Is The End of the No-Compromise Era Coming?
Compromise Returns, Sort Of
Last year, the US Congress passed a dismally low number of laws (27). Most notably, this “do-nothing” Congress failed to enact a bipartisan bill addressing the border crisis, after former President Donald Trump asked Republicans to vote no on a bill Republicans had brokered. That’s sad. But this may prove to be the high-water mark of congressional gridlock, and glimmers of the end of the no-compromise era possibly loom in sight.
The proposed law achieved many Republican priorities in dealing with the surge of illegal immigrants into the United States, an issue of great importance to the GOP. So why did they torpedo a proposed law that Senate Republicans had worked on and supported? Trump wanted to campaign on immigration issues and reasoned that Republicans working together with Democrats to fix the border problem before November would hurt his chances to get elected.
The refusal to compromise and work with Democrats to get anything done is a hallmark of Trumpism and has contributed to the historic lack of legislation in congress. According to the Pew Research Center, Republicans who support Trump stand out in their lack of support for compromise, in comparison to Republicans who supported Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis. Further, in the past several decades Republican congressional representatives have moved much farther to the right than Democratic partisans have to the left. This lack of interest in compromise or acknowledging any validity to the other side, and swing to the extreme right, contrasts with the points of view of many Republicans, some of whom have left the Republican party in the wake of Trump’s ascendance.
It's a new, more extreme party, remade in Trump’s image. But can this lack of compromise last?
Cracks In The Façade of Hyper-Partisanship
The killing of the border bill confirmed that Former President Donald Trump had wrested control of the Republican Party from Senator Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who favored the bill. Trump had now converted the party into a Trump-first apparatus uninterested in historic alliances such as NATO, longstanding foreign policy concerns of conservative Republicans, or compromise.
But this moment of putting self and party over country, and the Republican representatives following along, may be a case of “be careful what you wish for”. Except for the truly MAGA, this was not a good look. The rest of the country, a majority, is interested in improving conditions in the United States more than in advancing the political fortunes of Donald Trump.
In an unusual step, one of the bill’s sponsors, Oklahoma Senator James Lankford, went on Fox News and stated that Donald Trump’s personal and political aims had quashed the groundbreaking law that would help solve a real problem in the United States:
“When we have a moment to fix things, we should fix as many things as we can then, then come back later and fix the rest.”
He acknowledged on CNN that Trump “went after him” because a “chaotic border was helpful to him” as Trump pursues the presidency.
Senators Mitt Romney and Todd Young also communicated disgust at Trump’s scotching the border deal: Young called Trump’s actions “tragic”.
But the very existence of the border bill may in itself indicate the beginning of the end of the most extreme form of hyper-partisanship. The willingness of Democrats to compromise, remedy, and acknowledge failures in their existing immigration policy, the willingness of Senate Republicans to compromise and work with Democrats, and the willingness of Senator Lankford and a few other sitting members of Congress to break ranks and call out the head of their party, all demonstrate a potential easing of partisan gridlock, in opposition to the will of the leader of the Republican Party.
Longstanding Republican Opposition to Trump’s Extremism Continues
Donald Trump was a polarizing figure in New York long before he sought political office, injecting his opinion about the Central Park Five into the public and doubling down even when they were found to be innocent. He has engendered divisiveness across the country as well. In addition to fostering animosity between Democrats and Republicans, many of whom now can’t break bread together at holidays without arguing, Trump’s ascendance has forced countless Republicans out of their own party or into retirement.
Many party elders famously broke with the Republican party in 2016 when it nominated Trump for president and began to trumpet Trump’s policies and tactics. One such prominent group calls themselves the Never Trumpers.
In 2016, former Republican presidential candidate and leader of the party Senator Mitt Romney stated:
“Today, there is a contest between Trumpism and Republicanism. Through the calculated statements of its leader, Trumpism has become associated with racism, misogyny, bigotry, xenophobia, vulgarity and, most recently, threats and violence. I am repulsed by each and every one of these."
He was not the only Republican to feel that way then, and far more have come to his way of thinking. Former Republican Presidents George H. Bush and George H. W. Bush refused to endorse Donald Trump in 2016 and George Bush senior even went so far as to endorse Hillary Clinton instead.
