Sure, the Republican Party can nominate a non-Trump. The catch is that the Republican Party will still be anti-science, still think supply-side tax policy works, still oppose voting rights, still want to destroy the ACA, still want to discriminate against those they always discriminate against and still do what the Koch Bros. Network tells them to do.
And yet Republicans think they can make a positive contribution to the country and people's lives.
101
What happened to morality and ethics? Principles? When did the qualities behind the Constitution become political and the value debatable? Are these just stupid questions now and it's useless to demand our representatives in Congress and the current administration take a stand on principle?
2
Something Mr Kristol has never done, win an election. Get someone to run and raise a billion dollars for a run against an incumbent of your own "party". Makes sense? Almost as much as weapons of mass destruction path you sent the country down 18 years ago.
2
Paging Lt. Col. Adam Kinzinger. Your Country has a mission for you.
2
Since Republicans can't nominate Benjamin Netanyahu nor Vladimir Putin in 2020, Donald Trump is their only effective choice. Better to have the dummy in lieu of the ventriloquist masters.
2
So Mr. Kristol, I like you. I think you are smart and articulate-- my sort of person, even if we usually disagree. But I look at the GOP today and truly wonder what your party stands for. From my point of view it relies on a handful of items.
-Rolling back a woman's right to choose when/if to become a parent.
-Deregulation of business-- the well being of We the People is just collateral damage.
-Tax cuts for rich people, no matter the affect on either the General Welfare OR the deficit.
-Rampant criticism of forward thinking states like CA, without which this nation could not survive, BTW.
-An out of control and aggressive military, sucking the treasury drier with each passing year.
Moreover, your party's affiliation is strongest in the former states of the confederacy. As wise people know, "you are known by the company you keep." If the GOP's source of votes and support is reliant upon and strongest in the south, well, then, you have lost all hope of appealing to any voter of more moderate views. The south is so outside of mainstream, modern American life, that no reasonable person from elsewhere could align with a party who mostly serves those people.
So I think you and your party are stuck with trump-- I just hope the nation is not.
35
Kristol acts as though democrats will warmly welcome any other republican besides Trump. Right. Pence won’t eat a meal alone with a woman! He’s a misogynist! He’s a prude! He doesn’t like gays. He’s not fit! See a pattern here? So do republican voters.
3
Please direct your appeal to the people really behind Trump's rise and power -- GOP oligarchs and their mouthpieces --Limbaugh, Hannity, Hate Radio and Co. Elected GOP "leaders" are cowering in fear and have been thoroughly exposed for their cowardice and lack of testicular fortitude. All they know to do is scream in faked indignation at a black President who had infinitely greater honor and wisdom than these sorry excuses for leaders. Don't waste your precious time advising these men (yes, overwhelmingly men) who are no leaders at all.
4
I'll bet a dollar Mr Kristol doesn't publish this in the Standard.
1
Exactly.
Or put another way: If Donald Trump is the best person that the GOP can put forward to accomplish their agenda (and I'll put aside the validity of said agenda, which does not seem to be what they've always said it is, anymore), then their party is bankrupt.
1
Trump embodies the absolute best that the Republican Party has to offer America: racism, bigotry, white supremacy, greed, self-dealing, ignorance, anti-intellectualism, narcissism, petty meanness, and spite. Why would the GOP even consider nominating anybody else?
3
How funny? Courage and actual patriotism among Republican? Right.
1
"Republicans Don't have to Nominate Trump in 2020."
Yes, but I hope they do. He is bent, he is broken, he is thoroughly corrupt and inept, and everyone including the "R" cult knows it.
Much of your party will smell the stink, enough to force themselves to finally do the right thing: vote for anyone else.
And enough of the opposing party will show up at the polls to rid themselves of this scourge.
May the whole ship go down with him, for the good of the country and the world.
3
The Southern strategy worked.... The Party of Lincoln is now the Party of George Wallace...
4
"But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have ..."
OK, stop right there. You just undermined your entire argument.
3
How refreshing (and Buckleyesque) to have a conservative commentator quoting Virgil. Would be that we had such a President! Wait a minute...this Virgil's not one of those guys on Fox, is he?
1
Is this the scenario for a SNL skit?
1
He just made the GOP a lot smaller, whiter and destined for the dustbin of history.
1
From your lips,to God’s ears.
1
The power the Republicans cling to with all their lives is as useful as a playground dodge ball with no air.
1
This is the man who brought us Sarah Palin.
3
Asking Republicans in Congress to do the right thing is a lost cause. They gave up any sense of honor, dignity, integrity or morality when they maded a Faustian bargain with the most unfit president ever to step into the White House -- and they are now so indelibly stained they are forever mired in his muck.
2
You worked for two administrations that used racism to get elected, that lied about economics to the middle class for the benefit of the .01 percent and enabled the despicable Saudis at the expense of a sane middle east policy. Is Donnie just a little too straight forward for you? Do you yearn for the subtlety of your glory days? Your party, with its retrograde views and spreading of lies about everything from immigration to climate change paved the way for the ignoranti who gleefully support their demigod. Trump must be removed because he is a clear and present danger to the United States and the world, but another republican aw shucks liar? Nope.
3
The point that putatively "reasonable" Conservatives like Kristol (and Douthat, Stephens, and Brooks) seem to keep conveniently overlooking is that Trump is the apotheosis of everything that the Conservative-Republican movement has stood for (and been fomenting for) over the past 25 years.
Did you speak out against the ridiculousness of the Benghazi hearings? No, you grinned gleefully as Clinton was grilled ad nauseum.
Did you speak out when McConnell stole a seat on the Supreme Court from Pres Obama? No, you salivated at stacking the court.
Did you speak out against Birtherism? No, you just shrugged.
Did you speak out against the lies of Swift-Boating? The Starr Witch Hunt in search of a crime? The racist Willie Horton ads? Gingrich's obstructionism? Lee Atwater's politics of personal destruction? No, you allowed them to build the trajectory of your party over 25+ years.
Did you ever call out Fox News for the lies and divisiveness that they propagated? Did you ever speak out against the hate-filled comments that Fox readers posted online? Did you ever call out the lies and hatred that Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck, Levin, Di Souza, Coulter, Breitbart, The Federalist, and the rest of the Rightwing Media Cabal have spewed constantly for two decades? No, no, no, no, etc.....
You and the rest of your ilk pretend that by speaking out against Trump, you're not responsible for Trumpism. You're wrong; you were complicit in your silence.
Sorry, you don't get a pass on this!
6
Mr. Kristol, er, Dr. Frankenstein, this is your monster, too. You pushed the republican agenda which created the monster and only came to hate it once you saw how dangerous and uncivilized it was. As long as it suited you and yours, and it wasn't quite this ugly, you didn't mind. Your insights are useless now that the monster has been unleashed.
Too little. Too late.
2
What will republicans do? Remember:
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” ― Edmund Burke
1
"But with the revelations of the last week, and the launch of a formal impeachment inquiry, "
That makes it even better for Trump because it shows the democrats are so desperate, they'll try anything.
Anyone can see there is no reason for impeachment. It's to take the attention off Biden, whose Ukraine antics will end his 2020 run.
The deocrats will make sure Trump gets elected because everyone will be too full of nothingburgers to go and vote.
Dems have no policy, except an anti-Trump policy based on nothingburgers.
Why is it that Republicans don't have to nominate Trump, Mr. Kristol? Is he standing in the way of another regime change war in the Middle East you were hoping for along with Neocon- John Bolton at the helm? Are you just now getting upset that he's been pink-slipped?, is it perhaps this president is hesitant to send our young men & women towards a disastrous encounter with Teheran on behalf of your Israeli friends? How many times & how on so many things were you proven wrong, time & time again, Mr. Kristol? How about packing away the typewriter & paper for now & calling it a day?
1
Bill Weld could have my first Republican vote ever. Please!
Alas, this is just wishful thinking. As long as Trump's cult-like base remains loyal, he will be the nominee, and I see no cracks in his support so far. The impeachment inquiry will only fire them up to a higher level of zealotry, if that is possible.
Additionally, any Republican who dares to run against Trump will have to face his wrath and vengeance if he is reelected, and we have seen how vicious this guy is.
Most Americans believe that they can do whatever they wish because the constitution gives them permission....no matter if what they do is moral or immoral, decent or indecent, or right or wrong. With this kind of total freedom the future will have no need of prisons, law enforcement agencies, nor law books. Why? Because if the law allows you to do what you want, then there is no wrong you can do.
Blessed are those who do not see yet believe. To those who believe in His name: who are born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
Thank you, Mr. Kristol, for remaining an Never Trump Republican. It's too bad there aren't more like you. On the other hand, I assume that you realize that you are partly responsible for Trump, since it is you who elevated last decade's know-nothing populist, Sarah Palin, to the national stage by encouraging John McCain to choose her as his running mate.
1
The Republicans' chance to nominate another candidate has long passed. The moment Trump descended that now infamous elevator in 2015 and announced his run for president, they should have laughed and discarded his candidacy as a bad joke. The moment he called Mexicans rapists, they should have denounced and dismissed his candidacy. And finally the day he disparaged their respected colleague John McCain, they should have repudiated him and mobilized to get him off that stage of those 17 presidential hopefuls and promptly thrown their support around other viable candidates. It was too late then and it is too late now. Even if the Republicans finally renounce this imposter and find a new electable candidate, that person would forever be tainted by being a member of the party associated with a failed and disgraced president. The entire GOP will then deserve its just retribution for having placed their party over country.
2
Republicans don't have to be flaming unabashed hypocrites either, but they are. The Republican Party is a cult-like social club that cannot be counted on doing what's even in their own best interest much less the country's. Remember the "Mexico will pay for the wall" slogan? That got ravenous applause from those coneheads at Trump rally's in 2016, but once Trump couldn't secure the billions needed to fund the wall from Mexico, he literally ripped it out of the pockets of the coneheads that were singing his praises for sticking it to Mexico only 2 years prior. They seeming don't mind paying tax dollars for a needless wall as if they (tax hating Republicans) have tax money to burn??? They are not a serious people and cannot be counted on to admit 2+2=4 if to admit so served someone else's benefit.
1
Somebody needs to sit Mr. Kristol down and explain to him that the voters across this country have rejected the DC elite and fully support the President.
1
I get tired of hearing Trump supporters dismiss the obvious absurdity of Trump's behavior by saying "What am I supposed to do, the Democrats are even worse." Of course that is a load of garbage, but even if we accept it on its face, the Republicans don't have to re-nominate Trump to run as their candidate in 2020. There are other Republican choices, they don't have to pick Trump. It follows that if Republicans run Trump in 2020 it is because they approve and applaud his behavior. If the run Trump again in 2020 it is a statement about who they are as people.
2
How about Evan McMullin?
2
Cheerful skies meant I assume for privileged white Republicans. Maybe not for those whose future is threatened by climate change, those who seek asylum here from oppression and poverty, those who to our shame live on our streets, those whose equal rights and protections are under assault, and those who have no health care.
1
Bill, I don't agree with you mostly but you are spot on here. The smart money is on Romney.
The Bain & Company raider has an opportunity to practice political arbitrage. Mitt was way too right of Obama for the majority. But now he can enter the race with a different market placement- that of a centrist. At the center Romney will garner a good many voters not only from Trump, but the Democratic candidate as well.
Romney's defeat by Obama still sticks in his craw. Romney rightly considers Trump immoral and irrational. He wants to lead our country out of this mess, and avoid potential Trumpian civil war.
I do not discount Mitt Romney's sincerity for service to our country. My previous comments were censored by the Times because I mentioned Romney's Latter Day Saint religion. Romney would like to be to the Mormons as JFK was to the Catholics. Mitt would fulfill the destiny of George Romney, and bring the Melchizedek priesthood into the mainstream.
That is an ancillary consideration. Nonetheless, Romney's faith is dear to him, and thus a motivating factor.
In his accomplishments, intelligence, bearing, and public speaking, Romney puts both Trump and Pence on the junior varsity. As we go down the road of impeachment, Romney could save the country a lot of a seismic upheaval and quell civil unrest.
I would not vote for him. But Romney has the capability of giving Trump a good, strong shove out the door of history, in the most efficient way possible.
3
Time for Romney to step up and save our Country.
Good luck with that. How many red states have cancelled their Republican primaries? The Republicans were heading down this path when you were in government, Kristol. Can't turn this ship very easily now, can you.
1
Umm, dream on Bill. I have much lower expectations of the GOP. Just like at Trum’s approval rating among registered Republicans. The Koolaid is strong.
1
Thanks for the shout-out to Virgil, Bill. He certainly knew whereof he spoke.
1
Bill, weren't you telling us this in 2016?
And hey, look what Republicans did.
Your Party. Your Party members' choices. Your infliction of horror on our country and its institutions.
It's not "Republicans don't have to," it's "Americans don't have to be Republicans" - at least till the Republican Party gets some semblance of decency and regard for America and the American people, not just white's in the 1% or others for whom their racism trumps all reason.
2
Reading this article, was like drinking a tall glass of clear-cold water, on a hot, muggy day.
—
... If the Republicans nominate Senator Romney, I will vote for him next November...
—
What more to say?
Except to encourage Republicans everywhere to step-up to the plate, “for God, Country, and the Party.” [my caption]
—
By the way:
My wife thinks I’m a Democrat. And she’s probably right.
But I voted for Romney in 2012, and I’ll do it again in 2020.
...Why? Because I think he’s the best man to run the Country, especially these days...
—
I encourage Republican voters everywhere to follow my lead.
Trump did not win the 2016 election because of his great hair, his skill as an orator and a debater; or because voters believed that he is a good family man, an honest man who pays his taxes, a dignified man, a compassionate man, a man who cares about people in trouble, a man who treats women and minorities well, a man who knows a lot about foreign affairs, economics, terrorism, education and the Second Amendment or because they believed that Mrs. Clinton was the devil.
They voted for him because he is a lout and a zany with big appetites, a mean man, a crude man, a humorless man, an ignorant man, an unethical man, a huge crook who gets away with doing things that normal people don’t get away with, who is notoriously effective at lying; and who as President maybe would do some things that would end up helping them or at least hurting their perceived enemies among liberals, minorities and refugees from poor countries.
Which is to say that Americans saw in him a man who satisfies all of their worst notions of what is good, true and beautiful in themselves and will be extremely difficult to beat in 2020.
1
Trump will not be the R nominee.
I certainly do not have a crystal ball, but here's my prediction:
More Republicans will join the ranks of the Democrats and move to impeach Trump once the impeachment investigation begin to turn over more and more rocks. They will eventually realize the ship is sinking and their captain doesn't have a clue to keep it afloat.
They will rally around Mike Pence for the time being, and will nominate any of a number of Republican candidates who will come out from the wings once Trump is history.
They will eventually realize this will be the only way they can hope to retain the White House for the next four years.
Then watch as they throw out their backs backing away from Things Donald. They may be hypocrites, but they're not stupid.
1
Well Bill, you better get out there and recruit some decent candidates. The ones currently interested aren't much. You need a heavyweight. I can't think of a one. Let us know when you find a good one.
To William Kristol and others who stood silent while the Republicans blew their "states rights," "welfare queen," "Swift boat," and "Willie Horton" dog whistles to retain power and obtain budget-busting tax cuts for their wealthy patrons, contemplate now what your cynicism has wrought.
Donald Trump, one of the vilest, most immoral, and incompetent men to enter the public sphere, owns the Republican party lock, stock, and barrel.
3
Coming from the man who "discovered" and pushed for Palin for VP, this is precious! What a joke.
2
We don't need incompetent, unhinged, narcissistic Republicans like Trump. We need good, old-fashioned, traditional Republicans who gerrymander, race-bait, deny science, deny women the right to choose, deny health care, genuflect in front of the NRA, and finally, give tax cuts to the rich and drive up the deficit.
1
"The party can do better."
NO, they can't, nor can they stand up to the so-called president.
They are spineless men and women who put their jobs and their 'party' far above country.
1
Ridiculous. Of course they have to nominate him. Trump is the living embodiment of the Republican Party. There is nobody who better carries the mantle of the GOP better than Trump.
If you call yourself a “conservative” (whatever that’s means anymore), have more than one synapse, and any shred of decency left, you’d be far more at home in the Democratic Party.
1
Again, wouldn't Nikki Haley be perfect!!
I wonder what makes Bill think his former party will up and become sane?
1
In other words, "Nikki Haley, save us!"
Perhaps Mr. Kristol would like to foist Sarah Palin upon the Republicans again. As a Democrat and a feminist, I'd be happy about that.
“But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have an unusual moment ...”
Sorry, Bill - there are none. Where have you been the last three years?
1
Kristol might have some credibility, if he had not contributed for many years to the run-up of our current predicament. Mostly, this column is him pining for a Republican Party which simply no longer exists, one in which some people with traditional (not Trumpian) conservative views paid some attention to him.
1
As Hemingway wrote: "Isn't it pretty to think so?"
16
Who are Republicans today? Trump has driven a massive realignment of the traditional 2 parties. The blue collar rust belt block, which was a core constituent of the Democratic Party is now solidly Trumpest/Republican. The suburban white collar voter has abandoned the Republican Party. Small government free traders are a constituency without a party. Many Republican politicians are being forced to get on the Trumpest bandwagon or find a new line of work. This realignment was catalyzed by Trump but the foundation was laid before him. To propose that the Republicans will rise up against Trump is an ill informed fantasy. This is a permanent condition.
1
Republicans have stood by with their thumbs up their noses while Trump broke law after law. Utterly shameless and disgusting behavior on the part of our elected "leaders." Know that history will not treat you kindly. Shame on all of you.
2
Bill you still try to run from your child. Conservatives created Trump, he used your play book of racism to get in to the White House. Bill he is your monster, just like the monster from the id in the movie Forbidden Planet.
1
Amen
1
There must be one good Republican who can run instead of Trump. Find him or her and the Republican Party will benefit all its candidates. Start with someone who believes in honesty and decency and doing what's best for all Americans, not his or herself.
1
Yeah, well, don't expect the chairwoman of the RNC to get the ball rolling, as evidenced by her continued "hair-on-fire" pronouncements. Sheesh.
“Democrats promised to reach across the aisle and work with President Trump and Republicans to serve the American people, but instead are now pushing their hyper-partisan impeachment agenda,” RNC Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel told Fox News on Monday. “Enough is enough; Americans are sick and tired of these witch hunts.”
Wrong, and double wrong, Ms. McDaniel: First of all, the (Republican-controlled) Senate voted unanimously to move forward with the Impeachment Inquiry, so I would hardly call that "hyper-partisan". Second, the majority of Americans are sick and tired, but it's because of nothing being done to control this train-wreck, as evidenced by the fact the MORE are in favor of impeachment than not - and this, only 7 days into the process.
I'm hopeful that the majority of Americans - who actually did NOT vote for Trump - would contact their elected representatives to tell them to get off the dime and get this behind us so we can start to heal as a country.
1
Ha, ha. Wonderful piece. Worthy of Borowitz. But it should've been more clearly labeled as humor. Appealing to Republican morality? A dichotomy. They have a choice? They've already chosen not to chose. And what's with the Virgil allusion. Try Dante; although the "base" has no idea what you're talking about. Let's have more articles like this. We all need a good laugh.
2
There is a direct line in Republican history from Sarah Palin to Donald Trump. How did we get Sarah Palin? According to Jane Mayer, Palin's strongest advocate in Republican Establishment circles was one William Kristol, the author of this column.
The Republican Party has now become the party of Trump. It will die the same minute that Trump dies, speaking metaphorically, of course. Both deaths appear increasingly likely to occur in the near future. We can thank Bill Kristol for the role he played in facilitating their demise. From the bottom of my heart, thank you, Mr. Kristol.
1
A worthy appeal for probity. Unfortunately, the audience exhorted is confined to Weld and his supporters. Sanders and Walsh are tainted, by their own crass behavior.
1
The current GOP ranks, by enabling Trump’s many excesses, appear woefully short of people with “conscience and courage.”
1
Nominate another Republican to replace Trump. That is the very definition of cold comfort.
1
The Communist Party ran elections where the only party running was- the Communist Party. How is the behavior of those states where the local Republican Party banned Republican primaries any different from the Communists? How can those Republicans look themselves in the mirror and call themselves Americans? While nothing should shock me anymore in the age of Trump, this does.
1
Poor Bill. He wakes up every day knowing he's not, and never will be, William Buckley.
But Trump, Pence, Pompeo, Barr and Giuliani -- and WH and DOJ lawyers -- are implicated in a criminal conspiracy.
How we extract ourselves from this mess will require great minds and earnest cooperation.
1
I appreciate Mr. Kristol's efforts in setting forth a reasonable appeal to Republicans to consider other nominees besides Trump.
Unfortunately, Republicans have proven themselves to be unreasonable when assessing this man's fitness for the presidency. There's no sign that their fealty will wane regardless of the mountains of evidence indicating Trump's seemingly endless capacity for corruption.
The Republican's will drag their party into the dark abyss to which Trump is leading them and just may bring the whole country with them.
Trump is following the path of almost every despot. What people forget, or choose to ignore, is almost every despot you could name had massive support with in his own party and in his country. Hitler, Pol Pot, Kim, all had millions who thought they were doing a good job. Look at the comments here if you have any doubt. The Republican Party and millions of people have been ensorcelled by Trump. Unless he is removed, he will be the party's nominee in 2020.
2
Mitt Romney seems to be quietly desiring the Repub nomination rather than being "out there" like William Weld. I do NOT believe his disgust with Trump, as his own daughter, Ronna Romney McDaniel, the head of the RNC, was promising a fire-and-brimstone of ads countering the increasingly valid grounds for impeachment.
