To be fair, it looked like Republican voters might have supported an inclusive and modern conservatism, but those voters were betrayed. Going into 2016, there were two insurgent candidacies that were being run by conventional politicians. Ted Cruz’s insurgency was self-consciously belligerent and insular. He was a conservative fighter who would fight for conservatism. But most normal people don’t care – and are right not to care – about how conservative someone is or isn’t.
Marco Rubio’s appeal was that he was an insurgent who could connect the older, whiter, Republican base with the rest of our crazy, wonderful country. He had taken on the Republican bosses by beating the slimy and obviously unprincipled Charlie Crist in the Florida GOP Senate primary, but he was also comfortable in a world with gangsta rap.
Instead of being an insurgent populist, Rubio betrayed his election promises and sided with the Republican elites on immigration – the issue that most bitterly divided Republican politicians from Republican voters. Rubio then insulted everyone’s intelligence with his shifting explanations for his flip-flops. Then a Rubio aide was caught explaining that one of the purposes of the Rubio-supported immigration plan was to free employers of the burden of having to hire American low-skill workers who “can’t cut it.” Rubio has never been held to account for how his behavior helped turn even the idea of a politician leading an inclusive, populist insurgency into a bitter joke.
Republican politicians poisoned the atmosphere first. They are in a weak position to call Trump untrustworthy because they proved themselves untrustworthy long before Trump announced he was running for president. Their problem isn’t Trump. Their problem is a lack of legitimacy with Republican voters.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member