Politics

Analysis: The Republican Party is enabling Trump's politics of violence – CNN

Published

3 years ago

February 7, 2022

(CNN)The Republican Party is ever closer to the destination to which it has long been headed under former President Donald Trump — the legitimization of violence as a form of political expression.

The Republican National Committee’s censure of GOP Reps. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger for probing the “legitimate political discourse” of the January 6 insurrection enshrined that principle in the party’s policy dogma. The move on Friday underscored the untethered extremism of large sections of one of America’s great political parties and the still malignant, dominant influence of the ex-President, who is ready for action with a $122 million war chest.

The RNC’s declaration coincided with the release of new video by the Department of Justice showing the horrific truth of the insurrection — a Trump mob, high on his election lies, beating up police officers and vowing to drag lawmakers through the streets. But the RNC’s authoritarian was at odds with some anti-Trump stirrings elsewhere in the party, most noticeably from ex-Vice President Mike Pence, who criticized his ex-boss’ demand that he steal the election by subverting the Electoral College count last year as “un-American.”

The potentially irrevocable break with Trump boosted Republicans who despair at the party’s trashing of truth and democracy and occurred amid perhaps wishful whisperings among some strategists that the ex-President’s grip may be weakening. These could be the first shoots of a coming debate over whether Trump should be the party’s nominee for a third time, in 2024.

But Trump’s dark power is also playing out among a larger group — GOP lawmakers who disdain his strongman radicalism but are afraid to speak out against him because they think loyalty is the only way to save their political skins. The acquiescence of most Republicans has long enabled Trump’s assaults on the rule of law and shows little sign of hardening into opposition to the ex-President.

And it played out again last week as GOP senators dodged calls to condemn Trump’s threat to pardon insurrectionists if he wins a new White House term.

And a Republican triumph in midterm elections in November could seat a House majority dominated by Trump’s henchmen and women and give his extremism a new lease on power in the run up to the 2024 presidential contest.

A clear signal from the RNC to Trump

The RNC resolution condemned Cheney of Wyoming and Kinzinger of Illinois for participating in a “Democrat-led persecution” of ordinary citizens engaged in “legitimate political discourse” as they serve on the House select committee that is investigating events during and before the January 6 insurrection.

After the passage of the measure, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel insisted to CNN that the committee drew a distinction between those who did not commit violence on January 6 and rioters who stormed the US Capitol. But the resolution, watered down from a previous version that demanded the stripping of party backing from Cheney and Kinzinger, contained no such caveat. The RNC might have a reputation as a haven for the most dedicated of the party’s activists and may not represent it as a whole. But the symbolism of the entire exercise defied the spin seeking to contain political damage and sent an unmistakable endorsement to Trump over his staunch denial of what really happened on that day.

But appeasing Trump’s culture of violence is not limited to the RNC. In a continuing attempt to ignore the violent scenes, multiple Capitol Hill Republicans have whitewashed the truth of January 6. Many others have tried to obstruct the committee or mislead about its purpose. Trump critics like Utah Sen. Mitt Romney are ostracized by the ex-President’s partisans. Some who voted to impeach him are being drummed out of the party.

Trump clearly incited violence before the mob scene — telling his supporters to “fight like hell” to convince Pence to block President Joe Biden’s election victory. His rallies and rhetoric have long had an undercurrent of menace. And his political speech is only getting more extreme — for example, with his recent threats against Black prosecutors probing his business empire and investigating his attempts to steal Biden’s election win in Georgia.

Trump’s capacity to intimidate is also underscored by the fact that even a frequent Republican critic of his behavior — Sen. Susan Collins of Maine — said that while it’s “not likely” she will support him if he’s the nominee in 2024, she cannot say for sure.

Pence’s thunderclap

Some Republicans are, however, now willing to call Trump out. Pence’s speech to the Federalist Society on Friday represented a political thunder clap. It may finally have destroyed the delicate balance he was trying to strike between loyalty to Trump and his own presidential aspirations following his determination that he had no powers as vice president to certify the election in favor of the ex-President despite his delusional demands.

Pence’s declarations that Trump’s demands were “un-American” and “wrong” and that he did his personal duty got most of the attention on Friday. But his comment about the implications of Trump’s continued anti-democratic behavior may have laid the battle lines for a future struggle inside the Republican Party itself.