Besides, Romney can never live down that "47% takers" comment caught on video at that 2012 fund-raiser in Boca Raton. That comment implies that 150 million fellow Americans are somehow "life unworthy of life" (where have we heard THAT before?) and should somehow vanish at little or no cost to the "virtuous" 53%.
The Economy and security and overall well being of this Nation is Strong under Trump....and there is not one Democrat who is fit to lead this Nation/ watch Trump's U.N. speech....it was as Presidential as they come ....the problem isn't the Republicans who have moved there Party towards the middle ground it is the Far Far Left over the edge Democrat candidates that are not even worth Nominating!
3
Are you writing about the person currently occupying the White House or have I completely misunderstood your comment. The president, in the person of trump is widely acknowledged as being one of the worst things to have ever happened to the United States, if you can’t see this, you deserve and have my deepest sympathy. This individual has done more damage to the US than any other single person in the entire history of the country. It will take an awful lot of time and effort to repair the damage he has caused to our country and the allies we once had.
I’m sure my words will have no effect on your opinion, but at least I feel a little better for having having said them.
Cheers!
19
@There for the grace of A.I. goes I
Yeah, right. Amy Klobuchar and Joe Biden are REALLY far left.... In other words, if you have security and a good economy, laws and the constitution be damned, eh?
3
@There for the grace of A.I. goes I
What's with the dot-dot-dot? Morse code? Pause for laugh track?
Republicans certainly have not moved their party towards the middle. One of their major goals is the disenfranchisement of millions of hard-working Americans.
2
You have jokes.
Trump will be the nominee, and he will win.
Why? Because he said Democrats were out to get him from day one, and you Democrats obliged every day since.
He is already telling his people, ‘see? The Democrats hate us deplorables, don’t let them win’.
And the Red voting block is solid as can be now.
Meantime your obsession with impeachment and far left campaign (open borders, medicare illegals, green new deal, reparations, and such) have scared away the independents on the fence, like me.
Good luck, enjoy re-election night.
30
@AutumnLeaf
I agree the Red States will put the interests of the rich above their own because that is what they always do.
They do not need any phony excuse about being insulted and aggrieved to vote against their own interests.
81
@AutumnLeaf glad to see a sane voter made it past the filters and opinion enforcers.
Trump 2020!
5
@AutumnLeaf
He also said he could shoot someone dead in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose any supporters.
So it really doesn’t make any difference what Democrats do, does it now?
67
There is no Republican Party remaining. Those calling themselves Republicans have stood by watching, and in most cases cheering Trump's depredations. They cast aside principle like ballast in a stormy sea, even in the face of clear perfidy and illegality like the Trump/Ukraine shakedown.
They say that they like Trump policy, but close their eyes to his damage to the nation, its security, and the future of democracy.
Republican Statesmen are dead or in deep hibernation.
The Party of Lincoln has turned to dross and is simply unworthy of redemption.
206
This may be the beginning of z three party system; democrats, nationalists and conservatives ( the Republican party of old). Might make for interesting debates going forward
5
@Phil Zaleon No, the former Party of Lincoln is now the Party of Pétain, Quisling, and other traitors to a foreign power for their own enrichment.
5
That Republicans are deciding not to run in record numbers should tell you all you need to know about their potential to turn the GOP ship around. They will not. They are cowards in the face of Trump and they don't have the stomach to "do what's right." The idea that they'd nominate someone else is a great plot for a feel-good Hallmark movie, but in the harsh light of today's politics, that's all it is.
58
@Clyde Everyone knows that the sitting President will not be un-seated when they've got so many votes to lose. History tells us.
When Jeff Flake resigned from Congress, he stood up against Trump and called out Republicans for their desertion of their principles. With the large number of Republicans who have announced this year that they will not seek reelection, wouldn't it be refreshing if they all showed some backbone and stood up to this immoral and criminal president now that they are leaving.
4
Trump should convey to Mike Pence to resign because he will not be on the ticket in 2020. Replace him with Nikki Haley immediately. If Trump is convicted in the Senate (long shot), Haley will be the 1st women president and the favorite to win the 2020 election. If Trump stays in office, Haley will be a perfect running mate to offset the Warren vote.
1
The last great Republican, John McCain, has passed away and this opens the door for the next great Republican to rise up and shine. Unfortunately from my chair I do not recognize that person in any of the Republican leaders today, and certainly not Trump. Trump is drawing the Republican Party into the morass of disrespect, dishonesty and insignificance. It will take years for the Party to recover it’s relevance and importance in American politics thanks to the ineptitude of its leaders today. Current republican senators and congress-persons would do well to rethink their position on this lawless President and, when the time comes, vote to impeach him; in doing so they will begin to reshape the party and take back the high road to moral equivalency, and lead the nation in truly important conservative causes such as restricting the size of government, improving states and individual rights, self-determination and private ownership.
3
Mr. Kristol and other Republicans tend to neglect a very potent fact in this discussion, one which might sway many: a very large number of Democrats and Independents would vote for a sensible Republican with integrity if they believed it was the best option to remove Trump/Pence and their cadre of corrupt and incompetent lackeys from government.
Let me repeat that. Many Americans would vote to protect the nation against another four years of Trump, even if it meant violating their partisan interests.
The real political fabric of America isn't blue or red - that's a forced construct fostered by partisan hacks. Party membership is down on both sides. Most Americans are pragmatic, patriotic, and where honest divisions exist, they're capable of compromise to reach the best outcome for the community, the nation.
Honest Republicans - and they still exist - can tap into this American reality. And if one stands a better chance of cleaning house than the Democratic nominee, I'll vote for them, without hesitation.
82
@Neander
Somehow that statement, "a very large number" is reminiscent of the kind of vague statements made by Trump himself. Then of course, there is the assumption that a sensible Republican exists.
18
@Neander
At this point, there is no possibility I would trust any person who agrees with the platform of the Republican party enough to consider voting for her or him. There is a need for Republicans who put country above party and personal interest. None have come forward in the last several years to do more than leave the Republican party. I question the statement that there are "honest" Republicans left.
Any Republican who expects to collect Democratic or Independent votes and try to sell to the nation a platform of tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy, the government controlling reproductive health decisions for every woman in the USA, an immigration policy which keeps out refugees and foreign asylum seekers from natural disasters, civil wars or urban drug gangs, a policy which denies health care and a safety net to those in need in the USA and a denial of climate change as a National Security risk is living a fantasy beyond anything Disney is selling.
19
@Neander
Your post makes no sense to me. How can Democrats and independents vote for any other Republican to keep Trump/Pence out of office, except in a Republican primary?
5
My grandfather, and my father for a time, were Republicans. I'm not and never have been. But I do remember a GOP that had ideas and principles. While I rarely agreed with those ideas and principles, I recognize that it was healthy for the democratic functioning of the country to have two parties, each of which could mount a spirited and reasoned argument for opposing ideologies. Whether Trump is cause or effect, he is certainly the nadir of the Republican slide into thoughtless, self-serving, transactional politics, devoid of coherent ideology. I hope enough Republicans are still around who have ideas and principles to finally stand up for something of substance. Almost anything will do.
6
I disagreed in the past with Bill Kristol. But since Trump that has changed. It isn't that I would support a GOP Presidential candidate, but I sure wish they would nominate someone who was qualified to be President.
8
They don’t have anyone who’s qualified to be president. They just have people who are marginally more qualified than Trump. That’s a low bar indeed!
1
I will vote for Trump against any of the Democratic candidates. I would vote for Nikki Haley against any of the Democratic candidates. I would vote reluctantly for Pence but more comfortably if Haley were the VP candidate. BTW, I voted twice for Obama.
@Paul: Whenever I hear an interview of a committed Trump supporter saying that he/she voted twice for Obama, as you did, I wish the interviewer would ask that voter why she/he voted for Obama. Could you explain that to me, Paul? Thank you.
@Claude Vidal, don't bother to ask. lots of times they are lying.
1
I am not a Republican; I am not a Democrat; although i do vote Democratic most often. My father was a staunch Republican all his life and I also was in the 1950s when the Republicans were truthful in their offerings. but, since the Reagan era, when taxes were reduced so low that our national debt proceeded on its sky high flight, the Republicans have been at the mercy of the moneyed class. With Trump, they have sunk even lower. I do no think they will survive, but I pray they do.
7
The party can do better.
I think it is difficult for people like Bill Kristol to admit that many in the GOP base support Trump not in spite of his behavior but because of his behavior.
The behavior of most GOP elected officials appears to be based on this perception.
5
I voted for Obama over Mitt in 2012, but what I wouldn't give to be able to vote for a Mitt or someone similar - over Trump, but even over the whole field of Dems. The Dem primaries are doing an excellent job of alienating half the country and then expecting a different outcome from last time.
1
A moderate Republican, if there is still such a person, might run well against Ms. Warren or Mr. Sanders. A majority of Americans are not comfortable with the Progressive wing of the Democratic party. Polls continue to report that a majority do not like progressive's signature ideas such as the Green New Deal, Medicare for all, total student debt forgiveness,etc.
Democrats should be careful what they wish for.
2
What we need is a Republican Party that will crash and burn in the 2020 election and give huge majorities to the Democrats so they can start to do the right thing for American. After that, the former great Republican Party can start to correct many of things they have destroyed, especially their reputation, and get back on its feet for 2024. They should be out of office for at least 20 years.
8
There is trouble in our political system. Trump was a bad choice. Our Republican Party has abdicated its role as the center-right party and has lost its way, while you "conservatives" have let that term be redefined to mean anything but law and order, fiscally responsible policy. You have allowed your supporters to become prejudiced, misogynist and xenophobic, where McCain would not; allowed your supporters to view "conservative" as "anti-liberal" rather than partners with a different view.
7
Waxing with the wisdom of Virgil to unite "Republican leaders of conscience and courage" is not enough to erase the stain of Trump. Walsh is unvetted and he has a lot of goblins in his grave. If you plan to vote against Trump and vote for integrity the only choice is to vote for democrats.
3
Perhaps the Republicans can buy a backbone on Amazon, Craigslist, EBay or Etsy. The party’s spine finally imploded after years of disintegration and neglect. There are a few representatives who have a semblance of partially intact armature amidst the rubble and detritus.
5
One of the original Never-Trumpers, Trump Derangement Syndrome sufferers Bill is still at it with his dreams of replacing Trump. It will never happen. Trump's popularity is going up and up lately.
And can you image if Bill Weld or Joe Walsh held a rally. They would be lucky to get 5 attendees.
The sad thing is that Bill has gone so far left with his Trump derangement Syndrome that he wold rather America have a Socialist Communist president like Bernie or Warren.
@Michael
The real sad thing is that you are judging while sitting in Australia that only 5 people will show up in a challenger's rally.
Lots of people (using Trump's favorite word) would not only show up in the rallies, but would also vote for the challenger.
Oh but the Republicans WILL nominate trump in 2020.
No doubt.
1
It would be almost impossible to unseat Trump in the primaries, he has too much money behind him. I can just imagine the flood of advertising he is going to do before the convention. We will be seeing non stop Trump propaganda, aimed at the poorly educated and his base. It's the belief that if you say it enough times it is true, and unfortunatly people fall victim to this nonsense. The Republican party is the minority of voters in this country, but act like they are the majority.We all need to exercise our right to vote and put an end to this self centered misaligned administration.
4
Hilarious. This columnist is the person who almost singlehandedly championed Sarah Palin as John McCain's running mate. Sarah Palin was the proto-Trump. Without her we'd be waist deep in all sorts of shenanigans courtesy of President Hillary. We have two major parties. Let the people pick their nominees and have them duke it out in the 2020 general election. No party hack input required.The GOP base adores the President. I'm sure he and Senator Warren will have lively exchanges during their debates.
3
It is fantasies such as Kristol's that make one really appreciate the courage and patriotism of the recently deceased Joe Wilson. But what of the younger generation, who never heard of Joe Wilson and his courageous, patriotic sacrifices? I doubt that any school textbook even mentions him in passing.
I would suggest that some of the energy being used to rail against the wrongs of long past, even though they clearly resonate in the present, instead be used to educate people about Joe Wilson and wrongs of the immediate past that not only affect our nation immensely in the present but which also can serve, in the person of Wilson, as a role model for our youth. Getting rid of a civic statue of Robert E. Lee is certainly the right and legitimate thing to do. However, putting up a statue of Joe Wilson might well do even more to foster the education of and serve as inspiration for our youth and, thus, our nation's future.
His partner in victimization, courage, and patriotism, his former wife Valerie Plame, is currently running for Congress in New Mexico. Plame, like Wilson, is the rare individual who has demonstrated she can take the worst Washington politics will throw at you and come back swinging. America needs someone who will stand up and be counted, someone who already has demonstrated that despite a career destroyed by Washington politics, she can bounce back with deeds, not just words, effectively saying "In your face, you slimy, unpatriotic, bought-off wimps!"
3
I'm reminded of something one of the political bloggers said (it may have been Josh Marshall at TPM)...
"Bill Kristol is always wrong."
The only way the Republicans will not nominate Trump is... well, I can't think of even one circumstance.
2
“Republican leaders of conscience and courage”
Who might they be? I haven’t seen any, ever.
3
What's the point of giving Mr. Kristol this space? Spineless republican elected officials don't follow Trump for any reason other than that is where their voters are. Ever since the day that Trump descended his golden escalator, we have seen that this is only thing that matters to the vast majority of these politicians, and yet Mr. Kristol says nothing about this. These are nice thoughts from Mr. Kristol but, without acknowledging the elephant in the room, who really cares?
2
Will Mitt Romney take the high road to gain the respect of his father? And if he fails, will reconciling Democrats appoint him Secretary of State without having to experience a humiliating interview dinner?
2
"They can keep quiet, a stamp of approval of its own sort."
Zero chance the current Republican Party will go any other way than all-in for Trump.
But let us do remember these prescient words-many of the current rank and file of the Republican Party will be around long after Trump's crushing, embarrassing, failure as a President and leader is written into history. Do not forget just how all-in so many people are now-they will be back peddling for years.
2
There is little reason to believe that Republicans will fail to nominate Donald Trump in 2020. The party apparatchik live in fear of losing their own sinecures, prompted by fear of alienating Trump's base. It's that simple. In a nutshell, they're chickens, having abandoned any pretense of espousing, let alone standing up for "one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."
The party of Lincoln long ago became the party of dog whistles. Now it has become the party that no longer whistles in ways audible only to dogs. It engages in full-throated, loud and overt assaults on any and all Americans, and others, for whom the "big" GOP tent is no longer big enough, not that it truly ever was.
In short, the GOP's Golden Rule has become "do unto others what you falsely accuse them of doing unto you." It is a "long con" that would make Bernie Madoff blush with a feeling of abject inadequacy. It is now the party of bigoted and entitled miscreants who are using the levers and pulleys of government to take rights away, all the while cynically accusing Democrats of just that.
No, Republicans don't have to nominate Trump in 2020, but they will. Because he verbalizes what most are too chicken to say themselves. They have become fear mongers, and having unleashed irrational fear and anger in so many others, they are now petrified, for all the the wrong reasons, of doing the right thing themselves.
2
This is an essay to a Republican party that ceased to exist many years ago, before Trump came on the scene. Where was Mr Kristol when Joe Walsh called out " you lie" during Obama's first State of the Union address? Where was he when Obama legislation to fund infrastructure projects was torpedoed while Republicans spittle-spewed about the immorality of deficits? Need I mention Merrick Garland's Supreme Court nomination that was never brought to a vote thanks to Moscow Mitch? Trump is not an abberation, he is a result of years of Republican dishonestly, come home to roost.
6
You headline is correct but baring something very unusual Trump will be renominated.
However, there is always an upside to a downside. If the democrats nominate a moderate (not an identity obsessed, social engineer, Neo con like Hillary) that can relate to middle America and the electoral college they have a great shot of taking all three branches in 2020.
2
Since the once fine Republican party has been taken over by the Southern States (following Lyndon Johnson's equality moves), it has been only a shell of its former patriotic self.
It now exists solely for its own preservation and the ability to coerce the rest of the country to its bidding.
Any idea that the current republican party will have any notion of returning to just and meaningful government is a fool's idea.
Remove the Southern bigots from that party, and it then possibly becomes realistic in its ideas and ways of handling things. Until that happens, it will never get my vote.
(Yes, I was a lifelong republican until Reagan came along).
3
After the disaster and disgrace of Trump, whom the Republican Party nominated to be president and has stood firmly behind, what reasonable person would now trust the Republican Party in a new nominee for presidency, should there be one? The “GOP,” a curious nickname, lost its credibility in final loss of self in their hope vested 4 years ago in Trump. The recall of Virgil’s wisdom, mentioned in this column, is not likely for GOP, except as a dodge and con through public pronouncement.
1
They don't have to nominate Trump, but they will. Those brave conservative paragons of virtue and economic sensibility are just too chicken to break ranks. It's laughable, especially the behavior of the Senate.
2
there's as much chance of this happening as there is of trump either going a day without telling a dozen lies or winning the nomination for democratic candidate for potus next year.
2
Republicans, some having learned the primary dangers of crossing Trump, and others genuinely liking his tax cuts for the rich and/or his xenophobia, have already cancelled primaries at his behest. Just how do you surmise anyone could take the nomination from him?
3
Republicans are not going to nominate someone else to be their presidential candidate next year. They're even cancelling some of their state primaries in advance of primary season as it to ward off any challengers to Trump.
Who would they even nominate? Bill Weld? He represents a moderate type of Republican that is in the past of the GOP.
That is not going to happen. Trump represents the Republican party as it is now: Openly Racist, Authoritarian, sympathetic to authoritarian regimes the world over , definitely xenophobic, and absolutely contemptuous of the U.S. Constitution and its separation of powers that it provides for.
3
Since the elected Republicans in both houses have abdicated their constitutional authority to Trump, restoring the party will require more than replacing Trump. These weasels have proved they put self interest and fealty above their oath of office and as such dishonored themselves and disgraced our republic. They cannot be trusted to serve their constituents and certainly could not represent the face of a renewed GOP.
The guilt here should go to the Republican primary voters who reveled in the Trump road show. Excitement over thought. Straw opponents and shallow solutions, lies and misrepresentations. "I know better than the generals". "Only I can fix it". "The Mexicans will pay for the wall." The Republican Party did not believe that tripe nor did not want Trump but they wanted to win. Swept along by the floodwaters.
It is the same primary voters in Arizona who doomed Jeff Flake. I choose to believe that Democrat primary voters are more thoughtful but then my choice is Amy Klobachar.
3
They can do better.
But they won’t.
Trump, as the apotheosis of who they really are, does all their dirty work while they pretend not to notice his methods or offer tepid responses when they bother to answer reporters’ questions (Gee, I wish he would tweet less...)
They won’t do better, nor will they offer any meaningful attempt to stop his corruption, no matter where the evidence leads.
Would the Trump cult followers even show up to vote if Trump were not the nominee?
2
Republicans need a person with honor to run for president. From recent behavior I would say the last Republican with honor was John McCain and sadly he is not available. He was honest and brave and he had honor.
It is hard to think of one elected Republican who has had the courage to stand up to Trump.
Republicans seem to fall into two camps--those who fear Trump and those who agree with him. Either way is bad for the country.
Please, you brave, charismatic, intelligent Republican leader, step up. Your country needs you NOW.
2
Republicans didn't have to nominate Trump the first time around. But they did. And they did so knowing who and what he was. His corruption and disregard for the rule of law were no secret. He bragged about his unethical conduct! And the GOP rallied around him. Republicans shed their principles and silenced their consciences. Why? For the sake of their own political survival in a world where the party's base is loyal to Trump.
Republicans don't have to nominate Trump a second time, but they will.
1
If they are interested in saving what's left of their party then of course they shouldn't nominate him in 2020. They can do so much better than trump and perhaps in time bring their party out of the swamp.
It’s thrilling to sit here and pretend we were living back in the days when the Republican Party was, if nothing else, solidly patriotic and a reliable bastion of common decency. At the time I could only see them as plutocrats, patriarchs, authoritarians. Little did I know how much I would miss normal Republicans.
Those Republicans are long gone. But thank you for the walk down memory lane.
2
The only way for Republicans to survive and to clean up the
mess that Trump has made;
Primaries for The Republican Party:
I would hope that The New York Times would welcome the
sweeping out of the GOP 'swamp' ; not only in D.C. but
in all the 'swamps' in every State as well.
If Republicans want to save republicanism from its demise,
then the media should cover the efforts of Bill Weld ,
Joe Walsh, and Mark Sanford...
It is time for The NYT to have an unbiased perspective on
this matter.
1
Won't happen. But, he might lose a primary.
Who pays for his use of Air Force One to those campaign rallies?
3
The Republican party can never again be trusted to promote a viable candidate after their backing of this guy.
Republicans - NEVER AGAIN!!
2
A small group of Republicans with outstanding reputations, including some state governors and perhaps other local/regional officials, combined with some major donors, should go to Trump and plead with him not to run for re-election. He would obviously reject these entreaties. They should then give him an offer he can't refuse: they won't support him, they will shutdown every legislative avenue open to him aside from keeping the government running. No more big donations. No more support, period.
Trump is a man who gets 90 miles to the gallon from his ego alone. He is a proud man but he is also a classic bully and he has enough indications of mental disorder that, whatever the diagnosis might be, his mental state has to be taken into consideration. When backed into a corner, bullies either lash out wildly or they crumble, turning into cry babies.
