David Michael Miller
Republicans like to lecture us about morality. What they usually mean is something regarding sex: abortion, same-sex marriage, who can use which public restroom, that kind of thing.
But those in the “Party of Lincoln” now face a moral moment as clear as a Wisconsin sky on a January night. Are they going to cast their lot with Donald Trump, a man who is openly and unapologetically misogynistic, xenophobic, racist, willfully ignorant of the facts and dismissive of any criticism? A man who condones, if not incites, violence against those who protest him? A man who invites comparisons with right-wing fascists of a European model both present and past?
On a national level the answer is pretty much yes, Republicans are falling in line behind that man. Recent polls show that, for all their angst, rank-and-file Republicans are rallying behind their candidate now that Trump has seized the nomination.
But here in Wisconsin we expect better from our brand of Republican. After all, we are the last state to reject Trump. It’s true that the winner of the April primary, Ted Cruz, was little better, but still, Wisconsin Republicans rebelled against a front runner they deemed unsuited to be president.
And, of course, Wisconsin has an outsize influence on the rest of the party. The GOP’s now second-ranking leader is none other than House Speaker Paul Ryan from Janesville. The party chair is Reince Priebus, a native of Kenosha. Gov. Scott Walker, despite his belly flop before the primaries even got underway, is still thought of as a rising star in the party. Ron Johnson is important because of where he sits — in a crucial Senate seat that could determine party control of that body. And Tommy Thompson is still a party icon, having served 14 years as governor and then enjoying national attention as secretary of Health and Human Services under George W. Bush.
So, where are these guys on Trump?
Priebus has been the most embarrassing. He failed to denounce Trump from the start, when it might have had some effect, and now he’s all in. The right thing to do would have been to resign in protest and lead a new party movement to create a home for principled Republicans who were appalled by Trump. Instead, Priebus is shining the Donald’s shoes and carrying his luggage, metaphorically if not literally.
Thompson is the most disappointing. A guy who has grown in the respect of a lot of Wisconsinites, even Democrats, since he left office, Thompson jumped in immediately and enthusiastically behind Trump as soon as he locked up the nomination. The old governor is so well liked I hear even liberal political types giving him a pass because he’s such a party loyalist. But he made the choice of a party hack, not the statesman we started to think he had become.
Walker is the most predictable. He is weaseling around saying that he’s going to keep his promise to support “the nominee.” For the governor this is all about his future political viability. He’ll calibrate just how much support for Trump he needs to fork over to set himself up for reelection and then another shot at the White House. Deeper implications for the good of the whole aren’t even a consideration, but then they never are.
Johnson is the most perplexing. Here’s a guy in the fight of his life with the popular politician he only defeated in a monumental Republican landslide year, and yet Johnson was quick to endorse Trump, who even Wisconsin Republicans don’t like much. Until he didn’t. He now says he’s “supporting” Trump but not “endorsing” him. Perfect. It’s that kind of straightforward nonpolitician that people are looking for this year. Welcome back, Sen. Feingold.
Which brings us to Paul Ryan, who is the most wily. Ryan is the smartest of the bunch, and he understands the bind he’s in. But this shouldn’t be that hard. Trump is the purest form of evil we’ve seen in politics in this country since George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse door. Ryan could show his stuff by resigning as the convention chair and vowing to fight Trump’s agenda should he win in November. Instead, he’s playing a game of cat and mouse with Trump not over the nominee’s repulsive positions on immigration, women or a host of other issues but over Trump’s questionable commitment to opposing universal health care and supporting more tax cuts for the rich. He’s dodging endorsing Trump not over his morally repugnant positions but over the few things he’s said that indicate moderation.
What all of these men have in common is that they’ve mouthed the ridiculous notion that Hillary Clinton would be a worse threat to the country than Trump. Clinton may be boring and the very personification of the establishment, but she is not dangerous. She would be a more than competent leader who would pursue a middle-of-the-road if somewhat liberal path very much in the mainstream of American politics.
Every Republican now has a clear moral choice between the best interests of their party and those of their country. The early returns on those choices are not encouraging.
Dave Cieslewicz is the former mayor of Madison. He blogs as Citizen Dave at Isthmus.com.
