When Did the GOP become the Party of Cowards, Who Betrayed Their Country?

By A Colleague

N.S.: My Epoch Times comment follows:

My only criticism of Mark Bauerlein's op-ed, is that this did not begin circa 1990, but circa 1954. The so-called civil rights movement was the most successful communist front of all time. Very few Whites had the stomach to tell black supremacists like MLK, "Go to Hell!" And nobody sought to impeach the rogue federal judges and SC justices who burned the Constitution. The GOP has been every bit as guilty as the Communist, er, Democrat Party.

II. Republicans have never fought against affirmative action, black-on-White crime, “civil rights” or “hate crime” laws, or other forms of racism against Whites.

(I would have used stronger language than merely “impeach,” like say, “impeach or shoot,” were I not worried about my comment being deleted.)

AC: I've had a few email exchanges with Emeritus Professor of English Mark Bauerlein over the past three decades. He began his academic career at Emory U. as moderate and left as an aggressive conservative, having witnessed its transformation.

In a piece below in the Epoch Times on Jan 12 Bauerlein describes the moral war waged against conservatives. I put together a quote:

“The End of Politics” Mark Bauerlein, January 12, 2021)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-end-of-politics_3652928.html

MARK BAUERLEIN: REPUBLICAN POLITICIANS AREN’T PREPARED FOR THE LEFT’S ALL-OUT MORAL WAR AGAINST THEM — AND THEIR VOTERS. TO COUNTER THE DEMOCRATS’ QUEST FOR A ONE-PARTY CONTROL, THE RIGHT NEEDS LEADERS WHO WILL BE “JUST AS ACCUSATORY AND DISMISSIVE” OF THE LEFT:

“Trump never impressed liberals as a political figure, and his supporters weren’t seen as a political bloc. No, they were an aberration, an irrational upsurge, an eruption of atavism into the sane operations of American democracy. You don’t compromise with such cretins, you don’t debate them. You get rid of them . . .

“This is the dynamic faced by conservative Republicans. If they stay true to conservative principles, they can expect the vitriol to flow. It won’t be discursive; it’ll be ad hominem. Notice how the debates in Washington for more than four years have downplayed policy differences that might be negotiated through the old ways and means. It’s different now; they turn on shame, the shame of the right.

“Democrats want to blame Trump for the ‘polarization,’ but that’s a dodge. The readiness of the left to smear a conservative if he acts too boldly long predates the Bad Orange Man. Ever since the Culture Wars of 30 years ago, we’ve been shifting from political competition to moral arraignment, and the process is now complete. The trial is over; it’s time for sentencing.

“Democrats have pronounced Republicans guilty, and punishments must begin.

“Few Republican politicians are equipped for this kind of war. Most can’t stand up to the indignation of the left. They still shudder at allegations of racism . . . The purpose of that game is to defeat conservatives, forever. It’s to discredit them . . . to make them appear unworthy of the barest consideration in the political realm. A spirit of expulsion, vengeance, and purification is on the loose . . . Trump’s supporters feel the threat acutely, and they want fresh leaders to fight back. They want to hear Republican voices turn the condemnations of the Democrats right back at them, to be just as accusatory and dismissive of leftism as the left is of rightism.

“When Joe Biden talks about systemic racism in American life, conservative voters relish the chance to witness a Republican blurt, ‘Nonsense! The ‘systems’ you mean—schools, media, entertainment, technology—are run by liberals, not conservatives, you silly one. Gimme a break—this is all phony!’ The indignation of the Democrats should be met with disdain, laughter, or an indignation stronger and unwavering.

“Establishment Republicans don’t have the stomach for this moral combat. They don’t know how, or perhaps they accept the moral terms, or they simply find the whole thing overwhelming. The media amplify the moral denunciations, too, and Republicans still care what reporters and commentators say about them . . .

“The pluralism of the past is over. A public square in which everyone accepts the permanent existence of political opponents no longer obtains. Democrats want a one-party state, and all too many Republicans will bend, granting liberals the field on social, cultural, and educational matters, while battling over a few regulations, tax rates, and trade. In practical terms, that means surrender on 90 percent of the issues . . . The future will clarify two kinds of Republican: the one who gets along with liberals, and the one who doesn’t; the one who defends himself with, ‘No, I am not a deplorable person,’ and the one who says, ‘Your indignation, my Democrat friend, is as bogus as a three-dollar bill—save it.’”

(“The End of Politics” Mark Bauerlein, January 12, 2021)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/the-end-of-politics_3652928.html