Down In The Gutter
The Senate GOP primary in Ohio is a race to the political bottom to find the sewer-dwelling id of the modern Republican Party.
I'm Michael A. Cohen, and this is Truth and Consequences: A no-holds-barred look at the absurdities, hypocrisies, and surreality of American politics. If someone sent you this email - or you are a free subscriber - and you'd like to subscribe: you can sign up here.
Last week I was traveling with my daughter on the West Coast. We had a whirlwind journey that began in San Diego, continued on a train ride along the Pacific to Los Angeles, and the next day was spent at Universal Studios (unfortunately, I could not satisfy my 7-year old’s deep desire to be cast in a movie). Next, we traveled to Las Vegas, spent a few days enjoying the largest pool I’ve ever seen at the Mandalay Bay hotel, then ventured down to the Hoover Dam and ended up at the Grand Canyon.
That night we took a drive on historic Route 66 and I almost drove into a giant trio of cattle (that really happened). Along the way I surrendered to a persistent child and went to McDonald’s for breakfast.
But I still did some writing (which you can read here and here) and continued to tweet. In fact, I sent my most popular tweet in 11 years on that website. Thankfully, dunking on Ted Cruz remains an activity that still unites us as a nation.
But I also made one big mistake as I perused Twitter — I checked out the timeline of Josh Mandel, Republican Senate candidate in Ohio. I did, however, learn a lot about the nasty, sordid gutter that has become home to the post-Trump Republican Party.
A Shonda For The Jews
Mandel is a former member of the Ohio House, served two terms as the state's treasurer, lost a Senate race in 2012 to Democrat Sherrod Brown, and is generally despicable. His Twitter bio describes him as the "1st Statewide Official in Ohio to support President Trump. Marine. Censored by Twitter & Facebook. Fighting to protect the Judeo-Christian bedrock of America."
His claims of censorship are the result of being suspended by Twitter for 12 hours because he posted a poll asking which type of "illegals" would commit more crimes, "Muslim Terrorists" or "Mexican Gangbangers."
In recent weeks, Mandel has made it his mission to oppose the resettlement of Afghan refugees in the United States. It bears noting that Mandel's grandparents were Holocaust survivors (his grandmother was protected from the Nazis by a Christian family) and came to America as immigrants. Nonetheless, here is his uplifting response to that extraordinary picture of Afghan refugees being crammed into a C-17 cargo plane.
He’s compared Afghan refugees to “alligators.”
And had made clear that the key issue animating his campaign is xenophobia
Mandel also has in the past week called Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified in the first House impeachment inquiry of former President Trump a “traitor” and a “commie.” He accused “the radical left of wanting to bring down our country from within” and labeled Rep. Ilhan Omar an “America-hating, Christian-hating, Jew-hating” infiltrator of the US government. He also gleefully accepted the endorsement of the head of the Arizona Republican Party, Wendy Rogers, who recently called for the solitary confinement imprisonment of state officials who criticized the farcical audit that sought to prove President Trump won the state’s electoral votes.
In short, Josh Mandel is a major league asshole.
He is also the clear frontrunner to replace Ohio Senator Rob Portman in the United States Senate.
(Now I want to be clear that I don’t usually use words like “asshole” to describe politicians. It’s pejorative and childish, and I like to aim higher with my prose. But I’m using the word here because I think it’s the best and most accurate description of the political personae that Mandel is seeking to cultivate.)
Another Bottom Feeder
Mandel’s efforts to mine the absolute worst impulses of the Republican electorate have led to a desperate race to the bottom. J.D Vance, who rose to prominence after writing “Hillbilly Elegy,” a book that effectively blamed the white working class for their economic and societal plight, and is now also seeking the GOP Senate nominate in Ohio, is imitating Mandel’s strategy. A previous critic of Trump (he called him “cultural heroin” in 2016), Vance now fully embraces the former president and his conspiracy theories.
In recent weeks, he’s attacked childless Democrats for having no “personal and direct stake” in the future of the country. He’s embraced Tucker Carlson’s “white replacement” theory. He’s referred to liberals as degenerates, accused Dr. Anthony Fauci of committing perjury and said he should go to prison, and declared that Alex Jones is a more trustworthy source of information than Rachel Maddow. Jones has been sued for claiming that the school shooting at Sandy Hook was a false flag operation.
And, of course, like Mandel, he has embraced the ugly xenophobia of bashing Afghan refugees.
I bring all this up because it’s a compelling reminder of how utterly broken the Republican Party has become. As one GOP political consultant in Ohio said to me, Vance is not merely mimicking Mandel, “it’s what GOP primary voters want/respond to.” Mandel and Vance are race-baiting, liberal bashing, and sucking up to Trump because that’s what pulls at the heartstrings of Republican voters in Ohio. They are playing to the cheap seats because that’s the only way to get elected as a Republican in the United States today.
You occasionally hear political pundits ask, “what has happened to the GOP?” and “when will the party return to normal?” Whenever I hear questions like that, I’m reminded of my all-time favorite New Yorker cartoon:
This IS the modern Republican Party — a political amalgamation organized around resentment (of liberal elites), fear (of non-white people), performative obnoxiousness (toward all who don’t share their views), and narcissism. It’s getting worse, and it’s not going to get better.
Republican politicians have helped create this movement, but they are far more followers than leaders. Donald Trump activated what long existed within the GOP’s rank-and-file, and now every Republican politician who wants a future in the party understands that imitating his political style is the only way to win over voters. Indeed, the man Mandel and Vance are seeking to replace, Rob Portman, is likely not running for reelection because he’s an old-school, courtly Republican who was happy to cultivate these prurient impulses when he didn’t have to get his hands too dirty. But being a modern Republican means embracing the fever swamp where people like Mandel reside, and, my guess is, he no longer wants to do it.
Mandel strikes me as a true believer — and someone who is not just playing the part but believes what he’s saying. Or perhaps he realized long ago that being a racist troll was the path to political success. But there are plenty of other Republicans — like J.D. Vance — who are more than happy to swear off the beliefs they once held and prostrate themselves before GOP voters by telling them what they want to hear, playing to their prejudices, and feeding their seething resentment. I’m not sure which one is worse, but I’m more convinced it doesn’t matter. Whether it’s motivated by cynicism or true faith, the Josh Mandels and J.D. Vances of the world are more than happy to keep digging that hole. The bottom line is that there is no better Republican Party waiting to emerge. This is it.
“Well … I Ain’t Building No Bookcase”
RIP Michael K. Williams
Regarding Mandel & Vance both of these loyal GOPers have the same incurable condition:
cranial-rectal inversion, it is pandemic amongst Republicans
Justjoe158
You are much to kind to today's Republican Party.