Republicans should now move to save their party and themselves. They should immediately look toward a post-Trump world in which they can rebuild their party and at least grasp for moral standing because they can be no leadership without a moral basis. In pushing Trump out, they might be forced to praise his many "accomplishments" and tell his MAGA Hat supporters that they will continue in the same direction. Yes, lie.
If they do it sooner rather than later, they still might save the Senate for their party and would have a chance at the presidency. As things stand, they are at risk for everything, including survival as a party.
1
Bill, I rarely agree with you on anything. Your support for the Iraq war was a disgrace. But I will say this for you - you are a true conservative.
Accordingly, from day one, you spoke out loud and clear against the danger of Trump. For that I thank you.
We need a healthy conservative party in this country as a natural counterweight to progressives.
I agree with you. Now is the opportunity for the GOP to cut out the trumpian cancer.
Then they can shed the insanity that has taken over the party.
But that requires courage and that is something in short supply in the modern GOP.
I fear the transformation of the Republican Party is complete. It is the party of Trump. And thus Trump is the candidate that should represent the Party - ugly as it is with its racism, election rigging, corruption, greed, disregard for the rule of law, dishonesty, misogyny, religiosity, militarism, and intolerance.
The party can do better because it can't do worse.
Surrender to win. Win a reformed party that is relevant and turn government over to the democrats for long enough to lose the Supreme Court and the free market.
The window will close in a matter of weeks if not days.
BIll Kristol's fantasy of a mystical power which is forcing the Republican's to nominate Trump is distressing in that is passing for thoughtful commentary in a leading publication.
The plain truth for all to see is the Republican Party WANTED to nominate Trump in 2016 and WANTS to nominate him in 2020. He is a clear representation of the party.
No mystical force necessary.
1
Barr, Pompeo, Mulvaney, Giuliani, Kavanaugh, Mitch McConnell. Susan Collins John Roberts, Leonard Leo are all people with name recognition and all can keep secrets secret.
Since we don't want to make this into a horse race, why not have a WWF Cage Match with the nomination awarded to the last man (or woman) standing. No need for messy disclosures or programs, just the "real stuff" to look tough and be tough.
1
@JMT
I forgot to include the most important factor.Who is Putin's choice?
1
Come on--The New York Times, especially the OP ED section, really doesn't want the Republican Party to redeem itself. What the Times wants is for the Republicans to implode and go out of existence for good. Why not come straight out and admit the truth? The truth will set everyone free!!
Republicans can do better. How about Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin 2020
2
Republican party philosophers are reduced to endorsing the likes of Joe Walsh and Mark Sanford. Oh what a downfall ! They deserve all of it. And a lot worse.
I hear the drip drip sounds of the Republican Party imploding on itself
1
The Anointed One, Ted Cruz is ready to run. In your heart, you know he’s right!
Holy cow, Bill. The "shame and stain of the past three years" is the natural conclusion of your life's ambition to turn America into a fascist theocracy. The dogs finally caught the car in 2016.
But go ahead and primary a sitting president. Go ask Carter for ideas.
1
“But Republican leaders of conscience and courage...”
Along with other imaginary figures, like Santa Claus and the Easter Bunny.
2
"It is a decision of great consequence on which all Republicans have a say..." Um, no. Several states have rescinded their primaries in theory in order to preserve Trump as the nominee and denying those voters the chance to select otherwise. That's more of a coup d'etat, in slow motion. If anything, the national senior Republican leadership should mandate these states fulfill their obligations, for both the citizens of the states, and the country as a whole.
137
@Patrick If no one else has made this crucial point yet, this comment should be a NYT Pick.
11
To paraphrase Virgil - I think the Republican Party has already descended, easy was the way, and they now stand at the gates of hell already. It is too late to bestow 'honour' to the worthy challenger - for they will never survive the climb out of the abyss.
Kristol misappropriated the translated (by Dryden) quotation from Virgil's Aeneid. It's not about Hell in the Christian sense. It's about visiting the place where the dead exist in the afterlife under a variety of conditions, some physically punished, some not. In addition, the souls of people as yet unborn are waiting there.
Indeed the descent is easy; everyone does it eventually. The problem is coming back from the dead. Aeneas brings with him a special golden bough which will enable him to return to the world of the living.
So in this case, in order to get out, the Republicans needed a supernatural "Get out of the Underworld" ticket before they descended into the underworld.
The current version of the Republican Party is somewhere close to the confederate states of America with a dose of McCarthyism on top. I cannot recall a party dominated by hijackers and outright bullies who could care less about the welfare of our children. They seem to be hell bent on enrichment and protection of those riches. They see anyone who does not hate liberals and persons of color as suspected communists which as a word has now become gospel. Conservatism plays little role in this party. It now seems paranoid and blind. It sees power as a means to an end. It has been hijacked by powerful institutions such as the NRA, Fox News, and other large corporate interests who back their version of the Republican Party. Its base has become debased. It has become an armed encampment who wants to do battle for the soul of our democracy. It also has a standard bearer. Donald trump. They would probably follow trump to the gates of hell rather than give up an ounce of power. The moderate voices in the Republican Party have been shouted down and marginalized into spineless toadies. They want to fight not work together across the aisle. Bipartisanship is a rare sighting in Washington these days.
1
Sorry bro, your Russian Republican White Supremacist personality cult is bereft of leadership, honesty, intellect and courage. Do take credit, tho, for your prominent role in creating this obscenity. Be so proud. #Shame
2
I most certainly hope you are right, Mr. Kristol. It would be the salvation of the Republican party. Otherwise, the GOP will go down hill and may disappear altogether. I'm a Democrat, but, you know, I'd miss the GOP if that happened. I guess I'm talking about the old Party, the one where there were moderates willing to work together. Congress got things done then. I didn't personally like McCain's agenda, but, my, he was such a man of integrity. I admired him. I wore an 'I like Ike' button when I was 10. So, long live the Grand Old Party, the party of Abraham Lincoln. And.... I will fight tooth and nail to rid ourselves of the current iteration of the Damned Old Party who, in my eyes, is bringing democracy to its end.
2
I have the greatest respect for Mr. Kristol, but I still must disagree. The party hierarchy, cowed as they are by Trump and his nihilistic populist power, DO have to renominate him. Kristol's unstated premise is that the Republican party is worth saving, but I'm afraid it is not, and it would serve no good purpose for any outside force to try and influence its demise. Republicans believe in 'creative destruction' in economics, it is time to allow it to do its magic in politics.
As others have said many times, what Trump has done is expose the GOP. It is the party of hypocrisy. Sure, there are a few people who espouse traditional Republican orthodoxies because they still believe in them, but they have clearly blinded themselves to the data that shows their favorite theories as repeated failures. So, except for nihilistic libertarian anti-tax pseudo-Republicans, who don't care if everything falls apart as long as they get theirs, the GOP might as well embrace Trump. He is truly the figurehead of a soulless party which pursues power based on persistent lies and baseless attacks.
140
@Steve I'm a Democrat. When I watched the Republican debates in 2016, I thought Kaisich and Jeb Bush as the only adults on the stage and a reasonable alternative for me if either was nominated and won in 2016. Instead, we've got the biggest and most dangerous fool running roughshod over the constitution and poisoning the office of the presidency. He has got to be stopped, whether by impeachment or being voted out of office. What are the Republicans afraid of by clinging to his defense, refusing to abandon him?
3
@Steve Party of hypocrisy is correct. These faux moralists and "people of faith" have no problem with someone who claims he can murder a bystander without facing the consequences, and broadly hints at an ongoing incestuous relationship with his oldest daughter without even the "excuse" of Lot's daughters after their mother was turned into a pillar of salt.
2
If President Trump is removed as a consequence of impeachment and conviction, can the G.O.P. still nominate him in 2020 as its standard-bearer?
We heard the same thing two years ago. The delegates to the Republican Convention did not need to vote for him. Everyone was expecting a dramatic revolt by voting delegates. It didn't happen. Then faithless electors were going to mutiny and vote for someone other than Trump. That didn't happen either. Then the members of the cabinet were going to invoke the 25th Amendment and remove Donald Trump from office. Yet once again, nothing happened. Even now, Republicans can hardly muster the courage to mumble under their breath that just maybe Trump shouldn't call for civil war. Can anyone really expect the Republican Party to do anything other than nominate him again. They would nominate him even after he is impeached.
496
@David Kimbrough
Indeed, they are so lacking in morals that they might even renominate him after he was impeached, convicted, and removed from office!
29
@David Kimbrough The only explanation I can think of for their behavior is fear. For some reason, Trump is ruling the party through fear. The comparison of Trump to a mob boss, regrettably, are far too real.
19
I've never voted for a Republican in all of my nearly 70 years, but I can honestly say this: If I had voted for a Democrat who behaved the way Trump behaves as president, even if she/he supported every issue I care about, I would want that person out of office, too. This has gone beyond partisan, way beyond. Americans deserve better, and the world deserves better.
1019
@Panthiest This is the difference between republicans and democrats. There is a significant body of evidence that those inclined to follow what we call the conservative ideology, are more rigid, more authoritarian, more inclined to follow the group. and less inclined to admit mistakes and change course.
130
@Greg Exactly, Greg. Couldn't have said it better myself, but it should be repeated and understood.
20
@Panthiest
There are two old sayings that I will probably get wrong but one is "Democrats fall in love, Republicans fall in line".
The other is "I don't belong to an organized political party, I'm a Democrat".
Those sayings describe fundamental differences between liberals and conservatives. For years we could live with those differences but something has changed.
Imagine the reactions of conservatives if a Democrat President acted even remotely as outrageous as Trump.
I can hear their howling if President Hillary Clinton brought Chelsea and her husband into the White House as high level advisers.
17
I think that the current elected officials in the Republican Party are now in a unique position to move our country to a much better place, and without much delay. Aside from helping cast out a particular (and most peculiar!) concentration of corruption and bigotry in the oval office, it is high time to stop providing shelter for all manner of bigotry and political manipulation, whether that is in individual politicians' public policies, or in tools used more widely to harness the electorate, or in simply providing an obvious electoral choice for members of the electorate who are largely guided by bigotry. The tolerance by party representatives of harmful attitudes and behavior by the party's elected officials has to stop.
The price may be high for the Republican Party in the short term, but not nearly as high as was paid by the other party as its punishment for pushing through civil rights legislation in the 1960s, because a) the voters deprived of shelter will mostly still vote for Republican candidates, and b) this action now will soften the upcoming demographic devastation of the party.
Neither party has a natural monopoly on what it takes to lead the country. We should all hope for different philosophies to play out in a constructive manner which results in greater stability for everyone. This cannot happen as long as corruption and bigotry and circumvention of democratic processes are tolerated by either party.
Mr. Kristol has a short memory. He seems to believe that the disintegration of the Republican Party began with Donald Trump. He has forgotten the "trickle down economics" that began the inequality of American workers; the overt gerrymandering of many state governments; the hostility of Congress towards Democratic presidents; giving away Congressional powers to make war to the president alone during GW Bush years; an "obstructionist only" Congress during the Obama years while Americans struggled to survive after the 2008 depression; party members willing to repeat the "Republican line" over and over in the press; refusing to address campaign spending and racial bias with new legislation; silence for Mr. Trump's un-presidential edicts and behaviors; need I add more?
Yes, it's time to start over, IF the Republican Party should ever be trusted again. But more than Donald Trump and Mike Pence need to be be eliminated. We need full confession, apology, and a plan that shows they understand the full horror of what they reigned on our American democracy as they lied and cheated their way to the current situation.
Though once a Republican, I would NEVER ally myself with any party with that name again, nor one with any of the current republican "leaders" calling the shots.
2
As a voter who never misses a chance to vote I almost don't much care if the GOP does or does not nominate Trump for the 2020 election cycle. In my mind the GOP, by the general silence of its members and elected officials, has tied the party to Trump in all his "glory" whether he is on the ticket or not. As such I doubt that I am likely to vote for ANY GOP candidate for any office unless that candidate has enough spine to stand up to Trump.
2
Don't urge the Republican Party to do anything. Instead, aim your words at the American people who vote. Public sentiment will sway any party. These op-eds need to be aimed at voters not at guiding politicians, who usually go with the direction in which the wind blows. Certainly don't ask Republicans in government now to search their consciences...those have long been compromised, if not in 2016 or before, certainly by now. Public sentiment will change anything that's in government, as long as we have some semblance of democracy.
2
We need a Republican Party that will try to serve all the people and do its part in unifying instead of dividing the country. Neither party has all the best ideas we need them working together to find compromises that serve all the people.
9
Republicans are not interested in doing the right thing. If they were, they would ensure legitimate elections (no: voter suppression, ballot tampering, gerrymandering, external foreign influence, disproportionate Senate control from low population states, electoral college, variable supreme court numbers from 8 to 9 depending on party in power, et. al.) and then never win another public office again. This is their last grasp hope to remain in power.
15
The current political crises that are sourced to DJT are not limited to who will succeed him, but how to resolve the crisis of confidence that people have arrived at by witnessing the process of the republican party. They have supported and protected a president who is clearly unfit for the office. Even if they find their spines and stand up to his abuses and either convict him of wrongdoing and expel him from office or find a way to encourage him to resign, perhaps in exchange for not facing prosecution, all that leaves us is the illusion of a party leadership that is only willing to hold their leadership accountable when it is absolutely impossible to deny egregious wrong doing. The democrats are no comfort either, and the electorate in general has come to view every election day as a lesser of two evils choice. The DNC and RNC control who can run and party loyalty trumps, (no pun intended) national interest. That half the voters don't bother to vote is partly explained by the disconnect between the parties and the people who are regarded as their constituency.
4
The plain Republican cloth coat of Nixon's Checkers speech has become a straightjacket. The surrender of the Party of Lincoln has become complete and it is now the Party of Trump. Lincoln weeps. Were he alive today, he would have left this party some time ago. Nominating someone else is a quaint notion and not likely to occur to the howling mob now in charge.
7
Mr. Kristol,
Have you met the Republican base? Have you seen the Trump campaign rallies? If you have, does it seem like Trump's supporters take governing, policy, etc. seriously or does Trump's base seem like the crazed members of a cult based on Trump's personality alone? This is exactly what the Republican base wants. They love Trump and his chaos. I suspect many members of Trump's base find their own lives chaotic and they are reflecting that in their choice of Presidential candidates.
19
Dream on, Mr. Kristol. The Republicans are the architects and masons of the prison to which they now find themselves confined. They gave up their souls a long time ago and keep reminding us of it with each new judicial appointment. Trump will be the Republican nominee even if he shoots somebody on Fifth Avenue. His actions have already hurt far more people than that.
41
With the high approval rating of trump among party members (and no one else), the question is indeed whether those few with their wits still about them will in fact LEAD their party, rather than follow the followers of trump.
14
The RNC has already canceled several state primaries and caucuses. Seems like they are all in.
22
@Jane K
Isn't it just 4 states?
South Carolina, Nevada, Kansas, and Arizona so far. It is still possible that more states can cancel their primaries in the next month. This occurred 6 months prior to their primary date and does not give Republicans or Independents choice in the primary.
It means Trump will be elected to run for President in their state with no input from voters.
Kristol points to a pathway for the redemption of the Republican Party that would open the possibility of stability in 2020 and victory in 2024. But Trump doesn't care about redemption of the Party. He wants to survive.
Kristol might have better luck to convince those concerned about Trump's foreign policy to not nominate Trump. Bolton is already speaking out about North Korea. Many are concerned about Saudi Arabia. Others see problems in relations with Russia. No doubt there will also be words about Afghanistan and the Taliban from Bolton. Trump's foreign policy coupled with impeachable offenses of concern to much of the country might be enough to make the Republican nomination competitive.
10
Obviously the party Mr Krystal belonged to has moved and left him behind. There is a vanishingly small possibility that Trump will be revealed to have committed a crime so grossly offensive (worse than murder in broad daylight) and that it will come to light and then he will be not only impeached but convicted and removed from office. Maybe but not likely. More likely we limp through a contentious impeachment with most GOP members of Congress voting with Trump and with articles of impeachment including obstruction of justice passed on a party line vote. It is a safe bet Trump's people will follow his orders, refusing to obey orders to turn over information and claiming executive privilege they will refuse to comply with subpoenas and court orders, intentionally causing a Constitutional crisis. With McConnell busy sabotaging the trial process every step of the way. I expect them to close the Government by not allowing a budget to pass and threatening to crash the economy by allowing a debt default. Keep in mind that if Trump is a Russian agent his objective is to damage weaken and if possible destroy the United States.
28
Democrats will lose if Republicans nominate a competent moderate instead of Trump.
15
@Charles Gervasi - Even that would be preferable, provided they take some measures to clear out the most egregious defenders of trump's vile behaviour and his utter disrespect for the office of president and the law. Except they might not have enough of them left to form a government.
@Charles Gervasi A competent Republican moderate? Most moderates in the Republican party disappeared years ago. It is somewhat like studying ancient history through anthropology: only a few old fossils remain!
1
@Charles Gervasi I guess that leaves the Democrats in very good shape for 2020, then!
1
Of course the Republican leadership supports Trump. He has a 90% approval rating among Republicans!
14
@KJ, and why is that? Why do Evangelicals support Trump, a Man Without a Soul (or morals)? Why do farmers support a man who is destroying their farms? Why does any non-white support a man who despises non whites? Why does any college educated person support an ignorant man who can’t/doesn’t read? Why does any sane person support a man with so many pathological behaviors? Why does any parent support a vindictive bully? Why? Why? Why?
Several highly qualified candidates come to mind; Jeff Flake; William Weld; John Kasich; Ron Thune; Ron Johnson, and Ben Sasse.
7
@Smokey
Yes, except this is a classic populist upheaval resulting from the 2007 economic disaster. People lost their jobs, savings, property. They are "mad as hell" hence a vote to remove the "deep state," etc. Irrational; MAGA. This is an old story, Hitler following WWI.
@Smokey Except Republicans don’t like those guys. 90% support Trump. Get over it!
1
@Smokey, what about MA governor?
Of course they are going to stick with Trump and it should be obvious why. The Republican platform has nothing to offer 90 percent of Americans. Their platform is enrich the rich and dismantle the federal government. That sold in the days of Ronald Reagan but no more. Today the now-impoverished, former middle class, are hopping mad. They don't want a Republican, they want Trump, who is not a Republican but a nationalist. They like is reduced immigration, stand up to China policies. The Republicans have made a deal with him so that he supports some of their policies (fossil fuel subsidies to enrich the rich, for example). He needs them and they need him but they are two completely different species.
34
What if Rep voters who don't want to vote for Trump in their state primaries simply stayed home? Would that be a loud enough NOT AGAIN? Reps don't just have an either / or choice. They don't have to vote Dem or Rep -- just don't vote at all. Would incredibly low voter turnout in the primaries wake up the RNC and lead to nominating someone else?
8
@Marian Not at all. Abstentionism in Republican primaries would be seen as support for the status quo.
6
Every single thing that's happened with Trump was completely predictable from the start, yet establishment Republicans rallied around someone they knew to be unqualified, unprepared, unstable, dishonest, divisive and dangerous. Remember back at the 2016 convention when there was the expectation of a protest, walkout or some sign of defiance, yet the all genuflected to an overgrown toddler. Hard to imagine they'd now summon some morals, principles or courage.
108
The fallacy in this well-meaning piece is that the “Republican Party” imagined here is an anachronism. Today’s GOP is run completely by a cabal of bilious billionaires, and it is not an organization of thinking individuals, but a mob of paid lackeys.
There is no audience for this piece. It is a relic entirely without any context.
77
With all due respect, Mr. Kristol writes as if the people who nominate major party presidential candidates in the United States are party leaders. I am not an expert on U.S. government, but my recollection is that state primaries and caucuses eclipsed party leaders and nominating conventions about a hundred years ago. The only purpose served by party conventions these days is to celebrate the candidates already chosen in state primaries and caucuses.
I bet plenty of Republican leaders would like to follow Mr. Kristol's advice. But responsibility for choosing delegates to the Democrat and Republican conventions are chosen in state primaries. For better or worse, the candidates for president from the two major parties are chosen by primary voters are caucus-goers in the states, you know, everyday people. And those people are decidedly not party leaders. I should also add that some state legislatures, in all their wisdom, have created open primaries in which voters don't even have to be members of a party to vote in that party's primary.
If Mr. Kristol wants to make his point, he should dispense with readers of the New York Times and make his appeal directly to everyday folk, that is, the people who vote in primaries and attend caucuses that choose the delegates to the Republican National Convention.
13
@Metaphor "For better or worse, the candidates for president from the two major parties are chosen by primary voters are caucus-goers in the states, you know, everyday people"
Not always: four states have already declared Trump to be the winner before everyday people had a chance for their say.
https://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2019/09/21/us/ap-us-alaska-no-gop-2020-primary.html
1
If Trump is impeached and convicted (the latter is unlikely, but suppose), can he still run for President? And assume office if he is elected? Does the impeachment have to be repeated?
3
"A history of repeated injuries and usurpations." Thank you for that.
15
.
@John,
.
That sounds impeachable
.
I share all his sentiments agree all his thoughts but The reality of GOP at this moment cannot nominate another name.
GOP is also cannot come back where Trump went down.
Then , it is hard but lets accept splitting the party, but The party of Lincoln as a brand to surrender to Trump Lunatics is also very painful to bear.
Then
There might be another scenario, which is also extremely painful and takes time to achieve. Slowly undo gerrymandering and open the GOP more plural ideas.
If look back 20 years to become a today GOP , Undoing that will take at least 10 year.
In every way , Mr.Kristol admits that Republican party dig very deep itself in this sand which we call gerrymandering.
We also acknowledge , reckoning is just at the door too for GOP.
