The Republican Party has split in two. Let's keep it that way.

Opinion by Jennifer Rubin
Columnist

November 23, 2020 at 7:45 a.m. EST

The Republican Party has split in two. The dividing line is not ideological. To the contrary, if anything, the collapse of a once great party during the Trump era demonstrates that ideology is secondary in politics; values, norms and character are primary.

In one half of the former GOP stand President Trump, his pathetic enablers in his campaign and in right-wing media, and the vast majority of Senate and House Republicans, including frequently discussed 2024 challengers (Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Marco Rubio of Florida). These Republicans seem to ignore the attempted coup taking place in front of their eyes by the candidate they claimed just a few weeks ago was not so bad after all. They refuse to acknowledge that President-elect Joe Biden is the legal, legitimate winner; instead, they have countenanced (by silence or affirmation) frivolous litigation designed to overthrow the results of a democratic election. Their silence makes them complicit in Trump’s personal intimidation of election officials. That makes them no better than two-bit thugs, such as Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro and Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, who refuse to recognize the will of the people that is the essence of democracy.

Anti-democracy Trump loyalists dissemble, choose willful ignorance (not a single instance of fraud has come to light in nearly three-dozen lawsuits) and hide from the media to avoid rendering an opinion at odds with their cult leader. We can enjoy the delicious irony that the 2024 contenders have now enabled the person who will block their presidential ambitions, but that is small consolation when so many members of a major party disavow reality and democracy.

In this regard, the usually rational Republicans (e.g., Sens. Rob Portman of Ohio and Tim Scott of South Carolina), the shameful provocateurs (e.g., the anti-impeachment House members who spouted Russian propaganda during impeachment) and the party functionaries (e.g., Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel) are all in the same boat. When Trump is actively trying to overturn an election and disenfranchise millions of voters (targeting heavily Black cities), silence is consent.

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