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“The truth is there’s more at stake than our party or our political fortunes,” he said. “If we lose faith in the Constitution, we won’t just lose elections — we’ll lose our country.”

Some might argue that Pence’s statement was woefully late, more than a year after he left office. And he has still not forcibly condemned the ex-President’s election lies and attacks on democracy. Plus, the ex-vice president abetted the lawlessness and anti-constitutional pyrotechnics during the twice-impeached former President’s term with his admiring loyalty. On NBC’s “Meet the Press” on Sunday, Pence’s ex-chief of staff Marc Short also tried to mitigate Pence’s political exposure by criticizing the House select committee.

While noting he didn’t see much “legitimate political discourse” when he was at Pence’s side at the Capitol on January 6 last year, he also attempted to draw fire away from the RNC resolution.

“In talking to some members of the RNC, I think that there is concern that there are people who were there peacefully protesting, who’ve been pulled into this, what I think has more become a prosecution by the January 6 committee, and feel like they’re being unfairly treated,” Short said. The former vice presidential chief of staff is one of several Pence aides who have talked to the committee, breaking with Trump world’s refusal to grant its subpoenas any legitimacy.

While Pence still seems to be equivocating a little, his decision to rebuke Trump publicly is also significant — as it’s the furthest he’s ever gone and is somewhat courageous. He’s already drawing a backlash from pro-Trump Republicans. And his hopes of mounting a viable primary campaign may have disappeared on Friday. Though it was already doubtful that a vice president who thwarted Trump’s illegal bid to hang onto power has any future, given the depth of the GOP base’s investment in the election fraud fantasy.

Is Trump’s grip slipping?

Still, there are at least signs of tentative resistance to Trump, albeit from Republican grandees rather than a new standard bearer with a future in the party who is willing to risk political apostasy.

Arkansas Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson, for example, said he doesn’t think Trump should lead the country again. Cheney has said he’s not fit “for future office.” There are other signs around the nation that the ex-President’s grip may not be what it once was. Some of the candidates he has endorsed in the midterm elections have struggled. Some polling suggests a growing number of Republican voters would prefer another candidate in 2024. And potential presidential hopefuls like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis are raising the possibility of Trumpism without Trump with hardline “Make America Great Again” policies on pandemic restrictions, abortion, transgender issues and other base-pleasing culture war clashes.

But the ex-President still draws massive crowds. Any lessening of influence at the margins could be down to his comparative invisibility outside the bubble of conservative media. The fact that there is still such resistance to the truth about Trump’s coup attempt — fueled by aggressive GOP efforts to rewrite history — suggests that Trump’s power is enduring inside the party as he eyes a possible comeback. Millions of Trump voters believe he was cheated out of office and still see him as the antidote to their hatred of government elites and a sense that the country as they know it is being taken away by demographic, social and economic change.

Ever since he triggered a political earthquake with his campaign launch in 2015, Trump has crushed all resistance in the party — one reason why so many lawmakers are careful not to cross him now. Primary opponents in 2016 like Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz of Texas and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie were squashed and co-opted by Trump. Critics like ex-Sen. Jeff Flake of Arizona, who retired, and now Cheney, who’s facing a Trump-backed primary challenger, and Kinzinger, who is not running for another term, effectively have had to choose between their democratic principles and their political careers.

While Trump’s ever more unhinged extremism could still destroy his comeback hopes, especially with a general election audience, events of the last few days show he remains the bedrock of the Republican Party.

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Politics

New Brunswick election profile: Progressive Conservative Leader Blaine Higgs

Published

2 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – A look at Blaine Higgs, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party of New Brunswick.

Born: March 1, 1954.

Early years: The son of a customs officer, he grew up in Forest City, N.B., near the Canada-U.S. border.

Education: Graduated from the University of New Brunswick with a degree in mechanical engineering in 1977.

Family: Married his high-school sweetheart, Marcia, and settled in Saint John, N.B., where they had four daughters: Lindsey, Laura, Sarah and Rachel.

Before politics: Hired by Irving Oil a week after he graduated from university and was eventually promoted to director of distribution. Worked for 33 years at the company.

Politics: Elected to the legislature in 2010 and later served as finance minister under former Progressive Conservative Premier David Alward. Elected Tory leader in 2016 and has been premier since 2018.