8
@su.... yes, stop g.mandering by parties by having independent commissions draw voting districts, per uniform rules.
Also pass federal laws on voting rules and stop voter suppression in states.
Most important, reverse Citizens United, as most voters and many politicians favor. Use more public funding and limit mega donor money.
Without this, our downward slide goes on.
35
@Meredith what a Joke....basically your saying that these people are so inept that they can't figure out how to Vote because the Rules in place are not fair....no...that fact is if you look at the numbers a vast number are apathetic to the political system.....and the way the Democrats are carrying-on....that is only going to get worse!
It is hard to believe that the Republican leadership would suddenly discover a backbone. They have cowered before Trump for three years and will NOT change now. Only the majority of Americans can rebuke Trump. Impeach by ballot! November 2020.
44
@Milton Lewis
Then move onto the many trials . . .
As other posters have stated, that is not going to happen. Trump was elected, in part, because the Republican political values of low taxes, minimal regulation, and an activist, internationalism have led to bad outcomes: in Iraq, in the middle east, in increasing inequality at home, and in stagnant wages for the working and middle classes. He has tried to reshape the Party with a nationalist, isolationist foreign policy, high tariffs, an autarchic economic policy, and a severe anti-immigrant policy. He is failing,though, because he is ignoring the reality of globalism, global problems like the spread of nuclear weapons and climate change.
But when he leaves office, he will have had a huge impact on the Republican Party. It will not return to its old values, unless it splits in two parts, one part supporting the old values, another more nationalistic, conservative populist values.
14
The best move would be for a well-known Republican, someone who can take many Republican voters with him, to run as a third party candidate. If the Republicans really wish to rebuild their party, they are better off to lose in 2020, reorganize, and then come back in 2024 or 2028. Personally I hope the Democrats win everything for several decades, but if the Republicans want to do what is best for them, they are best to sacrifice the 2020 election.
40
@Jeff Too bad for the GOP that Mike Pompeo and other Trump flunkies plan to run in '24.
Nothing burger to Republican senate.
End of our nation: meh
8
@Mixilplix Isn't it about time you came up with something other than 'nothing burger?"
When pigs fly!
9
Dream on...
10
it's so very, very sweet to read Mr. Kristol's desperate entreaties, and his obvious hope of concealing that desperation. President Trump represents a new and vital Age for the GOP, and Kristol's cult is on the outside, face pressed against the glass window.
Trump 2020!
8
@Jeton Ademaj
You know many teenagers? I know a lot of them. Some of them simply dislike Trump. Most of the others despise him with a passion. They're the future. It's not looking good for the GOP 10 years from now.
23
@John By that time, we will have had a second Trump presidency, and two terms of the second Trump regime (Ivanka or Donald, Jr......
@Jeton Ademaj
A new and vital age? ? POTUS has ruined the party of Lincoln! Kristol is merely trying to call Republicans back to conscience, intelligence and true service of country.
They should open up primaries in all states and see what happens.
at this point Trump is hoping for hurricane there will be none
2
what's the matter with republicans? they are criminals.
21
Kristol is a sharp, shrewd political observer. I've seen him speak the truth quietly on many shows, but no one listens. He's too calm, cool, and relaxed; TV today is fight club or stay home.
As a digression: I was hypnotized by his ability to use small, accurate words in the first half of this op-ed. I stopped reading for content and just fixated on the endless words of three or four letters. How does he do that? Is it purposive or natural for him? Whatever happened to showing off in print? Bill Buckley would be appalled.
7
@Jim Muncy
I went back and noticed that you are wrong. He used a lot of pretty big words, at least for Trump supporters: enthusiastic, expressed reservations, revelations, obviously, unique, conviction, for example. But had you been correct, I would have guessed that he was writing for Republicans in general, not only for Trump supporters, as neither of the groups are familiar with the big words like interference, foreign, usurpations, repeated, injuries, removal and renomination (all in paragraph three). But at least he didn't use Uranus.
@Jim Muncy
Kristol may have read “Legal Writing Style” by Henry Weihofen. When I was in law school, our legal writing prof detested the stilted, inscrutable nature of so-called legalese, and he therefore selected this Weihofen text for his classes. I will be forever grateful. You can apply the first five chapters to *anything* you’re writing in English. Weihofen makes the case that English, of course, is a Germanic language, and therefore using words of Saxon origin (short, monosyllabic) when possible is often more natural and “satisfying” than those of French or Latin origin (long, pretentious, polysyllabic…). Imagine this: after my graduation and return to my job, I had to write a huge and very technical specification for the Quality Department. I applied “Legal Writing Style”. They raved about the clarity, brevity, and general style of the document! They gave me a $1000 check as an AttaBoy (a corporate-culture reward program ‘back in the day’)!! No one knew anything about my little writing experiment. Absolutely true.
A Republican who hopes to convert Trumpists by quoting Virgil? God, what planet do you think you are on?
40
Mr. Pence. Comment?
3
@Mixilplix
Pence might go down with Trump. The next president may indeed be Pelosi.
I don't think the country will last until January 2021 with Trump in the oval office. Trump needs to be removed as soon as possible, by the end of the year would make sense. If the Republicans in the Senate won't fulfill their Constitutional duty to remove a dangerous and felonious chief executive, it really doesn't matter what happens after that. The party won't choose someone else. They are trapped in a Joycean hell, where their beliefs and institutions will crush them as the Catholic church crushed Ireland in James Joyce's writings. It is time to gather the courage and remove him.
21
As a lifelong Republican I totally support this concept. Especially with a strong candidate. I am embarrassed by the current president regardless of what party he is from. I appeal to all Republicans especially those in Congress to allow us to have a real GOP candidate in a real primary for the 2020 election.
40
@MDM, if Trump is the GOP 2020 nominee you have a binary choice: vote for Trump and get more chaos and authoritative rule or vote for Dem candidate with whom you may disagree on policy but who will lead with Constitutional integrity. The goal of today’s corrupt GOP is to subvert The American Republic to maintain power as a minority republic via massive billionaire financial support and voter interference (gerrymandering, suppression, nullification tactics already well established). Which do you choose? No rationalizations allowed.
1
Yes, technically correct.
But we are talking about Republicans here. Let's be reasonable.
16
Trump will win again. Whether he wants to or not.
5
@Mixilplix
And perhaps we should add "whether he is elected or not." of course he has already done that with a little help.
I don’t think he wanted to win the first time but he doesn’t want to be rejected now. That would be an unbearable blow to his fragile ego. I wonder how he survives these constant threats?
Why would the Republican Party fail to nominate the individual who is the purest expression of what it stands for?
29
Did Trump really change the Republican Party? Look at what he’s done. More tax cuts for the wealthy, less regulation, conservative judges, less minority protections, science denial. Sounds like a prefect republican to me. What folks like Kristol, Romney and other old fashioned republicans hate about Trump is that he’s crass, impolite and not one of their club members. You should be celebrating him but can’t stand that he took over your conceded country club with his blue collar base.
22
@Daniel B, Wow, you nailed it! That IS today’s GOP in a nutshell - pass tax cuts that overwhelmingly favor the wealthy, reduce regulation to the point that public safety and environment are harmed, allow prejudice and racial animus to underpin or policies (while abusing them as much needed workers), have judges in place who will uphold these behaviors as “law.” And, while they are at it, set system up so that they can stay in power by gerrymandering, voter suppression, voter nullification, and the use of foreign interference in our elections via money and propaganda (aka: lies, lies, and more damned lies). What’s not to like?
@Daniel B
Can you give me an operational definition of conservative? You think science denial is a good thing?
I commend never-Trump Republicans like Kristol for being willing to state the obvious: Trump is unfit for office and a threat to the Republic. His call on Republican leadership to repudiate Trump ignores the obvious: the base of the party is supportive of Trump. Sadly, the reasons for this go back some number of years, since the time the party chose to be the champion of white resentment. That built up support for a party whose economic policies (low taxes on the rich, limiting (if not eliminating) the social safety net) are and have been deeply unpopular. Racism, however, still works. It's a bargain with satan.
24
Well, this is odd, coming from the conservative Republican Mr. Kristol, who pushed the party into the Yahoo populist camp by championing the now infamous Sarah Palin as VP on the rightfully reluctant John McCain when he ran for president.
This brilliant decision paved the way for the even more outrageous, inexperienced, and inept Donald J. Trump, who ginned up the Yahoo base to take over the Republican Party and turn it into his Trump Party, with all the calamity. mayhem, and wreckage that has followed in President Trump's wake.
The Yahoo populists ousted traditional conservatives from the ranks of the GOP and struck fear into the hearts of Republican politicians. Trump has re-branded the party with overt white supremacy, guns, bigotry, authoritarianism, lies, and violence. What are the chances the traditional conservatives can gain back their party?
At this point, the best the country can hope for is that the Republican-turned-Trump Party is soundly defeated in 2020 and it goes the way of the Whig Party.
31
As a former Republican voter, I say: this is their only way above this. Get rid of him and return to the law and order party you're supposed to be.
10
Even without Trump it is going to take a major makeover to return the Republican Party to what it used to be. It has strayed too far for too long. Is there anybody still around who remembers what it used to be? And who would listen to them if they were still around? I have little hope that the Republican Party my family was proud to belong to for generations will ever be resurrected and maybe it shouldn’t be. Maybe a totally defeated party and starting from scratch is the only way and maybe that will only happen if somehow our nation is able to completely restructure the election system from how it is funded to how districts are drawn to ethical standards that are expected and not just dreamed about.
10
I’m so glad I left the Republican Party. Took my entire family with me, too.
22
@HadesBabe Well done! Thank you!
Doesn't hurt to hope I guess, but I've got a Benjamin that says don't hold your breath!
1
Republicans have parted company with reality and been separated from it since Reagan. Sow, reap. The chickens have all come home to roost. This is the natural result of forty years of lies.
31
The Republican Party of today is the White Citizens Council of Montgomery, or Selma, or Macon, or one of those other die-hard segregationist places of the 1950s and 1960s. It is the party of the white people, fearful of a rising black and brown populace that threatens to overthrow their control of the levers of power and to invade their neighborhoods and schools. Of course these same racist feelings dominated places like Cicero, Illinois and South Boston during those years. George Wallace saw this in 1968, as did Pat Buchanan and Richard Nixon. The modern, white, Republican Party dates from that era. Trump is simply the latest and most repugnant iteration of the same theme. Reagan prettified the ugly face of modern Republicanism, but at its core it remains an essentially racist party and represents the majority of white Americans.
24
I don’t think the Republican Party represents the majority of white Americans but the majority of the party is comprised of white Americans and since our country is much more diverse than that it no longer has relevance.
Mister Kristol is interested in bringing sanity back to the Republican Party. But it's too late. We need a strong conservative party in America, but the GOP has not only become insane, but fascist. It is no longer a conservative organization. Look at its demagogic lover of dictators in the Oval Office and its suspension of primary elections in some states. It believes only in winning. Conservatives must look elsewhere for sanity. Forming a new conservative party is the only chance we have to preserve morality and the Constitution in America.
10
@David
Maybe it's time for the Conservatives to recognize that they are just plain old wrong.
The future is that a way--->
Not That a was<---
The Constitution is doing fine being a document that is relative to today's macroeconomic global environment. Morality can not be legislated.
We know these things now. We've known them for a long time.
It's time to recognize that Conservatism is more of the problem than it is of the solution.
Nothing personal,
PLAU
DPR
2
@Dredpiraterobts I'm not a conservative. I'm a Leftist with a few conservative beliefs. But in a free society there must be at least two viable political parties. Conservatives are needed to help hold the Far Left in check. I'm on the Near Left, because political correctness is a form of fascism, too. It also empowers the Right politically. Trump wouldn't be in the Oval Office without political correctness.
7
@David
So if we became a one party nation under the Dems how long do you think they would all stick together? I wouldn't give them 6 months till we had at least three daughter parties emerging. And that would in my mind be all to the good.
When your only unifying value is power you end up with Trump (and McConnell)
9
Never, ever has Mitt Romney looked so good.
10
The USA is not going to allow another Trump term. Should somehow the lower intelligent MAGA base afford another electoral college victory, the majority intelligent citizens will take to the streets, clog the highways, disrupt the airports, stop the rail system and force Trump out of office. The Hong Kong protests will seem tame in comparison.
The Republican party must present a more worthy candidate than Trump in 2020, or face a revolt like none ever seen before in the USA.
9
@GP
No way. Unfortunately.
That may very well happen. The Civil War will begin if he is re-elected
1
I thought some people were running against Trump. But a number of states are not holding primaries. If there aren't even primaries, you can't exactly run against Trump or have voters choose someone else.
You should also read Peter Wehner's op-ed. I think some Republicans are too scared that their constituents will turn on them and they will lose the next election or worse if they abandon Trump. We are at a moment where party loyalty is paramount. Republicans might not abandon Trump out of fear of the Democrats winning. And Democrats for too long have hated Trump and talked about impeachment because they were so afraid and angered by losing to Republicans in 2016. It's a shame, what Trump did is beyond the pale, and yet the biggest threat to the country is probably partisan tribalism. If people are too loyal to their party, they can't compromise to solve problems or admit when Trump has gone too far.
But hey, if Trump is still in office and running for president next fall, you can always vote for Elizabeth Warren :-)
11
William Kristol has been a constant critic of President Trump and has never supported him. He has criticized him at every opportunity. President Trump is still popular by Republicans and has his supporters. The economy has been great and the stock market is strong. People are seeing their lives improved under our president and few have little interest in dropping their support. Unless there is damaging information that is revealed from the impeachment inquiry which is unlikely, they will not desert him. He has stood by them and they with him.
9
@KMW
90% of the recovery, and its momentum, are the result of the previous administration.
Immigration has slowed, but everything else he's done has not been good for the country (environmental roll backs, economic policy based solely on lowering interest rates. tax break that benefited the rich, no foreign policy except cater to dictators, etc.
44
@Mike
And many would argue that the slowing of immigration has not been good for the economy. Many businesses are struggling because of a lack of workers.
31
Trump has had very little to do with the economy, save for passing a fiscally irresponsible tax cut for the wealthy that blew a huge hole in the budget and added massively to the national debt. His only other measurable actions have been the entirely counterproductive trade war with China (“easy to win”?) and his flagellation of his own appointee to the Fed. He has no understanding of economics, no desire to learn, and has do e absolutely nothing for the economy as a whole, which is now slowing.
What else has he done for “the people”, pray tell? No infrastructure plan, no workable immigration plan, no health care reform (remember “we’re going to scrap Obamacare and replace it with something better”?), no major legislation at all despite two years of Republican majorities in both chambers of Congress. Just nearly three years of vitriol, bile, and contortions in front of foreign autocrats. But he tells his supporters sweet nothings about how he’s fighting for them, and they eat it up. Pitiful.
48
It's always a joy to see a quotation from Vergil, whose epic masterpiece is little known these days. Kristol quotes the Sybil's words accurately--but Aeneas actually returns from the Underworld without toil or struggle, through the gate of false dreams.
That apparent contradiction is one of the great interpretive challenges of the Aeneid. But as a parallel for "Republicans of conscience," the departure is still apt: it's not that hard. Just do the right thing. For country, for duty. Go.
20
Without the years of lies, calumnies and yeoman service building up the Republican brand, to which William Kristol avidly contributed, Trump would never have been possible.
Funny, how these guys love the policy, but hate the salesman. When they start returning their tax cuts to the U.S. Treasury, we'll know their serious.
39
The Republican party can do better but they can also do far worse. He has been unpopular by some Republicans and William Kristol is no friend. The economy is soaring, people are gainfully employed, illegal immigration is down. There are few candidates who could improve on these. He still has his supporters and unless the country takes a downturn he is guaranteed to be reelected.
10
@KMW um, no, you could not be more wrong, the Donny's POTUS polices and agenda (if you recall: he has none !!!) have zero do do with our economy, he's reaping the 8 year benefits of the Obama terms, as it has been for the last 3 decades: the GOP hoses things up across the board, and the DEMs have to clean up the mess ....also, the GOP of 2019 is a sinking ship due to the Donny, without question
14
He is very dishonest and mean spirited. I think we cannot really do much worse.
11
I have a friend from my college days who was raised in a very conservative evangelical church and has always been sincere in her beliefs. She is also very thoughtful and intelligent. A while ago she added a post to her Facebook page that was highly critical of Donald Trump. She doesn’t post that often, and I thought it was a very brave thing for her to do. How many others like her are out there, and how much would they welcome an alternative to Trump, who goes against so many of their fundamental beliefs? I think there may be more than we realize.
29
@Carla It is not what the pooling show; it is now the Trump's party
I want the Republicans to live with the harvest of their decision to promote Trump. I do not John Kasich or some other reasonable man (that term does not include Romney) simply because I want them to be so badly beaten that they have to realize they are no longer an effective political party.
When Lindsay Graham goes back to his pre-Trump song and dance about how horrid Trump is, then I believe they may be offered legitimacy.
16
@Joe Solo
Graham has shot his legitimacy for good and all. How can anyone take him seriously?
15
@Richard
How could a reasonable person ever take him seriously?
It is unlikely that any Republican running for President in 2020 will have a better chance than Trump who is unlikely to be reelected. But it would be the first step for the GOP to recover from having carried water for the worst individual to ever occupy the WH. The stench of his Presidency will linger around the GOP for quite some time. If most of the GOP vote against impeachment and renominate Trump the stench will be overpowering.
15
@Serban This depends on whom the Dems have as a candidate. A lot of people are skeptical of Warren.
I personally would consider voting for a moderate, intelligent person from either party who will work for the food of the country as a whole, not just his or her voters.
4
Sometimes the press doesn't know it's place. Last Sunday George Stephanopoulos deemed Biden's threats to cut off US money to Ukraine to shut down an investigation of his son not looking into. Maybe it was this Kristol or was it comedian Billy Cyrstal, my memory, that said about Nixon "That guy shouldn't be President."
It didn't work out for Hillary when the Press and my party picked her. It was a big negative. The people should decide, shouldn't they. Why don't these quitters just run and give the people a chance to vote instead of showing up at the convention? Do we need Stephanopoulos and Kristol picking who we should be
If they are really scared and certain Trump winning again and want to steal another election from them they have a problem with the American people. Bullwork never read it.
2
@JoeG
HRCs' problem was THAT she 1st sd. she wasnt interested in running for the nomination & would back the nominee instead & after awhile she went back on her word by either her own choice or bills' pushing & entered the campaign anyhow & thats ok - people are entitled to change their' minds if they want - BUT " RFK " said the same thing(s) & all for the same reasons.., & in the end - he went to califoirnia & was murdered & i actually thought that HRC was going to end up like RFK - but she didnt & she didnt get out & do much campaigning either & that too was her down-fall " name recognition is everything & following the polls isnt either fore THE ONLY REAL POLL THAT MATTERS is the one on election day ! ..
John Kasich was the "last man standing" as a Republican in the 2016 campaign vs Donald Trump, and I still get disturbed Kasich was not the GOP nominee, when articles like this excellent essay by William Kristol are presented. A brief review of Kasich's government service and publications should lead one to a plausible view that the 67 year old Kasich would be an ideal bi-partisan centrist, with broad support of voters in all parties, and an effective and ethical alternative to Pres. Trump. John Kasich's record includes 9 terms / 18 years as a U.S. House rep of Ohio (1983-2001), including 6 years as Chairman of the House Budget Committee, the last time the U.S. Budget was balanced, and 2 limited terms / 8 years as Governor of Ohio (2011-2019) - both positions with documented sterling accomplishments. Further insight to Kasich is his latest 2017 book "Two Paths - America Divided or United" - and a bumper sticker "Country Over Party - Always". A nomination of Kasich for 2020 - albeit highly unlikely, along with personal reluctance to be a contender - would be a momentous step to bring America back from the dangerous precipice in which the country is currently positioned in domestic and foreign affairs.
9
Nixon committed treason, negotiating with the North Vietnamese before the '68 election, holding off peace so that he could get elected. Lots of Americans and Vietnamese died as a result. Reagan committed treason, negotiating with the Iranians before the '80 election so that Carter could not conclude the hostage crisis. Trump's actions are smaller, if louder. The G.O.P. is the party of the rich and the party of racism. It's the party of patriarchal control of women. Honor?
29
The numbers just don't support Kristol's call for a different Republican nominee. Trump's base will not waver in the face of the most overwhelming evidence of corruption, and he enjoys nearly 90 percent support from Republicans. If the goal is for Trump to lose the election, let's see a respected Republican (Kasich or Weld come to mind) run as an independent and siphon votes away from Trump. I suspect even a devout Republican like Kristol would rather see that than having Trump through 2024.
12
Like John Boehner said: "There is no Republican Party, there's a Trump Party." At the GOP convention they will sing his praises ad nauseum and enthusiastically nominate The Donald as their savior and standard bearer.
The scary thing is he just might win, especially if Dems nominate someone he can label a "socialist." Don't forget the popular vote is irrelevant. The only number that counts is 270 in the Electoral College.
6
"The party can do better."
Apparently not. They didn't have to nominate him in 2016, either. But, they did, because they really don't care about this country, nor it's citizens. They care about staying in power. That's all.
30
@eheck Could have done better in 16 with Johnson/Weld. Johnson a little off the wall but would have been better than the two candidates and we wouldn't be in this pickle.
Weld has shown he can be a Republican winner in a strong Democrat State.
Isn't that what we need... someone that can soothe both parties and get us back to normalcy?
Too bad the media focus doesn't give the two Republican challengers the time of day...... YET!
2
I wish the GOP would read the article and respect the opinion. The arguments are clear and easy. Another republican candidate would be a great alternative for the country and it would be a better way for the United States then maybe further four years of Trump.
