Trump is changing the Party of Lincoln to Party of Jefferson Davis

In a taxpayer-funded campaign rally at Mt. Rushmore July 3rd, Donald Trump brought the Republican crowd to their feet by attacking social justice protesters as “left-wing fascists”. “Our nation is witnessing a merciless campaign to wipe out our history, defame our heroes, erase our values, and indoctrinate our children,” he said. “Angry mobs are trying to tear down statues of our founders, deface our most sacred memorials, and unleash a wave of violent crime in our cities.”

Despite the fact that polls show most Americans support social justice reform and Black Lives Matter, Trump continues to champion Confederate monuments he calls sacred. He insists on protecting names of military bases honoring Confederate leaders. As the Washington Post’s Robert Costa and Phil Ricker reported “Trump’s unyielding push to preserve Confederate symbols and the legacy of white domination, crystallized by his harsh denunciation of the racial justice movement…has unnerved Republicans who have long enabled him but now fear losing power and forever associating their party with his racial animus.”

Trump is becoming standard bearer for white power

In recent weeks, as he is dropping in the polls, Trump has become the standard bearer for right-wing conspiracy theories and white power. This is not new for Trump. After the Charlottesville murders by a white supremacist during a march organized by neo-Nazis, Trump referred to them as “good people”. Recently he re-tweeted a video that began with the call for “white power”.

Trump’s German family was allegedly Nazi supporters. He is reported to have a copy of Hitler’s Mein Kampf on his night stand. His father was arguably a sympathizer of white supremacists and a member of the KKK. Trump and his father were fined for discriminating against blacks in the apartments they owned. Trump began his 2016 presidential campaign attacking Mexican immigrants who he called “murders and rapists.” His candidacy was endorsed by David Duke and the KKK and he never firmly renounced their support.

During the 2016 presidential primary, many Republicans like Lindsay Graham spoke out against Trump. Once he won, however, they fell in lock step reminiscent of North Koreans idolizing their “dear leader.” At the Mt. Rushmore rally, South Dakota’s elected Republicans were seen cheering and applauding Trump’s statements about monuments and Black Lives Matter.

The Grand Old Party of Lincoln

The Republican Party was born to oppose slavery and champion the rights of citizens. Abraham Lincoln was the first Republican president. Immediately, the southern states succeeded from the Union and formed their own nation called the Confederate States of America. They chose white supremacist Jefferson Davis as their president. Their entire raison d'être was to preserve slavery. They white-washed their cause by calling it “state’s rights, but the right they wanted to preserve was the right to subject black people to slavery. Confederates engaged in a treasonous armed rebellion against the United States, but lost.

Since Lincoln was the one who freed the slaves, most African Americans were once Republicans. Almost all southern whites were Democrats and segregationists. They were the political descendants of the Confederate Party headed by Jefferson Davis. It wasn’t until the late 1950s and ’60s that change came Northern Democrats became the champions of Civil Rights while Nixon’s Southern Strategy enticed southern white segregationists into the Republican Party.

Fortunately, thanks to laws passed by the non-southern members of Congress, segregation was outlawed and racial hatred moved underground. Then along came Donald J. Trump who made hate fashionable again.

Trump destroys the Party of Lincoln through Tweets and Executive Orders

Trump’s reverence for monuments honoring Jefferson Davis, Confederates, and northern white supremacists is very revealing about him as a person. This is particularly obvious when it is accompanied by attacks on the Black Lives Matter organization and the entire social justice protest movement. Trump has not uttered a word of sympathy for the families of all victims of murder at the hands of the police. He has only attacked the protestors with gas and disparaged their goals.

Trump no longer uses dog whistles to communicate hate messages to his base. He now uses television, rallies, and Twitter. The need for subtlety is gone. A desperate Trump is out front with his message.

Some Republicans admit privately that Trump’s fixation on racial and cultural issues means their party is running against the currents of change sweeping the nation. Yet, they are loath to say so publically. Senate Republicans, fearful of losing power, are avoiding the issue altogether. This may lead to their demise.

Fortunately, a growing number of non-Trumpian Republicans are fighting back. They formed the “Lincoln Project” and are running effective ads against Trump in hopes of salvaging the once proud Party of Lincoln. Will enough Republicans quietly vote against Trump, or have they sold their heritage down the river with their values? Time will tell.