Opposition Has Grown Over Time
The opposition of Republicans to Trump has increased over time, and now includes former congressional representatives like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger. They both served on the House Committee which investigated the events of January 6, 2021, Cheney as a head of the committee, and were two of ten Republicans who voted for Trump’s impeachment in his second impeachment proceeding. Cheney believes that if Trump wins in 2024,
“. . . it may well be be the last real vote you ever get to cast.”
Indeed, Trump’s actions on and around January 6 gave rise to a number of additional public Republican disavowals of Trump and his efforts to “Stop The Steal”, including former stalwart defenders, insiders, and officials such as Trump’s Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos.
Republicans For Harris- A New Phenomenon
In the wake of Kamala Harris’ impending nomination, a new group has formed, Republicans for Harris. This entity will serve as part of Harris’ campaign and aims to “give a permission structure” for moderate Republicans to vote for a Democrat. It includes former Governor Bill Weld (Massachusetts), former Governor Christine Todd Whitman (New Jersey), former Defense Secretary, and former Senator Chuck Hagel (Nebraska), former Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, and sixteen former Republican members of Congress, including Adam Kinzinger (Illinois) Joe Walsh (Illinois) (a vocal Never Trumper) and Susan Molinari (New York).
The very existence of a group named Republicans For Harris working with Democrats to elect a Democrat demonstrates unprecedented anti-party resistance among Republicans and resistance to the anti-compromise, extreme-right ethos. The group is comprised of moderate conservatives, who favor a return to pro-democracy, less-hyper-partisan, less extremist rightwing politics, where compromise can and should occur at least occasionally.
Scores of Republican Former Trump Officials Do Not Support Him
Just as Trump has divided the Republican Party, the country, and increased hatred among partisans and partisan leaders, he’s divided Republicans who worked for him. An impressive and unprecedented number of former Trump administration officials, appointees, and aides have declined to endorse Trump in the coming election, support Kamala Harris, or previously indicated they might support Joe Biden when he was on the ticket.
Former Vice President Mike Pence declared, “I cannot in good conscience endorse Donald Trump.”
Stephanie Grisham, former Press Secretary for Donald Trump, recently endorsed Kamala Harris. She said, “I know that she will fight for our freedom, protect our democracy and represent America with honor and dignity on the world stage.”
Former Defense Secretary Mark Esper, stated that he believes Trump “is a threat to democracy” and won’t vote for Trump this time around. “I think he’s unfit for office … He puts himself before country. His actions are all about him and not about the country. And then, of course, I believe he has integrity and character issues as well.”
Former White House Aide Cassidy Hutchinson was dismayed by Trump’s actions on January 6 and won’t endorse him or vote for him.
Hutchinson said, “This is a fundamental election to continue to safeguard our institutions and our constitutional republic.”
Former White House Counsel Ty Cobb represented Trump during the Mueller probe and won’t vote for him in November.
Cobb said, “Trump relentlessly puts forth claims that are not true.”
Former Deputy White House Press Secretary Alyssa Farah Griffin also won’t be voting for Trump.
Griffin said, “Fundamentally a second Trump term could mean the end of American democracy as we know it,” noting that the American public had witnessed Trump try to “steal a democratic election.”
The fact that these are all former insiders and believers makes their warnings seem more dire than warnings about risks Trump poses to democracy from Democrats.
In addition, many more former Trump officials have declined to endorse him or have spoken out about his shortcomings despite the consequences to their future careers in the Republican party in having done so. The number and strength of their warnings shows a break with the current party leadership and possibly heralds a return to a more harmonious time.
It's In The Hands Of The Voters
Only time will tell if the extremist, anti-compromise, uncivil brand of politics and hyper-partisanship adopted by Trump and his MAGA supporters has begun to wane. But the excitement around the smiling and hopeful Harris-Walz campaign and the momentum it has generated indicates that might be the case.
Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, for one, believes that “Trump fever” may be about to break. He points out that:
“Part of the promise of a Kamala Harris presidency is actually the prospect of a comparatively normal Republican Party. What I mean by that is: Beating Donald Trump the first time in 2020 ended his term, but it did not end his grip on the G.O.P. Beating him twice would, I think, have a different effect on a lot of people in the G.O.P. who know better than to be onboard with him. He goes against their values too, not just my values, but they’ve gone along with it because they think it’s the path to power.”
Most Republicans and Democrats don’t don’t like the lack of compromise and inability to get things done in Congress. If Mayor Pete is right, this election may prove a tipping point. Only time will tell If compromise lies on the horizon.