3
You are aware that the Republican Party has already canceled primaries in several states.
The modern Republican Party loathes democracy, and subverts it whenever possible.
It should reestablish itself on more comfortable ground in, say, Russia, Saudi Arabia, or North Korea.
35
The Dems did the same thing for Obama in 2012. Selective memory is so passe.
1
William K was a contributor to this mess. The poor, minorities, those without health insurance all suffered because he championed policies that hurt rather than helped average people. So what WK is really advocating is someone to be nominated who will restore the same kind of sick conservative policies that got us here in the first place. The moment he supports Bernie Sanders and only then will we know he is at least somewhat contrite.
14
You can't beat the President with the current Republicans who have announced, they are simply not electable. If a real challenger could be found, they would have to make the case that we are not better off than 4 years ago and NOBODY can make the case. Therefore, Mr. Trump will be returned for 4 more years, and the liberals and RINOS will have to wait for an open seat to try again. If the Democrats put up a socialist, like Liz Warren, she will be lucky to carry a few states. The deep state can't stand being marginalized and they are trying every dirty trick to stop him, but it won't work.
2
The GOP should endorse and nominate Nicki Haley, she would win in a landslide. She has mentioned Madeleine Albright & Hilary Clinton as mentors. A child of immigrants and an unblemished record.
Kendall Turner
3
@Kendall Turner one problem: Ms. Hailey served this President. I’d vote for her but Dems will pound her for her time as UN Ambassador and supporter of you know who
@Kendall Turner
LOL! The Grand Old Party of Racists and Misogynists would rather die than nominate Nikki Haley
2
Why would so many shallow and hollow men suddenly find a spine? Totally unrealistic expectation.
13
The Republicans can certainly nominate someone else to run for President in 2020, but to do so would be political suicide. Why all these pundits continue with their hand wringing on this topic is beyond me. It is perfectly obvious why Republicans are still joined at the hip to Trump.
The answer? The 800-lb elephant in the room - Trump voters. The vast majority of them are still in lockstep with him, three years on, in an absolute disaster of a presidency. They've seen countless acts of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, misogyny and actual felonies committed by this man, and they're still under the kool-aid's influence. They'll never leave him.
It is unfathomable to me why political columns such as this one are still published. Trump will leave office only at a time of his choosing, because he has some 40% of our citizens who would do literally anything for him. They love him because of his bigotry, his lawbreaking, his willful ignorance, not in spite of them. These qualities are precisely why they voted for him.
Except apparently no one wants to admit what is so starkly obvious. Political writers would rather pillory the gutless Democrats, the craven Republicans, or just about anybody else except for who is really responsible for Trump's consolidation of absolute power. It is his voters. Every single one of them bears responsibility for this nation's nightmare of the past three years, and it's way past time that someone called them out.
11
@Charles Dodgson That is true of the loud ones, but there are many that voted for him because they disliked Hillary and didn’t want a president moving us further left.
2
Ah, yes, Bill Kristol. Who says,
"You have a unique chance to act for your party and your country. You can play a role in overcoming the shame and stain of the past three years, and in the reformation of a once great party."
This from one of the architects of neoconservatism, invading Iraq in 2003, and one of the architects of the defeat of Bill Clinton's health care plan in 1994.
Someone who has somehow reached respectability and is allowed on progressive networks like MSNBC because he's now one of the 'conservatives speaking out against Trump.' Somebody (that's you, Bill) who I really wish would go away.
12
Well, I'm a life-long Democrat and therefore, probably have no business chiming in. But I will, if only to say that I miss real Republicans! Of the three that are currently running for President, I would not be aghast or disappointed in having Bill Weld be the next President. Of course, I'm much more excited about Elizabeth Warren and Pete Buttigieg, but no matter who it is--as long as it is not that despicable monster, Drumpf--I'll be able to sleep better at night and perhaps my body can relax from it's constant state of tension and anxiety.
C'mon, Republicans--step up and help Democrats rescue the Country. Please.
5
The last Republican I voted for was Spiro Agnew for governor of Maryland. He was running against a racist Democrat and I didn't know at the time that Agnew was a crook.
If I had known then what I know now, I'd have just stayed home on election day. Not all the 2020 GOP candidates are crooks, but they're all Republicans. No thanks.
7
The whispers about Nikki Haley running are pathetic.
To date, the only comment she has had on the Impeachment Inquiry is to lash out at Kampala Harris, calling her (admittedly weak) defense of Biden “embarrassing.” Then Haley went on to smear Biden.
A Profile in Courage—not.
4
At this point the R'n party is DJT and DJT is the R'n party. There is no distinction. Once all the never Trump pols prostrated themselves before DJT that was it.
7
If the Democrats lost the election to Bill Weld, at least I wouldn't feel like I needed to shoot myself.
"The Party can do better" - That's really not asking much.
9
Perhaps Kristol means well. But I can't forget that like all Never Trump Republicans he had no problem with his party's use of racist and homophobic appeals to win elections prior to the advent of Trump. Only when those appeals were used in the service of a candidate who did NOT come from his wing of the GOP, the big business wing, did he find himself unable to stomach this disgusting behavior. When George W. Bush does it, apparently, it's fine. When Trump does it. however, it's intolerable. Mr. Kristol, who do you think you're fooling?
7
The R's are up to their necks in the Big Muddy. That they will turn around and not nominate trump is extremely unlikely. That they will wish they had turned around come Nov 4th 2020 seems quite possible however.
2
It’s not about the party anymore. This presidency is not normal! Nope, totally nuts. It isn’t partisanship anymore. Had for instance Marco Rubio or even Ted Cruz won, we’d heave some sighs, mumble under our breath, share an email, write a congressperson and go on with our lives for 4 years. When Al Gore was defeated by the electoral college and his refusal to allow the country to suffer one more hanging chad, we got George Bush. We grew to loath Bush, not at first, but it got harder after he started that war, you know the one, oops, I mean two. Ah, at least he was goofy-funny. The laughs we had! We’d vote for him over Trump now—in a heartbeat. We’d vote for John McCain even with Sarah Palin, still, as Vice President. We’d vote for Mitt Romney, thousands of binders full of women (and men) would. Heck, we’d all agree to become Mormons for a year (of course free tickets to Book of Mormon included in deal) to elect him over Trump. It’s not party. Trump is completely unfit for office. His mental state alarms us. His divisiveness both worries and enrages us. His sleaziness in his business and personal life repulses us, his pettiness and thirst for humiliating and punishing others both saddens and riles us, his constant self-aggrandizement bores us, his absolute fetish for praise and loyalty make us puke in our mouths a little. The atheists among us are considering prayer! That’s how bad it is.
17
Trump even makes Nixon look good.
4
Gore lost because he failed to carry Tennessee and Arkansas if memory serves. He was at war with Clinton so got no help from a popular incumbent
Pence is part of Trumps cabal as VP there is no way he is going to come out of this squeaky clean...
7
Kristol has never liked Trump. Weld showed his absolute ignorance a few years ago when he attempted to run for president. He's on the taxi squad and always will be. Trump will survive this latest onslaught and be reelected.
2
Republicans didn't have to nominate Sarah Palin in 2008, either. They didn't have to listen to neocons like Mr. Kristol starting, in his case, in 1985. Trump didn't come from nowhere.
7
More rubbish. The only problem that republicans have with trump is that he is so blatant. They all love his policy decisions regarding everything: environment, deregulation,taxes,bigotry. They just want him to be slicker about it. Like Ryan,and McConnell and the H.W.Bush people. Trump's personality draws too much attention to the destruction that the gop is perpetrating.
7
The thing Mr. Kristol misses is that the Republican Party is no longer a political party, but a cult. And Trump is their cult leader. The Republicans have done a spectacular job sowing hate, fear, misogyny, prejudice, intolerance, idiocy and anti-intellectualism all in the name of putting the party above everything. To serve those masters which you have exploited by taking their copious rivers of money.
And now, Mr. Kristol, you say the party can do better? No they won't, too late. Now you have seen the light? Trump is the result of the actions of the party you supported without hesitation, you should have thought about where this would go twenty or more years years ago. You sir, were part of the problem.
The best thing to happen in the 2020 elections to save our country is all Republicans to be voted out of office.
7
@Annie
Unfortunately, however, the Democrats, for the most part, have done little or no better in moving our country into a better direction.
Mitt Romney has been better already and should be the 2020 GOP nominee
3
Right on.
The abdication of principles by Republican office-holders is shocking.
Wake up! The emperor has no clothes! Say it! Fix it!
Your nation is counting on you.
2
thank you, Bill. It's a pleasure to read your op-ed in the NYTIMES. I've been hoping that a solid Republican would run for the nomination and the three that are running are certainly more than credible. If, at least, these candidates can make GOP voters take a serious look at them, then that may be a break in Trump's dam.
1
The spineless Republicans will remain faithful to the Supreme Leader.
1
Too little too late Mr. Kristol. Trump controls the GOP.
Mr. Kristol, the last four years have proven without doubt that there are virtually no "Republican leaders of conscience and courage."
Only a few Republicans, those who have little or nothing to lose, have even seen the need to speak out in their supposedly "bold" voices to gently question the obvious immorality and mental instability and idiocy of Trump.
Mr. Kristol, the time has past to rescue the Republican Party. It has already descended fully into that awful place Virgil warned them about.
Your party is dead.
1
Maybe we could invite some decent R'ublican candidates to the Democratic debates.
Bill Kristol is missing the point— the Republican Party has died and been reborn as the Trump Party.
4
Sheesh...after championing anti-intellectual candidates and wink-and-nod racism for decades, when it gets beyond the pale (as defined by him), he's reduced to quoting Virgil. Reject the racism and come on over to the only functioning major party in America, Mr. Kristol.
2
For almost 40 years I've disagreed with everything that Bill Kristal has said. He was wrong on South Africa, wrong on the Contra War, wrong on trickle-down, wrong on gay marriage, wrong on climate change, and wrong on pressing John McCain to take Sarah Palin as his VP running mate. But--for once!!!--William Kristol is 100% correct.
@Michael
And that redeems him roughly 1%.
Would he like to suggest Sarah Palin again?
1
I was a life long republican until recently. When is the GOP going to stand up and do something about Trump. He is an outrage. The party needs to step in and end this insanity. Nominate a sane candidate and replace this incompetent president.
3
Says the man who gave us Sarah Palin...
5
Unless Trump is impeached by the house and then convicted by the Republican-controlled Senate, you're probably stuck with him. As you well deserve. Where were you, Bill Kristol, when Republicans insisted that low taxes for the rich = reduced federal deficits, as sure as 1+1=3? When they insisted that our elections were riddled with in-person voter fraud? That ebola and terrorists were pouring across our southern border? That welfare queens (read: black people) or paroled convicts (read: black people) were our worst threats? That family values (read: no gays) and Christian values (read: no gays) maintained by your party were the only things between us and Gomorrah?
You're right, you don't have to nominate Trump in 2020. You don't have to nominate him to show the rest of us what you and your holier-than-thou leaders and constituents and media shills are really all about. It's already plain as day, irrespective of your 2020 presidential candidate.
2
#NeverTrump works for me.
Neocons have been out in the wilderness for far too long. And it shows in Kristol's delusions here.
1
The Republican Party has crossed their river Styx long ago. The disastrous Iraq War brought on from the Neocons sealed their descent into Hell. Trump is just a new embodiment of the evil that lurked there all along. McConnell not allowing Garland a seat on SCOTUS. The sickening sabotage of Obama’s very rational policies and proposals intending to make him a one term President. Actually the corruption is so much deeper than just the Presidency. Look at our disgraceful Attorney General trying to fabricate dirt on political opponents for Trump. Will he have the decency to recuse? I would wager not. His whitewashing and distortion of the Mueller report and sycophancy is well documented by now. The Republican Party has welcomed and embraced all of this. They deserve to all burn in hell for their morally bankrupt behavior.
Maybe you can start over with a brand new Political Party with a new name and a few ethical principles thrown in for good measure this time around. Call it the Old Wine in the New Bottle Party or OWNB. There’s plenty of time when this can be re-envisioned during the wilderness years after Dems have achieved majorities of the Presidency, House. and Senate for the next decade or two.
1
But why would the Republican party not want Trump? Have they not by their actions made themselves the party of imprisoning children in steel cages? Have they not by their actions made themselves the party of asking foreign governments to interfere in our democratic processes? Have they not by their actions made themselves the party of denigrating American POW's and every other American patriot by giving Trump a pass on his shameful treatment of John McCain? Smooth the descent, and easy the way, indeed; Republicans arrived in hell quite some time ago and they seem quite content staying there.
4
Oh Bill, you deluded former Republican. I say "former" because you haven't yet realized your kind no longer belong in the deranged and racist mob that the GOP has become. You don't know if removal is warranted yet? Even a no-trumper like yourself? SERIOUSLY mate? Maybe, just maybe, our idiotic man-baby President will be humiliated just enough to resign. Until then, men like you Mr Kristol need to...as my mother would say it - wake up and smell the coffee. It smells an awful lot like treason.
2
Romney Republicans will clutch their pearls as they pull the lever for Trump. But if Trump isn't on the ticket, the white supremacists that put Trump over the top won't show up on election day. Like it or not, the Republican party can't turn on Trump or the racist wing of their party will abandon them.
12
But they do, Blanche, they do.
And they will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-SJQdREDKM
1
Who else would have dared TRY to employ black and Latino Americans so well that their unemployment rates are the lowest in a very long time, perhaps in all our history?
If Mr. Kristol's friend Barack Obama wouldn't raise a hand to get people employed like that, what Democrat would now?
You already knoew the answer. Donald Trump and Ronald Reagan will be remembered as the heroes of employment on this experiment in democracy.
4
@L osservatore
Who else would dare to knowingly hire undocumented immigrants, and then base his candidacy on getting rid of undocumented immigrants?
2
@L osservatore
Black unemployment rate when Obama took office: 12.7%
When Obama left office: 8.0%
Now: 5.5%.
I doubt that African Americans are worried that “Obama didn’t raise a hand” when the unemployment rate actually dropped by nearly 5 points while he was in office.
And I also doubt that African Americans believe that half that decline under Trump makes Trump the Great White Savior.
3
@gratis Polling showed that the huge and increasing number of crimes committed by illegal aliens was the TOP issue for conservative and GOP voters.
The GOP won't nominate anyone else. They're a Trump subsidiary. Fortunately many of those go bankrupt.
7
Republicans Don’t Have to Nominate Trump in 2020
True
The party can do better
True
But the more the Democrats attack the President, the smaller the room for maneuver for Republicans that wish to do so.
Nothing unites like a bunch of diverse Republicans like an attack from Democrats sworn to put Republicans out of office.
Conversely, nothing unites the Democrats, that failed to resolve the difference between their left wing and main stream, than to attack Trump.
And so we go.... to the detriment of the United States who faces the problem that China has a plan to surpass it by 2025
Since the GOP in several states has cancelled the primaries it does not seem that looking at anyone else is on their agenda. Instead, they are making it almost impossible for anyone else to get a toe in the door.
14
The author and others are speaking of the Republican party as though it were some separate, freestanding entity apart from Trump. It is not. He owns the party; it is now the party of Trump. 20 GOP representatives have already announced their retirement plans. Most are young enough to seek another term. They simply can not compete in the new GOP--call it Thunderdome--that Trump has made his own.
Theodore Roosevelt could show up at a GOP caucus, and have himself shouted down and out of the hall by the new rabid right. And Kristol is but one of many who opened the door to that pestilence.
22
The "shame and stain" goes back a lot more than three years. For that once great party to really reform itself will require it to understand why Trump was an inevitability, not an aberration.
20
@bob
Indeed, and Bill Kristin was there for all of it except the last 3 years. Pfft!
There is nothing to save. There is no more Republican party. All that remains is an extremist-right-wing-conspiracy-theory-pushing-propaganda-machine fueled by cult of personality.
People like Bill Kristol act like it was an accident that Trump was nominated in 2016 and want to believe that he doesn't reflect the party. That's not what happened! His nomination was symptomatic of what the GOP has become.
I wish it wasn't so, but every conservative in my life, even the ones I used to respect, have effectively lost their minds over the Trump presidency and are currently living in total denial of reality, much like the man himself.
38
Ask any criminal, "Why did you commit the crime?" The answer, "I never thought I would get caught."
7
May I ask the point of this column?
We don't know if Mr. Trump will be impeached. I hope not, at least unless there is more evidence of wrongdoing (he's unlikely to shoot somebody dead on 5th Avenue because he is terrified of guns). Because even if he is impeached, Mr. Trump has far more than the 34 toadies he needs in the Senate to avoid conviction and removal. The possibility of him being denied the nomination is exactly zero. The "binary choice" is faced by less than 10% of registered Republicans. The rest are perfectly satisfied with the President we have.
Fortunately they represent a minority of Americans. The rest of us are not satisfied and will vote him out of office, as neither Mr. Steyer, Ms Williamson or Mr. Yang will be the Democratic candidate.
The first act of the new Democratic President should be appointment of a special counsel. A Grand Jury will be empaneled, testimony heard, indictments issued. A trial will ensue, a Prosecutor will represent the People of the United States, a jury will convict, a judge will sentence.
We do not jail political opponents in this country, but we do execute traitors.
Dan Kravitz
5
@Dan Kravitz
And it is essential that the next president keeps a very long arms distance from the DOJ and the AG. It might be best if the new AG and new President never meet or communicate. Trumps voters will be looking for any excuse to build another conspiracy theory.
1
Republicans can do better? Look at who’s running on the democratic side. Come up with 10 or 15 republicans that are comparable...go ahead, I’ll wait.
3
Gee, look at that: two opponents being interviewed side-by-side after their debate, one waiting respectfully while the other ponders a question before answering it. Hope for the Republican Party ...?
There’s more fantasy in this piece than there is in the works of Tolkien and CS Lewis combined.
The only way Republicans will dump Trump is if his base turns against him, and at this point it’s hard to imagine what could lead to that.
The Republican Party made a Faustian bargain way back in the 1960s and 70s with the “Southern Strategy”. They forgot, or perhaps didn’t care, that when you sell your soul to the devil, sooner or later he comes around to collect. And that bill is long overdue.
17
@K. Anderson. Well put. Where were the GOP handwringers when Nixon dogwhistled about law and order, when Ronald Reagan went to Philadelphia, MS and said "I believe in states' rights," when Pat Buchanan shouted the word "homosexual" 47 times in his 1992 GOP Convention keynote address?
2
"'that the President of the United States is using the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2020 U.S. election.' We know this latest instance is part of a history of repeated injuries and usurpations. We may not yet know whether removal from the office to which President Trump was elected is warranted."
ugh. neoliberals need to stop with this nonsense. the very act of asking a foreign country to interfere with our election is grounds for removal from office.
9
There are those who believe that members of this administration and Trump sycophants - William Barr, Jeff Sessions, Rex Tillerson, Mitch McConnell, Wilbur Ross, Steve Mnuchin, Kellyanne Conway, etc. - are so soiled that their careers and legacies have been destroyed. The fact that we see this column suggests otherwise.
2
As a liberal, I like you, Mr. Kristol, and I enjoy your writings in the Bulwark. (and after Trump is gone, we can go back to being on opposite sides).
3
Kasich/Flake would be a good team. But Trump & Co. have done so much damage to the GOP that I don’t think even they can fix this train wreck.
4
Mr. Kristol and his small band of repentant Republican brothers would be a lot more credible if they acknowledged their own participation in their party ‘s actions since the Southern strategy. They have happily enjoyed the victories produced by platforms of hatred, nativism, sexism, and bigotry for 50 years. Now they say they are shocked, simply shocked at Trump, the inevitable fruit of their labors. Weld and the rest of them seem more like smarmy hypocrites than courageous dissenters.
10
"Or they can step up and act for the honor of their party and the good of their country."
From a RINO who thinks he still has gravitas (in a party more concerned with gravy).
I suppose it has to be said, but it smacks of thumping the collection plate to simulate making an offering.
3
Kristol, Brooks, Stephens and Will have been exiled from the GOP. That's not to say their ideas ever had any relevance to the actual behavior of the party; they were the doctrinal "theorists" who gave the appearance of normalcy to a party only bent on upwards wealth extraction and cruelty. Even now, they all still have jobs because media, such as the Times, would never feature the kind of rabid, partisan, rants that are the backbone of the real-world GOP.
Just like Trump has managed to surround himself with the worst of the worst, incompetents and stooges no one ever expected could exist, in this age, in such large numbers, the GOP has become a repository of the opportunists, hypocrites, and amoral corporate flunkies for which a spine is a definite disqualifier. Good luck Mr. Kristol. May we all enjoy our own fantasies as much as you do yours.
7
What totally confuses me is Trump's support by the so called "Family Values" crowd and Evangelicas when he is possibly the living and breathing exampelar of "The Seven Deadly Sins" than any other individual in the country.
7
@Milliband
Part of the explanation is that some casting themselves as "Evangelical Christians" have a white robe in their closet. They want you to think it is a choir robe, but it is not. The white robe has a pointed hood and eye hole cut outs.
3
@Milliband
Many believe that Trump is evil, but that God sometimes uses evil people as an instrument for good--'good' here meaning conservative judges that will protect the unborn. Still the hypocrisy is blatant. How can they claim to care so much about the unborn and then the minute the baby is out, it doesn't matter what happens to it. They don't care if it ends up separated from its mother and in a cage! HYPOCRISY!
Too little too late.