Quote: “I’ve always felt parents should play the main role in raising children. No one is denying gender diversity is real. But we need to figure out how to manage it.” — Blaine Higgs in a year-end interview in 2023, explaining changes to school policies about gender identity.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Politics

Anita Anand taking on transport portfolio after Pablo Rodriguez leaves cabinet

Published

3 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

GATINEAU, Que. – Treasury Board President Anita Anand will take on the additional role of transport minister this afternoon, after Pablo Rodriguez resigned from cabinet to run for the Quebec Liberal leadership.

A government source who was not authorized to speak publicly says Anand will be sworn in at a small ceremony at Rideau Hall.

Public Services and Procurement Minister Jean-Yves Duclos will become the government’s new Quebec lieutenant, but he is not expected to be at the ceremony because that is not an official role in cabinet.

Rodriguez announced this morning that he’s leaving cabinet and the federal Liberal caucus and will sit as an Independent member of Parliament until January.

That’s when the Quebec Liberal leadership race is set to officially begin.

Rodriguez says sitting as an Independent will allow him to focus on his own vision, but he plans to vote with the Liberals on a non-confidence motion next week.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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Politics

New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs kicks off provincial election campaign

Published

6 hours ago

September 19, 2024

Anne Joseph

FREDERICTON – New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs has called an election for Oct. 21, signalling the beginning of a 33-day campaign expected to focus on pocketbook issues and the government’s provocative approach to gender identity policies.

The 70-year-old Progressive Conservative leader, who is seeking a third term in office, has attracted national attention by requiring teachers to get parental consent before they can use the preferred names and pronouns of young students.

More recently, however, the former Irving Oil executive has tried to win over inflation-weary voters by promising to lower the provincial harmonized sales tax by two percentage points to 13 per cent if re-elected.

At dissolution, the Conservatives held 25 seats in the 49-seat legislature. The Liberals held 16 seats, the Greens had three and there was one Independent and four vacancies.

J.P. Lewis, a political science professor at the University of New Brunswick, said the top three issues facing New Brunswickers are affordability, health care and education.

“Across many jurisdictions, affordability is the top concern — cost of living, housing prices, things like that,” he said.

Richard Saillant, an economist and former vice-president of Université de Moncton, said the Tories’ pledge to lower the HST represents a costly promise.

“I don’t think there’s that much room for that,” he said. “I’m not entirely clear that they can do so without producing a greater deficit.” Saillant also pointed to mounting pressures to invest more in health care, education and housing, all of which are facing increasing demands from a growing population.

Higgs’s main rivals are Liberal Leader Susan Holt and Green Party Leader David Coon. Both are focusing on economic and social issues.

Holt has promised to impose a rent cap and roll out a subsidized school food program. The Liberals also want to open at least 30 community health clinics over the next four years.

Coon has said a Green government would create an “electricity support program,” which would give families earning less than $70,000 annually about $25 per month to offset “unprecedented” rate increases.

Higgs first came to power in 2018, when the Tories formed the province’s first minority government in 100 years. In 2020, he called a snap election — the first province to go to the polls after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic — and won a majority.

Since then, several well-known cabinet ministers and caucus members have stepped down after clashing with Higgs, some of them citing what they described as an authoritarian leadership style and a focus on policies that represent a hard shift to the right side of the political spectrum.

Lewis said the Progressive Conservatives are in the “midst of reinvention.”

“It appears he’s shaping the party now, really in the mould of his world views,” Lewis said. “Even though (Progressive Conservatives) have been down in the polls, I still think that they’re very competitive.”

Meanwhile, the legislature remained divided along linguistic lines. The Tories dominate in English-speaking ridings in central and southern parts of the province, while the Liberals held most French-speaking ridings in the north.

The drama within the party began in October 2022 when the province’s outspoken education minister, Dominic Cardy, resigned from cabinet, saying he could no longer tolerate the premier’s leadership style. In his resignation letter, Cardy cited controversial plans to reform French-language education. The government eventually stepped back those plans.

A series of resignations followed last year when the Higgs government announced changes to Policy 713, which now requires students under 16 who are exploring their gender identity to get their parents’ consent before teachers can use their preferred first names or pronouns — a reversal of the previous practice.

When several Tory lawmakers voted with the opposition to call for an external review of the change, Higgs dropped dissenters from his cabinet. And a bid by some party members to trigger a leadership review went nowhere.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.

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