaders thought they could use them and control them, and that also worked - for a while.

Then Donald Trump decided to enter the political arena. And he was shrewd enough to see what was happening in the Republican Party. He ascended to power by cobbling together the groups that were unhappy - the racists, the fundamentalists, and the discontented tea-partiers. He used this loose coalition (under the MAGA banner) to overpower the party leadership (and actually drive out of the party any moderates who opposed him).

After Trump came to be the party's leader, he placed the malcontents in power in the party - on both the national and state level. Now the malcontents that Republicans once thought they could control are controlling the party. Now the party has replaced mainstream conservative values with new values - racism, xenophobia, homophobia, and misogyny. And Trump is in control.

But Trump is getting old. He won't be around much longer. What is going to happen with the Republican Party once he is gone?

Does it return to the conservative business-oriented party of the past? Unlikely. The extremists are now in control, and it's not likely they will want to give up the power Trump helped them get.

Will a new leader take over the coalition known a MAGA? Also unlikely. No one has been able to appeal to these extremists like Trump did.

MAGA is a coalition of extremists and haters, and I don't see a way for more moderate politicians to kick them out of power. I think the hate and extremism is here to stay in the GOP. And that's bad news for them, since the majority of Americans don't like that.

It is very possible that after Trump, MAGA extremism will be the death of the party.

When the Whig Party lost the faith of the American people, they ceased to exist, and were replaced by the Republican Party. Today's GOP might suffer that same fate. If the GOP can't heal itself, then it needs to be replaced - and soon. We need a two-party system.