You cannot first build Fox News for two decades, and have GOP leaders spread horrible lies about Obamacare, the economy, jobs, taxes, the deficit, foreign policy etc., and then hope that somewhere there still are GOP politicians "of conscience and courage" out there.
Irving Kristol launched neoconservatism, which is based on the idea that ordinary citizens are too "stupid", as he literally wrote in the WSJ, to logically understand what the best policies for the country are, so conservative leaders MUCH build their campaigns and rhetoric on mere "sentiment".
For years now, that meant SYSTEMATIC lying, by ALL main GOP politicians - combined with systematic enriching of the wealthiest, to the detriment of the other 99%.
To hope that now someone whose sense of morality would still be intact would be able to be accepted by the GOP, let alone nominated, is to live in the "alternative facts" bubble that neoonservatives have built themselves in the first place ...
8
You suggestion in any other time might be taken seriously.
In the context of today's Republicans; Stonewall McConnell, AG-turned-mob-boss-attorney Barr, and Rudy-lost-his marbles-Giuliana, good luck.
Conscience? What's that?
Just listen to Lindsay Graham: "We can’t have process designed to destroy the presidency that relies on anonymous accusers or hearsay accusations. If the transcript of the phone call is the only basis for impeachment – what a joke."
6
Is it possible that GOP members of congress have been bribed into their fealty to trump? Just sayin'...
They do indeed have an opportunity; we'll know a lot about them based on their actions in the coming days. I do not expect much. I think they are thoroughly debased.
2
When I think of Bill Kristol, I think of how vigorously he championed Sarah Palin. He thought she had "great political instincts"! So much for Kristol's political instincts.
He's right, the GOP could grow a spine and dump Trump, but it's unlikely.
5
The way this afternoon is going, this whole conversation may be moot.
The GOP has a plan. Let the Democrats do their dirty work for them. Paul Ryan moved his family to DC in August. Before the start of the school year. Because he’s Pence’s choice for VP. The only question left is will Trump resign and take the pardon, a la Nixon, or ride the train to jail? It’s all inside baseball kids and we’re in the bleachers!
2
> Or they can step up and act for the honor of their party and the good of their country.
You're joking.
Trump will not be convicted, and will be nominated. The current blatant lies and whistle blower smears and make that obvious.
Not to mention Republicans closing down primaries.
Honor? Maybe among thieves, but not Republican senators.
3
I am a liberal democrat. Yet I would happily support Mitt Romney's candidacy. Lets bring people with a fundamental sense of decency and duty toward society into the nomination process. Lets not repeat this mistake of electing a reckless narcissist who is likely to double down on his lawless behavior if given another chance.
4
I'm afraid Mr. Kristol is doing the equivalent of spitting into the wind, and I suspect he knows it. The problem is that many Republican politicians and voters, especially those who constitute Trump's base, are operating from unassailable ideological bunkers. What underlies the intransigence of a large swath of the Republican Party is an adherence to a political philosophy that was promoted by one Carl Schmitt in the 1930s and 40s.
Schmitt was a German political philosopher and member of the Nazi party who believed that the correct way to view the world was in terms of dualities. When it came to politics, the basic duality was between friend and enemy. The key to establishing and maintaining this duality seems to lie in the concept of rigid ideology. If you adopt a set of political beliefs that are taken to be self-evident, the only logical course of action is to prevent your opponent’s belief system from becoming policy because those beliers have to be viewed as flawed and inferior. That, of course, means no compromise.
Unless Republican politicians and voters are willing to abandon this world view, which I don't see happening, Trump will be nominated for a second term and he will get a lot of votes.
2
Mr. Kristol, I surmise you belong to the Republican Party of old, a Party of morals, conservative values, and logical judgements.
Mr. Kristol, today’s Republican Party has been hijacked by demigods and Party loyalists devoid of ethics, a moral compass, or the ability to distinguish right from wrong.
Would Regan or Bush 1 or 2, have separated immigrant children from their parents or families?
Of course not.
Today’s Republican Party is a different organization, an organization that extols the virtues Putin, Kim, Duterte, et.al.
Today’s Republican Party cares not about democracy or America. They only care about enriching themselves even if America must suffer for it.
Maybe you should consider the Democratic Party? We still believe in ethics, morals, values, and most of all, America.
5
Wake up, Billy Boy, the GOP is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Trump Inc. Some places have already cancelled primaries for him.
Republicans cannot weasel out of being in Trump-land as long as they call themselves Republicans.
1
This “Republican Party” that you advocate for, Mr. Kristol, simply does not exist. It has been fundamentally transformed into the “Trump-Republican Party”, whose policies, perspectives, and pursuits are totally out of line with that passé institution that you speak of. I suggest that you come up with a different name, truly reflective of what that former party was at its core: the Plutocratic Party.
My goodness. More nonsense from a clueless "Republican moderate." Where have you been the past 30 years?
To solve a problem you first have to understand what the problem is.
Trump did NOT create the current Republican Party. Trump is a MIRROR of the current Republican Party. Promote racism, inequality, ignorance and lies for years on end and what you end with is the Republican base.
If Republicans replace Trump on the ticket the stand-in will not go down in the history books as a man or woman of honor. They will simply go down. In Flames! Which is apropos when you think about it.
4
The problem with reading any article by Bill Kristol is that he is at the root of the rot of the Republican Party. All this is just a logical extension of when he toiled around Juneau and dined on elk steak at Sarah Palin’s House in 2007. And then peddled her as the vice presidential candidate. It’s just all I can think about when I read his stuff now. I mean, sure, we must all forgive people for their mistakes. But does that mean we still have to care about what they have to say?
7
From Goldwater to Nixon, Ailes to Atwater, Limbaugh to Gingrich, and Bannon to Trump, this is exactly the moment the Republican Party has been building itself up for. If they're now afraid of the constituency they've built, then they should have cultivated a different set of principles.
No, Donald Trump is theirs. They own him, and he owns them. They can all rot together.
5
Republicans are beginning to worry about throwing the baby away with the bathwater - the baby being power. But the water was filthy long before Trump. Oddly, he made the filth more transparent.
2
Uh-oh, this can't be good. I doubt Kristol is offended by Trump's corruption, more likely he is offended by his unwillingness to invade Iran. And we know how the neo-cons like Kristol love their wars in the Middle East. I'll pass on thinking that Kristol is actually on the right side for the right reasons in this debate.
Are there any Republican leaders of conscience left?
3
Why is a discredited NeverTrumper attempting to speak for the Republican Party? It's hard to be on the MSNBC/CNN payroll and claim any standing with Republicans.
1
I’m not holding my breath.
1
Please provide the names of the Republican Leader(s) of "conscience and courage".
3
Poor, poor Bill writes' But Republican leaders of conscience and courage...' caused hysterical laughter.
Only hearing Pompeo was on Ukraine call and Australians asked to investigate with AG Barr on Mueller Report by Trump did reality pull me back into the here and now. Yes, conscious and courage to those Dems in Trump districts calling for impeachment hearings.
3
It would be great if a decent Republican challenged Trump, but there seems to be no decent Republicans left. Look at the people who ran in 2016. They're all Trump's little minions now. Trump insulted Ted Cruz's wife's looks and her mental stability and said Cruz's dad helped assassinate Kennedy and Cruz finds nothing wrong with this. What kind of man would tolerate these insults?
Are there any Republicans with moral standards now, any who aren't puppets of corporations or puppets of Trump?
4
Bill
You have been consistent in your negative view of Trump from the beginning--applause. But please nominate some choices. You leave out any names of possible replacements that could lead the party out of the mess. I would love to hear who you think is left after this massacre of talent inside and outside the WH.
1
Republicans didn't have to nominate Trump in 2016. But they did. And they have eagerly lined up behind him, dissembled about his corruption, incompetence, perfidy and moral turpitude.
But I'd be interested in seeing who Mr. Kristol, who saddled poor John McCain with Sarah Palin as a running mate, thinks Republicans should nominate.
2
This is the Republicans’ golden chance to dump Trump and the disaster he has visited on their party and our entire country. All they have to do is take it. Twenty Senators can get the job done.
"Mr. Trump does not deserve renomination for that office for an additional four years." He never deserved consideration for the office in the first place. What is it with you Republicans now more appropriately called Trumpinistas or the Party of Trump. Did you all go out have a good drunk fall down and hit your heads. Trump is a symptom of your long addiction to absolute power. We are witnessing it with Mitch McConnell who has frozen the senate out of its legislative and oversight role to make its sole purpose in stacking the courts with conservatives, conservatives of his approval.
As to other Republicans who could run, regardless of who you are you run a great risk should you lose. Trump would and will do everything he can to crush you as an enemy. We have witnessed what he is capable of dong to "friends". Think twice before putting yourself in great jeopardy, trump is not sane. The Republican Party no longer exists, it is in shambles.
2
This reads as an appeal to the Ghost of GOP Past.
Huh? Just asked my Republican in-laws about this. They see the whole Ukrainian thing as hay by desperate Democrats and support Trump even more after last week.
1
Yeah, but they won’t.
We love you Trump! You have our vote, that's for sure.
1
Elect another criminal, expect more investigations.
romney-haley is the ticket that can win and unite the country
2
But then they would have to think.
Unable to escape the gravity of demographic forces against it, the Republican party has become a dark star going supernova, exploding its final reserves in a Trumpian cataclysm. They will follow him to death and beyond.
it is abundantly clear that republicans in and out of office are quaffing huge quantities of the kool-aid that (t)Rump has prepared for them. to think that having consumed such vast quantities they are now going to regain their senses and nominate some one else for 2020, 2024, 2026, etc. is to join them in their imbibing.
“Republican leaders of conscience and courage?” Surely you jest! There are none. Not one!
3
The Republican was great?
Really? When was that?
First you (we) need a candidate who can get out of single digits
1
Kristol’s plea is good for America because it provides a Republican alternative to the disgrace in the White House while maintaining the death grip on the Supreme Court. Some Republicans might sit up and take notice of this suggestion.
1
Republicans should dump Trump, simply to regain some personal dignity for the party. Real competition, meaning decent candidates from both parties, strengthens democracy. Sadly, the Republican party is too splintered and weak to stand up to the madman. I am driven further to the left, moment by moment, because of the failures of the right. In the past, I would have voted for a moderate candidate. No more. Go Elizabeth!
1
Give Mr. Kristol a pass for saying: "We may not yet know whether removal from the office to which President Trump was elected is warranted." We do know that Trump should be removed. Otherwise, Mr. Kristol is simply asking Republicans to be heroic and independent. How hard can that be?
1
Mitt Romney got more votes when he ran for president than Trump did. The GOP really should consider nominating someone else. Trump has polarized the country, and the GOP will have big losses in the next election if they continue on this path. Pence is just as toxic as Trump, and has even less support. Unfortunately for the country, they aren't going to change until they are forced to by losing at the ballot box.
3
Bill, you are living in a fantasy world. To back a candidate other than Trump, The Republican Party would first have to strategize how to challenge Trump in states that have discarded their Republicans primaries to protect Trump. Then they would have to find a way to deal with Trump supporters who will never support another candidate. Then they would have to accept the fact that supporting another candidate could be a career ending decision for them. Could Republicans grow a spine and a conscious between now and Election Day? I doubt it.
139
@Mickey T Like he said, it won’t be easy. The road won’t be wide and smooth. But, it’s the honorable thing to do.
5
@Mickey T the republican "leadership" acts over and over as spineless toadies to Trump's bullying. Either addicted to the power they get under his shadow or terrified of his rants - one of the two. No, Trump will be the nominee and use it to further is own aggrandizement. As you rightly say, Kristol is living in a fantasy world, and has been since Trump was elected.
@Mickey T Yup, you're probably right. And that's why the GOP is now a bankrupt political party. I can be kind and say it is controlled by a far right tail wagging a more reasonable dog, but when I see self-described moderates and independents siding with Trump, I know that kindness is actually misplaced. This is a cult of personality cast in the cement of human nature that finds difficulty in admitting when one is seriously, badly wrong, for a good many of us - maybe most of us. But probably about a third of us are such that we avidly drink the kool-aid and die rather than question our own decisions about something in which we invested so much self esteem.
The founders knew this danger. They were students of history; they'd learned of it happening - some had seen it. They built into the Constitution of the United States tools to deal with the danger, knowing that ultimately success depended on We The People; tools are useless if we aren't willing to use them. The irony is that the mechanism they included to protect the rights of the minority of voters has resulted in giving a deluded minority the ability to empower the danger. Arguably, the existence of an Electoral College, especially crippled as it is compared to the way it was meant to work, made a Trump inevitable. The power of Money has done the rest.
In 55 years as a registered voter, I have voted for only one Republican: Bill Weld. Not perfect perhaps, but the other choice was Silber.
7
@tom
I have voted for 3 GOP's in my 44 years of voting--one was Bill Weld, a very bright, erudite, and principled man.
2
"But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have an unusual moment" I'm afraid Mr. Kristol has not been paying attention, politicians act in their own self interest and as long as Republican politicians fear Mr. Trump's base they will not act with conscience or courage.
16
If this a bid for redemption, Mr. Kristol, it falls mighty short. The Republican Party has collaborated with evil for far too long, and deserves only banishment to the wilderness for a few years. Maybe for a lot of years. Let it take a good long time-out while it relearns what it means to function in a representative democracy as major political organization. If it can. And that can happen only if it flushes every last vestige of trump and trumpism out of its system. Until then, it doesn’t belong.
25
As a progressive Democrat, I disagree with Bill Kristol about almost everything. Everything, that is, except the threat Donald Trump poses to our democracy. I'd be happy to debate Mr. Kristol about abortion rights, universal health care, or how we should respond to the the immigration crisis that everyone acknowledges is overwhelming our borders. The one thing I am certain of is that, even if he disagreed strongly with me, Mr, Kristol would not accuse me of treason. Open and honest disagreement is the hallmark of a healthy democracy. Jeff Flake published an op-ed in the WaPo today that concluded with the statement "[t]rust me when I say that you can go elsewhere for a job. But you cannot go elsewhere for a soul." Kudos to Mr. Kristol and Mr. Flake for having the courage to say that integrity trumps (pun intended) political expediency.
20
@pbk3rd,
Trump is an incompetent buffoon. He is no threat to our democracy.
Our country has a big threat: endless, wasteful, war.
Whoever replaces Trump is going to be worse than him. We won't hear about it because they will be more competent. When their kids enrich themselves through corruption it will be pushed aside and the media will say it is 'totally debunked.'
"But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have an unusual moment" Alas, this might not be addressed to anyone.
14
It would be great if a few "gang of x" Republican and Democratic moderates to stage their own centrist debates on the issues of most importance to voters, without any mention or debate of Trump, impeachment or Mueller. Just thoughtful debate on healthcare, immigration, infrastructure, retirement security, tax policy, climate change, national defense and nuclear proliferation - including voting security - and foreign policy.
3
In 2016, when there was disbelief that Trump would really be the Republican nominee, Trump suggested that if he weren’t the GOP’s candidate, his supporters would riot.
Good luck finding Republicans who have the nerve to face down Trump and Trump fans.
14
those of us on the left, who have been saying, where are the decent republicans don't have the right to turn on kristol when he comes out publicly called for a change. i applaud him here; it takes tons more courage for a well-known public figure who is republican to make a call for change than for us to criticize trump. for us it is not only easy, but expected. kristol's acts carry much more risk and potential costs for him. so, thank you william kristol.
59
Hey Bill, now that you are back on planet Earth hopefully you can find someone to catch you up on what's been going on since you left 4 years ago. Trump isn't not getting nominated. The GOP is actually his party and his alone. You can stop with these delusional op-eds about the heart and soul of Republican elites and voters any time you want, maybe save the space in the paper for something at least remotely plausible.
17
Go for it, people!
1
Geeze Bill...you've been silent for so long! What happened...did you finally find some religion?
1
You are asking sheep to give up grass.
12
Mr. Kristol, in your article you always put party before country. That is pretty much the problem isn't it?
15
@adrianne
BAM--you nailed it!
While I've rarely (if ever) agreed with William Kristol, this essay possibly does represent a seismic shift in the Republican Party. Kristol is opening the door for Republicans (if there are any) to stand up for America's democracy.
The reception his essay receives from Republicans, particularly in the House and Senate, will inform the rest of us as to whether that Party stands for America, or just for its expedient self.
18
@George Sadly, I doubt any will walk through, whether it be Senator Mitt Romney, who came close to beating Barack Obama when he last ran, Senator Ben Sasse, who I disagree with on any number of policies but impresses me as a decent person, or any of a number of other GOP members who could, if they chose, draw a bright contrast to our current President. Most of the GOP, including the ones I mention above, are long on words and short on deeds when it comes to this President--"all hat, no cattle" as some out West might say.
5
@George
I think we have already been informed that the Republican Party stands for itself, and not the country. I find the idea of ANY Republican in the White House extremely objectionable. This may be an extreme position; there may be some moderate, honorable Republicans left. If so, they have been conspicuously silent. I'm not all that fond of many of the Democratic candidates, but any of them would be infinitely preferable to Trump.
5
You guys created him. You own him. Now when it looks as though he might lose popularity you pretend to oppose him.
Let's nationally give Republicans a time-out for the next five years (the runup to the 2020 presidential election plus the next 4-year presidential term). And see if Republicans have learned their lesson.
22
With or without Trump the Republican Party will still vote for tax cuts for the wealthy,attack the affordable care act, deny climate change, pack the courts with conservative appointments,etc,etc.
41
@Viincent Yet...it would be refreshing and encouraging to see a general election choice between two intelligent, moral, hard-working, public servants who have different policy views. Though, the "intelligent" and "moral" aspects are becoming more difficult to find in a party that continues to deny climate change, support economic inequality, etc., as you note.
5
@Viincent_Yes, because the spineless GOP is run by FOX NEWS.
2
With more and more state republican parties canceling primary elections, and the national party not sponsoring debates, the game is already partially "fixed".
14
From Dylan Thomas: "Do not go gentle into that good night, rage, rage against the dying of the light" apparently the Republican Party has no more "rage" against this unnatural disaster that has overtaken it.
The fact that even the previously reluctant Nancy Pelosi has had to bow to pressure and agree to start impeachment proceeding shows that this may be the only remedy for the situation.
3
You can fruitfully extend the quote...
"But to return, and view the cheerful skies,
In this the task and mighty labor lies."
Easy to get into the Underworld, very difficult to get out.
6
This has absolutely nothing to do with party affiliation or partisan politics. It has everything to do with decency, dignity, experience,
wisdom and honesty. And this is what the American people and America's democracy deserve and must demand. Now more than ever. Nothing less.
How simple. How difficult. How vital.
14
Mr. Kristol, whom did you vote for in 2016?
7
@R Mandl He was a very outspoken in his opposition to Trump in 2016. It's not like he has suddenly changed his position, if that's what you are implying.
9
@R Mandl He did not vote for Trump. Would you rather he did?
1
@LED
Kristol actually tried to talk Jim Mattis into running in 2016. If only!!!
"All we can really now ask of members of Congress is to keep an open mind and to evaluate the facts as they emerge."
Such a pity there's no way to load a giph of someone rolling on the floor, laughing hysterically.
6
"But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have an unusual moment". There have been very few Republican leaders with either conscience or courage in recent years. Those with conscience e.g. Flake and Corker lacked the courage to run again for the Senate. The last of those who had both conscience and courage was John McCain, who must be crying while spinning in his grave.
Fearful of Trump's wrath, Republicans have almost uniformly remained silent in the face of Trump's outrageous behavior. To paraphrase another Italian poet, Dante Alighieri: The hottest fires in Hell are reserved for those who, in times of moral crisis, choose to remain neutral.
18
Bill,
You're whistling past the graveyard.
10
Oh, 'keep an open mind and evaluate facts'? A rather quixotic expectation, judging from the evidence of years. The GOP doesn't exactly 'step up and act for the honor of their party and the good of their country.' It steps up for financial and political power, and the hell with the country.
Any R actually supporting our democracy would be a sharp break with its party tradition to work for the advantage of power and money.
They've built a party aligned with oligarchs, insulting lawmaking for the public good-- normal in any democracy-- as 'big govt interfering in our American Freedoms.
One of the biggest cons in the history of democracies---that to keep American 'freedoms' everything must be a big profit center. That's exactly why the US alone lacks HC for All in 21st C.
Our high court distorted our own Constitution against us, falsely equating mega donor corporate money in elections as ‘free speech’ per 1st Amendment. This amplified the voice of the wealthy & powerful, and muffled the voice of the citizenry---a contradiction to America fits the GOP credo.
Of course GOP nominees won't be blatantly egotistical, unstable sociopaths like Trump. But will still exploit us in every way possible, and cloak this with pious slogans of American 'freedoms'. They'll be much less gross and offensive, pretending to uphold our traditional ideals.
But maybe, using more smarts, control and calculation, they may ultimately do more harm than even Trump! Wow, imagine that.
9
"But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have an unusual moment “to return, and view the cheerful skies,” as Virgil put it."
And, as Wayne put it, "Monkeys might fly out of my butt."
7
Bill Weld was, indeed, a good governor who never took himself too seriously. He dove into the Charles Basin, fully clothed, to demonstrate that the basin had been cleared of toxins. But we always wondered whether he actually wanted to do the job of being governor. He once said, of his family, "We don't make money. We have money." When I heard that, I went over to Harvard Yard and saw a late-Victorian dorm whose twin entrances had stone lintels both engraved with WELD.
4
@billhub I recall that Weld became bored with the job and during his 2nd term left in order to be available for an ambassadorship somewhere.
But I don't recall being terribly upset with the job he did, nor do I remember being embarrassed by him or worried that he'd be dishonest. That is SO much better than what we have now!
