Reclaim the Name — Or Get a New One, Or let’s get Horny

Let me ask you a question. Do you want this to be a one party government?

Think hard before you answer. Because if we stay the course we’re on, that’s exactly where we’ll end up. And if we kick the current fools out and hand everything to the Democrats, that’s where we’ll end up too. Just with different furniture in the same room.

MAGA has put a stink on the Republican Party that no skunk could ever equal. It’s going to take decades to wash it off. So what do we do?

Here’s something worth remembering. The RINOs, Republicans in Name Only, as Second String Donny so helpfully labeled them, were never really MAGA to begin with. They got saddled with the yoke through lies and promises and a very effective campaign of misinformation. They saw through the BS pretty quickly. The trouble is, as I said, what about the smell now? It clings whether you earned it or not.

“Republican In Name Only” was one of the most effective political hijackings in modern history. Trump took an entire established political party, rebranded everyone who disagreed with him as frauds and traitors, and walked off with the deed to the building. The real Republicans,  the ones who believed in fiscal responsibility, limited government, and fair play,  suddenly found themselves homeless in their own house.

And you want to know something almost funny? Donny used to be a Democrat. Yes. A card carrying member of the party he now calls COMMIE. They dodged his bullet somehow. You got crapped on instead.

So where does that leave us?

Dark Money,  the big PAC money, Citizens United, the Federalist Society machinery, has heavily invested in the two party system and isn’t going anywhere regardless of what happens to MAGA. They’ll pull something out of their hat or somewhere close to their back pockets. Far right groups, far left groups, same game different jerseys. Maybe they’ll call it MAGA 2.0. It will still smell the same.

Which means the real Republicans,  the ones who got bamboozled and are now standing in the wreckage wondering what happened to the party they grew up with,  have a decision to make.

Here’s what I think needs to happen. Not all at once. Not easily. But it needs to start now.

First, state election laws need to change. Not the way Trump’s Save America Steal the Election Act wants to change them. The other direction. Did you know Texas only gives a third party candidate thirty days after the primary to gather signatures to get on the ballot? Thirty days. That’s not a level playing field. That’s a locked door with a sign that says use other entrance. And Texas is not the only state doing it. Not by a long shot.

Second, look up Ranked Choice Voting. Read about it. Don’t take my word for it. Don’t take anyone else’s word against it either. RBV lets voters rank candidates in order of preference so your vote isn’t wasted if your first choice doesn’t make the cut. It can help address the Electoral College problem, reduce the stranglehold of the two party system, and give third party candidates a fighting chance without the spoiler effect. It won’t fix everything. But it fixes some important things.

Third, and this one’s for the real Republicans specifically.

Reclaim the name. Or get a new one.

The RINO label was meant to shame you into silence or compliance. It did neither permanently. You’re still here. The party you believed in is still worth believing in, fiscal responsibility, limited government, fair elections, reasonable conservatism that doesn’t require burning anything down.

If the Republican name is too stained to salvage, get a new one. And if you want a suggestion, keep the RINO. Just put an H in it. A Rhino is a thick skinned, large horned animal that doesn’t move for anything and has been around for fifty million years.

That’s a considerably fiercer mascot than whatever crawled out of Mar-a-Lago.

Get a little Horny in the process/