9
Is Trump a Machiavellian Prince of the 21st century or a parody of such a Prince? What is the line between these two iterations of the Prince? Remember morality should not be a criterion informing the Prince's actions, only perhaps the public appearance of it. Secrecy, ruthlessness and efficiency in the pursuance of his goals are important criteria in the profile of Machiavelli's modern Prince and politics. Ethics is not. Here is the comic book version laying bare most of the norms by which modern politicians play in a crass fashion. It is not just him--it is all the political machine that operates that way. He is the crude tip of the iceberg.
7
@tdb. Machiavellian? Trump is just a common impulsive criminal, no forethought involved.
1
Romney/Haley ticket (or vise versa) could primary Trump and probably beat the Dem. challenger, depending how that turns out.
7
No way. They both had their chance and failed.
@keith
Or better yet, a Haley/Romney ticket.
Romney lost to a half-beat Obama! Nikki Haley is a lightweight.
Warren or Bernie (and preferrebly together) will have them for breakfast.
Mr. Kristol has a tendency to call it just wrong. Two other of his brainchildren were the Iraq War and Sarah Palin.
If there was a Republican who had a clear, consistent, and vocal record of speaking out against its party’s transgressions, I’d agree with Mr. Kristol. But the Republican Party just ain’t filled with any profiles in courage.
Like the Whigs, this part needs to purge, disband, and reform. And only a good electoral drubbing in 2020 will accomplish that.
200
@Beth Cox Kristol wants the GOP to nominate a wild-eyed progressive so his political partners can utterly destroy them after he is nominated, just as the NY Times did with its smearing of ''Racist!'' John McCain.
I find it ironic that one of the great conservative thinkers has now jumped on the anti-Trump bandwagon.
7
He was on the anti- Trump bandwagon all along. Trump is not a conservative. At best he is a populist.
1
I'd feel a lot better about this if the party hadn't have spent the past 40 years working towards single-party, minority autocracy, which is just around the corner.
Methinks Mr. Kristol is preaching to a very small choir. I do so want to be wrong.
20
Let's imagine the alternate scenario - that he is actually impeached and removed, but gains the Republican nomination and seeks election (re-election?) in November 2020.
4
@Marc Kagan
Now that would make for some exciting television entertainment! The best response from the Dems would be to nominate Hillary Clinton.
1
For Trump a possible choice between another term and a civil war is obviously a no-brainer.
5
Honestly, I'm surprised there isn't a more active leadership struggle going on right now in the Republican party. Frankly, their prospects of keeping the presidency don't look good with Trump, and control of the Senate is increasingly coming into play.
If someone bumped off Trump in the primary, they would stand a rather good chance of being elected president, assuming the economy holds up.
Also, if all these "off-the-record" comments from Republicans are true, they know Trump is destroying their party. Is sacrificing your party (and your soul) worth a supreme court justice and a shoddily-built wall on the Mexican border?
Even if Trump somehow wins in 2020, the election in 2022 will be a bloodbath for Republicans. We're talking about Democratic supermajorities in both the House and Senate that will override Trump's vetos.
Trump being put out of office is unlikely, but a wounded and bellowing Trump will hobble the Republican party for a generation. A narcissist like Trump will throw everyone close to him (allies and family) in the ocean to save himself.
10
Based on the unwavering support of many GOP members of congress, I'm left with one nagging thought that just won't go away... "Are members of the GOP house and senate being blackmailed with compromising information by this White House?"
23
@Aleutian
They are afraid of him, which isn't the same thing as actually supporting him. I'm sure most of them would love to see him gone. When the bird finally becomes unpopular, the bats will smile and show their teeth.
Kristol speaks of "Republican leaders of conscience and courage." Where are they? Besides the 3 seeking currently seeking the nomination, I know of none. Especially in Congress, Republicans have shamefully bound themselves (and their moral and electoral fate) to Trump. Tthey are profiles in cowardice, not courage. Many are willing to admit their distaste (or worse) for him -- but only if it is off the record. . If, improbably, the Senate votes to convict Trump in an impeachment trial, it will only be if the polls at long last show that he is losing his hold on his rabid base. The opportunity for Republican conscience and courage has long since passed.
24
If Trump isn't the nominee he'd better pray that the Republican candidate does win so he can get a blanket pardon, in as much as it is possible, for himself and his family - if he even cares about their skins. He sure won't get one from a Dem so his best route would be to resign and put his hopes in Pence.
I am sure there are plenty out there just salivating over the possibility for payback from his fall from grace. Hard to feel sorry for him.
Don't think Putin will be riding to the rescue once Donnie is out of power.
Go MITT!
6
Bill Wells for president will Hurd for Vice President. Both pretty moderate.
6
'But Republican leaders of conscience and courage now have an unusual moment “to return, and view the cheerful skies,” as Virgil put it. “In this the task and mighty labor lies.”'
Where are these Republican leaders of conscience and courage? They have all tacitly embraced shameless self-preservation and nihilism. You ask for volunteers for a noble political suicide mission that will very likely preserve and sustain the Republican party past Trump. Everybody in that line just took a baby step backwards.
3
Republicans also don't HAVE to support Trump in his current imbroglio; and yet they do. They also didn't HAVE to engage in unprecedented obstructionism during the Obama administration; but yet they did. They don't have to focus on eliminating deficit spending while not in power but conveniently forget about that policy when they are; but they do. They also don't HAVE to engage in ridiculous partisan gerrymandering; yet they do. They also don't have to abandon Trump only when it seems to be politically expedient to do so; will they? You decide.
18
Let's be honest. The GOP is dead. Without Trump in 2020 or without him 2024, they simply have completely run out of ideas and principles. They were for free trade and balanced budgets; now they're not. They unstood foreign policy meant strenth through alliances now they're the party of dictators. They have no (as in zeor, nada, zilch) family values. They've completed punted on the planet. There only appeal is to racism and bigotry. There's only solution for the GOP - Dissolve; stop running candidates. They have no purpose or philosophy anymore.
18
@JoeG
Don't underestimate racism and bigotry.
1
Sorry, but the G.O.P. is toxic and the poison is not containable at this point. The party needs to die so that a center right party can emerge free of the racism, cruelty, and corruption that currently stains the party.
26
Mr. Kristol: In how many states has the Republican Party cancelled the next Presidential primary?
How does the cancellation of Presidential primaries by State Republican Parties figure in the equation of "Republican honor," Mr. Kristol?
14
As it has been pointed out many times before, Republican base is socially conservative and fiscally liberal. And they are more socially conservative than fiscally liberal, which explains why Trump remains extremely popular with the base inspite of hurting the financial interests of his supporters with tax cuts, attempts to repeal Obamacare and trade war with China.
Mr Kristol doesn't care for the Republican base, he just wants to use them to push his necon agenda of tax cuts and wars in middle east. He would prefer someone who uses terms like 'limited government' and 'welfare reform' instead on starting his campaign by calling all Mexicans criminals and rapists. It is hard to feel sympathetic for Mr Kristol, he fully deserves to be in the position that he is in today.
5
Of course the GOP doesn't have to nominate Trump. But it is (at least from the current vantage point) poised to do so already:
they have canceled primary contests in multiple states,
they are shivering in their shoes with fear of the consequences of a revolt by Trump's trolls should they even speak out against him,
they reek with feigned hypocritical anger at the very thought of his being impeached,
they have failed for 3 years to acknowledge that they have any responsibility higher than complete fealty to Trump.
The groveling cowardice of almost the entire Republican party is abundant testimony to their inability to see beyond their fear of crossing him and his rabid hordes of brown shirted mobsters. If there ever was a shred of integrity in the Republican party, it is long since gone.
They fear for their jobs. They may even fear for their personal safety. In this environment, can anyone imagine that there are enough people in the GOP with the gumption and integrity to acknowledge what the whole rest of the country knows: that Trump and the GOP are corrupt, criminal and treasonous?
Jeff Flake in the Washington Post wrote, tellingly, that it isn't too late for the GOP:
Congresspeople and Senators can always find new jobs, but they can't find new souls.
12
We can't count on the republicans to do their job in the senate so yes, it should be all in to save the country, and we don't want to be stuck with Pence the enabler, either.
6
Gamblers alert: Do not bet the house on Republicans doing the right thing, as pleaded by Kristol. What “right thing” have they done since the EPA? Mr. Kristol realizes that Trump supporters live in their own deluded universe. He doesn’t realize that “Republicans rejecting Trump” is also a fantasy. Either with or without Trump, the Republicans have thrown themselves down a ditch and out of power.
3
As a former Republican whose party left me and thousands of like minded Republicans when the religious conservatives took over the state Republican Party organizations throughout the country, I can say the chances of the Republican Party not supporting Trump is nil. Trump has allowed the Federalist Society to select judges and justices to the Supreme Court simply on the basis of their inclination against abortion. As immoral as Trump is the religious conservatives made their deal with the philandering devil and are sticking to it. All they care about is abortion and, to a lesser extent, limiting gay rights.
Republican office holders are staying quiet in the face of Trump's extreme incompetence and criminal behavior because religious conservatives turn out for primary elections, and the Representatives and Senators want to keep their jobs more than they want to do their jobs.
The only alternative is to vote Democrat.
The only way to defeat them is to vote Democrat.
14
I disagree with Mr. Kristol on just about everything.
But I do believe that if the Republicans abandon Trump to his fate and run a Mitt Romney-Nikki Haley ticket they may actually win.
I hope this doesn't happen, as I would much prefer to see the GOP pay a price for its dereliction of duty, but it would be far, far preferable to the reelection of the Chaos President.
11
As many have said repeatedly, there is no Republican party any longer, but rather, what has become a "Donald Trump Cult." As a result of the choices Republicans made in 2016 by nominating Trump, it seems likely that they have sown the seeds of their party's destruction. Given that situation, I believe the chances of their nominating anyone other than Trump for 2020 are slim to none. If the Republican party does completely implode, as I believe is likely, perhaps a new party of genuine conservatives will emerge. But in order for that to occur, some people who still embrace those principles that once characterized their party will have to demonstrate some "spine" and some integrity. I'm not holding my breath.
11
Mr. Kristol states, "The Republican Party faces a binary choice. It either will or will not renominate Donald Trump in 2020."
The choice is much starker and clearer than that: the Republican Party can support democracy or continue to allow President Trump and his associates to tear it down. I voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016, and if she had been elected and done and said 1/100th of what Mr. Trump has done and said, I would be howling for her impeachment. I put country in front of party. That's the binary choice the Republican Party faces.
20
Mr. Kristol. Bill. You are assuming that the last three years are an aberration of the Republican Party.
Unfortunately, all the last three years are proof of is that the party you extol has marched away from principles. It will, on the whole, follow the party leader regardless. Right now, we have people on the right basing arguments on lies and refusing to accept facts.
Again: this is not an aberration. Too many Americans in the GOP believe that trusting their leaders means that their leaders are always truthful. The degradation of the party is the natural consequence of such a policy.
Unless the party makes major reforms, it will be just as vulnerable to the next charismatic bully-pulpit leader. And next time we may not be as lucky to have as relatively feckless a leader as Trump.
A new candidate is a band-aid if you think that's going to change the general make-up of party faithful. You, who have claimed very often to prize intellectual honesty, know it's not going to be a simple or easy path. Frankly, I also wish it would be easier; but it's taken decades to degrade this much. Barring a sea change or a revolution, it will take decades to reverse the damage.
7
Other voters, independence and even Democrats, can register as Republicans and vote for Bill Weld in a primary. He might not be able to beat a Democrat, but even if he did, he is the least worst choice in the Republican field. People who care about where this country is going should vote in the Republican primary. That way the majority of voters will have a voice and not be silenced by the electoral college.
3
@Zona Douthit i live in VT and we have open primaries. I am very tempted to vote on the republican ticket instead of the democrat ticket just so i can vote for bill weld. (for those who dont know - in VT any registered voter regardless of affiliation can vote in any primary, but they can only choose one party ballot to vote on).
i am happy if sanders (probably a shoo-in for VT), warren, or yang get the nomination - it would make more sense for me to not "waste my vote" on a candidate who won 87% of the primary vote last time and instead put it to use against trump.
1
I'm going to leave aside any differences I have, or have had, with Mr. Kristol on matters of policy or past practices of the Republican Party in order to focus on the question of how, if at all, the GOP can reform itself to oppose Mr. Trump's obvious abuses. Put simply, it can't. It has meekly accepted and acquiesced to Mr. Trump's numerous outrages in the name of acquiring and then keeping political power. The few in the party who have tried at all to hold him to acccount for his racism, bullying and thuggery have either been banished completely (like Jeff Flake) or have been so thoroughly emasculated by their party's general timidity and willingness to be led by a so obviously corrupt and venal a man, that they can no longer exert any meaningful influence. I have never been a member of the GOP but I have admired many of its leaders (with whom I have vehemently disagreed, generally) for their honest and incorruptibility (Barry Goldwater comes to mind). They have now been extirpated in the ranks of the party of Lincoln and Theordore Roosevelt. About the party itself, which I believe will ultimately be swept from the American political scene, I can only say 'Good Riddance'.
10
I think the GOP had better look beyond 2020 to 2022 and 2024. They need a new leader, someone who can garner more than 45%. Someone they can be proud of. They can recoup. They always do. I remember 1964. The GOP was declared dead and buried. "The US 1 1/2 party system." It took them four long years, but they came back. Remember 2008? Two failed wars, N.O. in ruins, a wrecked economy? They came back after that, too.
The Republican Party is bigger than Trump. They don't need him.
The Democratic candidate should hope that Joe Walsh, not Bill Weld runs as a 3rd party candidate. Weld would take away swing voters the Democrats need. Walsh would siphon off radical right voters that would eat into Trump's base.
7
But of course the whistleblower was incorrect. Trump did not use the power of his office to solicit interference from a foreign country in the 2018 election. He asked a foreign power, Ukraine, to give him and us information about Joe Biden's activities in Ukraine and a determination as to whether or not those activities violated the law of Ukraine. Information is not interference. It is potentially enlightening. If provided, it will allow us to make a more informed choice about who our next President should be. And the Dems initially about who their candidate should be. And such an investigation might not be damaging to Biden. Like Mueller, it might conclude that he didn't do anything illegal under either Ukraine law or US law. And if it should conclude that Biden did violate the law, are we better off or worse off than we would be if Ukraine kept the information in its vault with the potential of using it if Biden were in fact elected to maybe blackmail him into giving them even more aid than they might otherwise be thought to deserve. Clearly, it is in our interest to have Ukraine do precisely what Trump asked it to do. And if Biden is innocent as he claims, it is in his interest as well, and he should welcome it. Indeed, he should go further and tell us that he opposes the impeachment inquiry because as President, Trump should have the right to ask Ukraine to conduct such an investigation if he suspected that he, Biden, was violating the law.
1
@Bob Richards
He asked? I thought he was holding back funds already approved by Congress unless they complied with his "request".
8
@Bob Richards I appreciate your analysis of the issues surrounding the Bidens' roles in the unfolding of events as the impeachment hearings commence. I'm sure you analysis will appear in the actual hearings. I am also sure that your posting will evoke a ton of responses. Be prepared for rebuttals galore.
2
@Bob Richards
As stated by Trump’s former National Security adviser, the claims about Biden have already been debunked.
Also, Trump was seeking help with the 2020 election, not 2018.
9
A flurry of articles appear in the Times during the past few days encouraging Republicans to rethink their devotion to Trump and withdraw their support. This is a wise direction for the Times. More pieces like these are welcome. Taken with almost daily evidence of Trump's being absolutely unqualified for the job, some hearts might be changed.
The trouble is that Trump claims, falsely, that conspiracy against him exists. This makes it hard for supporters to leave him without believing they are influenced by the conspiracy or the fake news. No harm in trying; every bit helps to sow doubt and may weaken his candidacy.
8
So, this is why Mitt Romney returned to public life this term - to run again in 2020?
In Watergate, the GOP legislators who delivered the coup de grace to Nixon were called the Goldwater Delegation. Will this scandal's version be known as the Romney Intervention?
6
While some are saying that impeachment would actually help Trump be renominated and reelected, in actual historic fact there
has never been a case of an impeached American president being
nominated to be president subsequent to the impeachment.
And of course there has never been an impeached American president who has won the subsequent election.
The reason is clearly that having been impeached for your performance as president is a rather poor recommendation for your subsequent election as president.
How many Americans would vote for an impeached president?
The House should simply vote for impeachment as soon as the impeachment side has a majority of the votes in the House.
Proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" is not necessary for impeachment of a president.
2
@David, "How many Americans would vote for an impeached president?" - I'm afraid you overestimate Mr. Trumps supporters, I believe many of them would.
13
No, the GOP does not have to nominate Trump in 2020, but when a Republican president nominates the appropriate (Federalist Society approved...) judges, maintains an anti-choice/anti-immigration posture and cuts taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals, that Republican president is golden as far as Republicans and other conservatives are concerned.
20
I am writing as a democrat who is quite puzzled that someone like John Kasich has not yet taken this moment to challenge Trump. Seems like a perfect opportunity to save their party ( and country). A legitimate challenger to Trump would give Republicans wanting off the Trump Train an exit ramp...
32
@Joe Kasich is prepping to be the candidate right now. Everybody, including FoxNews is wondering if and when to jump ship. At this rate of new information and crazier behavior by Trump, if September job numbers are bad (and they might include a hit from GM strike), expect Kasich to jump in formally.
1
@Dan
Here, Here! Was at a table of 10-12 middle age men in Sept 2016. Most supported tRump. A few supported Hillary. When the conversation got warmer, I asked who would support John Kasich. All said yes. All.
1
@Dan
Nah. Maybe you didn't hear but he threw in the towel four months ago.
Read "John Kasich throws in the towel, admits it's Trump's party now: The unapologetic Never Trumper says there's 'no path for him' to run in 2020" by Allison Durkee in Vanity Fair, May 31, 2019.
1
Trump will be impeached. Under the Constitution and Senate impeachment rules, there will be a trial presided over by the Chief Justice, not Mitch McConnell. The Chief Justice makes the rulings, including any motion to dismiss, not Mitch McConnell or the Senate at large. Once impeachment articles are delivered to the Senate, the process, including the trial, moves very quickly. It's completely out of Trump's power to stop it. If he doesn't show up, the show goes on.
Trump won't resign. The only way Mr. Kristol gets a different nominee is that all Democratic and 35 Republican Senators vote for conviction. Right now that seems impossible, but stranger things have happened. When they do, they usually happen quickly.
Of course I hope Mr. Cristol's wish comes true and it might. But what he overlooks is that today's Republican party even without Trump is on its last legs because it has no heart.
26
@John, have you read Moscow Mitch's very recent comments re an impeachment trial in the Senate? During a CNBC interview today, he said, “I would have no choice but to take it up. How long you’re on it is a whole different matter.”
@Will McClaren
First, my math is off. 2/3 to convict or 67 Senators, meaning if all Ds and the 2 independents vote to convict It would take 18 R defections, not 35.
Yes I saw that. The Senate impeachment rules for the President are online and they are very specific and designed as I see them to minimize partisanship in the process. In other words, if the House impeaches, the Senate is required to invite the Chief Justice to preside over a trial. How long the trial lasts is his decision. In a non-presidential impeachment the rules are different. If MMc decided not to follow the rules, I'm sure the Ds would attempt to obtain an injunction from the Chief Justice.
1
I think that for almost all Congressmen getting reelected takes precedence over EVERYTHING else. If they were limited to one long term they could spend it trying to do the right things for the country and world.
8
@Richard W. King
Democrats passed Obamacare fully KNOWING that they wouldn't be able to defeat the GOP's gigantic fake news machine, and that many of them would loose their jobs.
They voted for it anyhow.
Today, it saves an additional half a million American lives a decade.
A corrupt minority can only thrive, in DC, when ordinary citizens start to disengage and cultivate cynicism instead ...
4
are you listening Mitt?
13
@Nate Is he listening? He's floating campaign slogans with the Ann and the boys.
The GOP hasn't been a 'great' party since Eisenhower stepped down. He understood the value of public investment in physical and human infrastructure, and he understood the value of a reasonably equitable distribution of wealth, goods, and services. The GOP has been just one hateful, bigot criminal after another ever since then, inevitably erupting into the volcano of pus, hypocrisy and deviance that is the Trump era. #WeSeeYou
125
Was it not Bill Kristol who help foist Sara Palin onto the McCain presidential ticket, thereby opening "the gates of hell" Kristol alludes to -- opening the GOP to control by the far-right maniacal populists and Trump? Kristol has much to atone for.
148
@E. Mainland Yup, Palin. And that was *after* he helped sell the Iraq War. And *that,* in turn, was after he convinced the Republican Party not to compromise or cooperate on any form of Clinton healthcare plan, thereby almost certainly dooming hundreds of thousands of Americans to their deaths in the years between 1993 and Obamacare. How the man dares to be seen in public these days is utterly beyond me.
26
@Bill Camarda his magazine was writing that the Iraqi Ba’ath Party was as dangerous as the Nazis were in 1935.
7
Dream on, Mr. Kristol.
7
Bill Weld seems to be a thoughtful honorable man, Walsh is a loud dangerous T-bagger populist and Sanford said he'd vote for the orange menace over any Democrat. I would like to see the Republican party rehabilitated by someone like Bill Weld, but it's unlikely. The T-bag crowd became the mad MAGA-hatters and the Evangelicals sealed the fate of the party with their disbelief in facts and science. I don't see support in the party for anyone except the amoral criminal in White House and his side-kick Pence. But good luck with that anyway and thanks for speaking out.
13
The first poll that shows any Republican, from Cruz to Rubio etc. beating a Democratic front runner will cause the damn to break in the Senate.
5
Absolutely right.
I’ve thought all along that the party could do better, and could even win the next presidential election if only Trump is impeached.
But, it’s so much simpler than that. Just don’t nominate him.
That said, and so simply, I think giving the nomination to another candidate and impeachment are equally impossible for the republicans to bear.
Denial is not just a river in Egypt.
10
Ambitious Republicans in the Senate are desperate to rid themselves of DJT without harming their own political careers.
They will remove Trump (they can't stand him) if they can be assured they will not be blamed for it by their base.
I believe the Senate WILL convict him in an impeachment trial.
Here's how:
In the matter of the Senate trial vote on impeachment and conviction, the US Constitution states: "And no Person shall be convicted without the Concurrence of two thirds of the Members present." [Art. 1, Sec. 3]
It doesn't say "...with two thirds majority of the members of the Senate..." or "with 67 votes."
It clearly states: "...of the Members present."
The day the vote to convict is taken, 49 Republican Senators can fail to be present.
The other 4--the lame ducks Alexander, Isaakson, Blunt, plus Romney--can be there to give the 47 Democrats a quorum to hold the vote.
The final vote to convict: 47-4. (Or 47-0, with 4 abstentions.)
This method also prevents Trump from pardoning himself and others, since McConnell and the other Rep. Senators will assure him that the Dems do not have the votes to convict.
Until they actually do.
If some of the 20 Rep. senators up for re-election want to be seen supporting Trump, they can. Final vote: 47-20, with 4 abstentions.
Failure to vote, or abstaining, is not the same as voting against so the base may acquiesce and be mollified.
And Tom Cotton, Tim Scott, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz can immediately declare for 2020.
30
@Biff
Only cowards skip a vote.
But I guess that's precisely your point.
4
My message to the Republicans is that I'm an independent voter who would consider a highly qualified Republican candidate should they have the courage to nominate one. I think there are plenty like me, people unattached to any party loyalty, people who want an intelligent, well-educated, thoughtful leader of good character who will not waste our time with whining and name-calling, but will go to work every day with full knowledge and appreciation of what the job of president requires.
24
William Kristol writes as if there are two Republican parties. There is only one. If trump is removed from office, maybe the majority of Americans will forgive the one and only Republican party for helping trump dismantle our democratic institutions since 2017. I don't think they will. But, if they do, America will have voted for an authoritarian state without a Constitution. All will be lost.
20
I was a decades long registered Republican, who nevertheless put the person above party. I have voted for Democrats, Republicans and Independents over the years. In 2016, I had serious concerns about both major party candidates, but I chose Clinton who I thought was better prepared for the office. I am no longer a Republican. The party I joined at 18 has let me down. if things stay the same I will never come back.
231
Sorry, Mr. Kristol, but you lost me at "Republican leaders of conscience and courage." Are there any? Sure, I read Mr. Flakes's piece in the Washington Post, and I concur with his reasoning (as I do yours), but he wasn't exactly subtle about his desire to be back in the Senate. Who else is there -- in government, that is?
19
I usually don't agree with anything William Kristol says - after all, it was Kristol who brought Sarah Palin to the nation. In 2007, he wrote that the woman most Alaskans are embarrassed to claim, “might be kind of formidable in a Republican primary.” That didn't turn out to be the best choice, did it Bill?
But here he has written a column with a message that was inconceivable just a few short weeks ago, suggesting that the GOP might consider nominating someone other than Trump for president. They could indeed, and I can think of a couple of possibilities worth considering. One is already mounting a challenge to Trump, although the GOP has decided not to run a primary challenge - never too late, though, is it? Bill Weld might have a chance, and Lisa Murkowski from my state would be another candidate worthy of consideration. Put one (or both) on the ballot against Trump, and see what happens. As a lifelong Democrat, I would hate to "lose" - but we would all "win" if Trump was gone.
If
15
Don't hold your breath, Mr. Kristol:
Republican office holders will make an obvious bet that at least in the short term; to oppose Trump in any way is far more dangerous to their careers and salaries, that it is to support him.
One might ask how it is that so many GOP voters have seemingly ignored the reality that Trump is completely unfit for office and dangerous to America. One can come up with probably three good reasons.
Certainly one of them is that conservative voters have been fed a steady diet of high-wing disinformation for years now from the usual suspects.
You know, the people you often appeared with in conferences and on television.
14
The way Republican primaries award ALL of the delegates to the person who gets the most votes, whether "the most" is 20% or even less, makes it all but impossible to challenge Trump in that manner. The party structured its primaries for that purpose, to allow the most favored candidate to emerge quickly.
All of this backfired in a major way in 2016 because the ten little other candidates split the vote, making Trump the winner in the early primaries and thus eliminating all serious opposition (unless you consider Cruz a serious candidate for president at that time).
What would be needed would be one, incredibly strong candidate or a flood or candidates who could overwhelm Trump. We don't have tried and tested war heroes ready to run and the "celebrity candidate" route previously proved disastrous for California, Minnesota and...the USA.
If a real, balanced and moderate Republican, with a brain and more than an ounce of human compassion, would emerge, I, for one, would be willing to change my party affiliation so I could vote for that candidate in the primary. Help!
6
"The party can do better."
Can it though? Trump/McConnell seems like the logical conclusion of conservatism.
93
I think Trump's kids should convince him not to run again. He doesn't appear to be enjoying being President. He must realize that he is not up to the job. Better men than he have decided not to run again (Lyndon Johnson). Maybe he can just say he wants to spend more time with his family like everyone else does. Or that he needs to go back into business, since the world has missed the world's greatest businessman. Just tell him he would be free to build some great hotels in Russia, Israel and Saudi Arabia.
35
@Steve
The problem with that, though, is that Orange 45 is aware he'd be awash in indictments if he was not occupying the Oval Office, and would likely wear a jumpsuit to match his hair by 2022 if he weren't still there. So I don't see anything that would compel him not to run again, or not to use every dirty trick imaginable to try to win.
5
@Steve Please. If there thePOTUS has any dementia, his family is well aware of it. I think it could account for his actions during the campaign and since. No sane adult would act like a 14 year old with an attitude of "let's see what I can get away with?" They know but in their own avarice, won't stop him.
@Steve
Better men than Trump?
1
You really are asking a lot from republicans that have betrayed everything to side with this man. Look at Senator Graham who yesterday on Face The Nation, bet everything on a man who despises him and would throw him under the bus in a heartbeat. Why they show loyalty to a person who shows none to others is beyond me. You would think that a party that has a long history of supporting the constitution, look at Watergate, would stand up now. There is no moral backbone left in this party its every man for himself! Your current party has no resemblance to what you remember and no one in it will turn their back on this guy. They are all in! And trump would rather take down everything we hold dear before he would resign or not run in 2020 its just not in him to give in to the mob.
29
@MLucero
I suspect that for almost all Congressmen getting reelected takes precedence over EVERYTHING else. Would that they were allowed only one long term before stepping aside for someone else.
1
Graham thinks Trump has something on him. Someone needs to tell him that America figured out what that thing was a long, long time ago.
6
@MLucero
I recall Senator Graham saying Trump was incompetent and unqualified to be President before the election. Now he is all in. What a pity.
1
They indeed don’t.
If I were a Republican, I would be begging Bloomberg to switch parties again and run in 2020.
7
If there are any Republicans with a moral compass, rather than run against Trump, why not denounce him and his craven supporters and leave the party? Two prominent right wing pundits either imagine Republicans who have principles, or in Brooks' case, oppose impeaching someone they admit is unfit because it would be stressful. There are no more decent Republicans. The only option is to vote for zero Republicans. Even then, Trump may refuse to leave office, and I imagine the conservative brain trust will validate "voter fraud" and find a way to at least support an investigation.
19
It would be nice if there were some Republican "leaders of conscience and courage."
19
Bill Clinton stuck it to an intern and the Republicans went ballistic. Trump is sticking it to everyone and the Republicans are okay with that, in fact they love it! They expect to count on Mitch, as they always have, and will run an unchastened, newly sanctified Trump in 2020.
17
It has been baffling how Republicans have fallen in line behind the ethically barren Trump, especially given that the party has also courted religious conservatives. It is one of the great paradoxes of modern America. Why have Republicans chosen to join sides with the devil? Well, they have their precious tax dodge, their horrific justices, and their deregulation. They are getting their way in regard to destroying America, so they are happy with selling their souls. Now would be a perfect time to jump from the Trump train because Republicans have fully implemented their plan to destroy America.
14
Republicans are also under no obligation to run as Republicans. They could and should run as independents. There's plenty of room between toxic Trump and the extreme left wing of the Democratic party
3
There are no profiles in courage in the GOP. Republicans will leave Trump only if that day comes when their own political lives are at risk. Then they will all scurry away like rats leaving a sinking ship. So much for the conscience of a conservative, the moral majority, and all those other slogans Republicans have invented over the years to mask the fact they stand for nothing.
11
Show some courage yourself, Victor.
Quit building their brand.
Call them by their name. And only by their name.
Any Republican who announces a run for the presidency can count on my financial support during the primary season. I can't afford much but I do what I can. I could live with a president whose policy positions I disagree with - I have, for long stretches of my life - as long as that person respects our democratic institutions and, somewhere in their brain, has that cell devoted to appreciating the value of decency.
29
mr Kristol, you may be a man of honor, but for as long as i have been following american politics, the republican party has completely lost whatever honor it may have once had, all in the name of tax cuts for the wealthy, restriction of abortion and LGBT rights, christianity for everybody (in terms of sex, but not really in terms of charity and compassion), and demonization of the poor (especially poor african americans and latino immigrants).
you are right to recognize the existential threat to the republican party that will come from nominating trump again. but, i think (and hope) that we are already way past any viable turning point, and that the GOP will rightly find its one-way path to permanent oblivion beginning with 2020 election.
70
Republicans of conscience should become conservative Democrats. After enough of them do this, they can split off and form a new conservative party that will not have the baggage of the party that betrayed Lincoln and Teddy R. This new party should not accept Republicans unless they give convincing signs of clear repentance and publicly repudiate their old ways.
Republicans dont have to stay in the party that will renominate Trump and enforce loyalty to him.
33
@sdavidc9
What about Mitt Romney!
1
@sdavidc9 Great idea. Call it the Great Middle Party. GMP
2
Republicans didn't have to nominate Trump in 2016 -- the party could have done better.
But it didn't.
263
@Dan Styer
Honestly speaking there wasn't a lot to choose from in 2016.
Amen - and perhaps, with some soul searching and discipline, the Republican Party could return to presenting a different but legitimate take on our nation's domestic and foreign policies--something about which reasonable minds can always disagree. Of late, however, I scarcely recognize the Republicans in Congress as worthy of my respect--like McCain, for instance.
He was Chairman of the Senate Committee for Indian Affairs when my father settled a federal lawsuit against the Government and some huge farmers in Arizona, and he was always principled and trustworthy, regardless of whether he disagreed vehemently with [x] position or argument.
His former colleagues have sunk so low since his death that I wonder how they can look in the mirror. This is indeed a hugely important opportunity to do the right thing--and act as leaders and role models for Conservative voters and young people looking on.
14
The opinion piece is nice but it is making an appeal to conscience and to patriotism.
The republican party has neither.
The piece would have better been submitted to Fox news as those are the people who need to read it.
But a nice sentiment though.
298
The GOP could nominate a root vegetable at this point and it could potentially out poll Trump. Very hard to understand what the GOP doesn't get about that. The presidency is there for whoever steps up.
98
@PaulaC.I think the GOP is banking on the Democrats nominating an unelectable candidate. Given the 3 currently leading, unfortunately I fear they will get their wish.
3
@PaulaC. I believe the Republicans in the senate may be fearful of physical violence if they do not support Trump. I fear that other Republicans who consider running for president against Trump may also be in Trump's sights to receive physical violence for themselves or their families if they run. Trump may consider anyone running against him to be a traitor and he has already said traitors should be killed. I believe Trump has a mob mentality.
9
There's no honor in acting in the honor of a party that has no honor to begin with. I think that pretty much sums up the situation.
51
I very strongly agree and I am a Democrat who sometimes votes for moderate Republicans. There are some who spoke out in the past before leaving office like Bob Corker and Jeff Flake. Where's Rob Portman? And it would be nice if more Republican governors like Charlie Baker would speak out and strongly. It would be much healthier for a party that many people say they will never vote for again. And a better election -- of ideas, not tweets. One danger is that Trump will run as a third party candidate. But it would be worth it to the Republicans to take a moral stand and start to rebuild your party.
27
@P.A. Portman is completely in the pocket of the NRA. If they support trump, so will Portman.
2
I don’t always agree with you, but have always listened to and respected your opinion. I applaud the courage that it takes to stand in the abysm of this great divide. As a long-term “lib”, I will say that I am inclined to carefully weigh the opinions of those conservatives whose moral character has weathered this storm.
At some point the country has to come together again. This will only happen when we become willing to listen to opposing opinions again. Thank you for taking the first steps at reclaiming the right to be heard by those who may not immediately be inclined to agree, as many of us have shut our ears due to the level of obvious falsehood which abound.
Nothing makes me trust less than obvious dogma. Nothing makes me trust more than bucking it. Kudos.
62
George Wallace ran as a Democrat and was a serious presidential (if long shot ) contender. I as a Democrat would have voted for a Republican as right wing as Goldwater before I would have voted for Wallace.
32
@Milliband
Wallace was not a contender. At best, a spoiler.
@Kevin Well he did win the Michigan primary and probably would have won a lot of the Southern primaries if he wasn't shot. He was as I mentioned a long shot but he was not a fringe candidate.
Would be great if John Kasich would try again. Then I could consider re-joining the party I left after the Trump nomination..... but of course there is a long list of people, especially the GOP's current leaders who all have to get removed.
Party of Lincoln? He's crying at what you have become.
189
I’m for Kasich.
I’m a staunch Democrat.
7
@Andrew Kasich is good in many ways but part of the movement to control women's bodies. I never vote for Compulsory Pregnancy.
38
@Camille I would expect a staunch Democrat to be an admirer of FDR. Does Kasich really remind you more of FDR than any of the Democratic nominees?
16
I see this entreaty to support a Republican nominee other than Trump as just bluster. Trump's main defender through action and inaction is Mitch McConnell. Until Mitch McConnell even acknowledges that Bill Kristol exists and until he says it's OK for other Republican senators, governors and representatives to run in the primary for the nomination, this is full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.
74
@chandlerny Given how indebted McConnell is to the Russians, Putin will tell him which senators, governors and representatives will run in the primary for the nomination.
7
I lived in Massachusetts while Bill Weld was governor. While I'm a member of the opposing party, I will note that he was intelligent and capable and did a very good job for us. And for what it's worth, he has a great sense of humor, very important in the position. That he won the Boston Globe's endorsement over his Democratic challenger, a real estate developer posing as a college president (who reminds me a lot of Donald Trump), speaks volumes. I'll have to confess that I have nowhere near such a high opinion of Joe Walsh.
So yes, Republicans - you can do a lot better than Donald Trump.
449
@John Leonard
Indeed, Weld is a man of rectitude.
14
@John Leonard
I agree your with your sentiments about Bill Weld but I believe that you are being a bit unfair to John Silber, the "real estate developer posing as a college president."
I have maintained my politically independent status but very rarely vote for Bill Weld's party. Having said that, I did vote for him for governor (not when he ran for senator) when I still lived in Massachusetts. I would have voted for today's Republican governor, Charlie Baker, if I had remained in the Commonwealth. Neither men currently fit in today's deranged national Republican Party in that both seem like sober, pragmatic men. If Bill Weld was elected president, I would be totally fine with that.
Regarding John Silber, he truly was controversial and outspoken as Boston University's president. He did use tough tactics to expand BU's territory from Kenmore Square to the outer reaches of the MBTA B line. He also led Boston University from being a large commuter college to a leading research university. He himself was intellectually gifted and driven, much to the chagrin of those who did not agree with his conservative Texas Democratic views. I did not vote for him and there was a lot about which I disagreed with him, but he was just a different category of human being than Donald Trump.
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@Arif
I didn't care for John Silber's dictatorial style, but a Trump he is not. Trump is unique in politics. I suspect he is not even normal for New York real estate.
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They do NOT have to nominate him, but they will. Why? Because the GOP, since Saint Reagan, has with great planning and focus moved ahead on their ambitions to enrich the rich, turn the USA into a Christian nation that nominally tolerates other beliefs, and place profits above citizens' well being.
Their progress was slowed by Obama, while Clinton was more of an Eisenhower Republican and mostly accommodated the GOP's agenda. Trump-Pence are essentially hand puppets for the GOP; thereby enabling the GOP to achieve more of the goals in a faster time.
The GOP en mass is ignoring the very basic credo of our nation as expressed in the preamble to our constitution. Bill, you should read it and think.
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Obama was a much better man than Clinton, but you delude yourself if you think he was anything other than Republican light. The ACA originated with the Heritage foundation, a R wing think tank. The Heritage foundation came up with that plan in response to Clinton's too liberal health reform proposal, which like the ACA was nothing more than a government subsidization of the private healthcare industry, but with more government oversight/direction. Both were weaker on the environment than Nixon. Both were more capitalist than Reagan.
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"But Republican leaders of conscience and courage..."
Who exactly would this be? No GOP politician has stood up to Trump, McConnell, or the GOP establishment in a meaningful way when it mattered. The occasional Flake/Collins style mild criticism followed by voting the party line does not count.
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@Pat. McCain would often stand up for what's right, but he's dead, of course, like all the other "Republican leaders of conscience and courage".
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@Dennis
Not too sure about often and what I mostly remember him standing up for was ever more war.
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@Pat William Kristol, a member of the Republican establishment, just stood up to trump in a very public way.
There are a couple of Republicans I can see myself supporting. While I am at this point an anyone-but-Trump independent, I'd seriously have to hold my nose while voting for Sanders or Warren. William Weld could very well find me a supporter.
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I appreciated the Aeneid quote, but keep in mind that despite the gloomy warning Aeneas did in fact descend to the underworld - and he did in fact then make the difficult return to the land of the living. So this quote might not support quite the course of action that Kristol seems to think it does.
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@Rex Nemorensis
Trump’s rival for the nomination will just have to pluck for himself the Golden Bough—and hope that he, unlike the priest at Nemi, can slay the slayer without himself being slain.
Back in 2016, when Trump insulted John McCain (and by extension all American POWs,) Republicans had a chance to do the right thing. But they didn't. Same thing when Trump bragged about "grabbing" women. Same thing when evidence surfaced that Trump conspired with Michael Cohen to commit violate US election laws. Same thing when evidence came out that Trump actively courted Russia interference in US elections.
Republicans have had plenty of chances to do the right thing, but Republicans chose Trump over right every time. At this point, it's not really a matter of the party not having a spine as much as it is a matter of the party being a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Trump Organization. The extremely few dissidents, like Justin Amash, had no friends inside the party and simply had to leave to do the right thing.
Republicans don't HAVE to nominate Trump. But truth is, they want to. Their souls belong to Glorious Leader. Trump's take-over of the party is complete.
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@citybumpkin
Subsidiary of the Trump Organization, the Murdoch organization, and right-wing fear-and-hate radio. The latter two precede Trump and have taken over the Republican Party.
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@citybumpkin
I'm old enough to have lived through Watergate. This makes Watergate look like a childhood prank. Trump is a malignant narcissist who played the Republican base and is now playing the Republican Party/politicians. Regardless of my disagreements with Republicans I use to think that there were intelligent thinking ones. I was wrong, how easily they have been played by this conman.
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@Thomas Zaslavsky
Agreed. Trump is being played, perhaps even more than he’s playing (or even thinks he’s playing). A couple of the most egregious examples: he’s been played from the beginning by Putin; McConnell is loading up the legislative branch with so-called conservatives by playing Trump. Miller is Trump’s Rasputin.
etc., etc.
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I am encouraged to read this.
Encouraged by others in the GOP running, if not the actual candidates, although I do find Weld at least reasonable, compared to the current madness.
I am also encouraged that McConnell says the Senate will have no choice but to take up the impeachment.
Is it possible that he is trying to send Trump and the GOP a message?
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@Equilibrium
I don't think so - Moscow Mitch must take up impeachment but can also immediately dismiss any charges. He's playing the public once again.
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@EJ
ps I am NOT saying that McConnell would do anything for the correct reasons.
But he is a cold blooded craven politician and he knows how to play a dirty game.
He may even have the same instincts on many things as Trump, but he understands the system and is much smarter in knowing how to use it or game it.
No tactic is beneath him.
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@EJ
You may be right. But it seems as though Trump is really melting down in front of our eyes.
He is more unhinged than his 'normal', and there is evidence that terrifies him.
Will the GOP willingly ride his insane ship down?
We shall see.
And McConnell can only dismiss those charges with a vote, and I will confess ignorance here but I believe it is a 2/3 vote.
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Maybe this is why the GOP is cancelling primaries and caucuses all over the country: Trump will be nominated in a "landslide" if Republicans themselves are completely disenfranchised from picking their own nominee!
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@Multimodalmama Maybe?
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Eliminating primaries is next of kin to a one party state: the Republican Party Dream.
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Consider the name Nikki Haley if Trump is not on the ballot. You will hear about her again. She did a good job as governor of South Carolina and as US ambassador to the UK.
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She is a nonentity.
GOP should court Bloomberg again.
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@Bill
US ambassador the the UN
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UN not U.K.
She did absolutely nothing in the UN (except buying some expensive curtains) and even less in South Carolina where she didn’t even need curtains :-)
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