It Was Always Going to Get Messy for Republicans Over 2024
Republicans are a far more interesting beast than modern society gives them credit for. Despite its embrace of populism, the right-leaning ideological wing of American politics is made up of individualists making it something of a miracle that they come together to do anything. It’s the shared belief in small government and freedom that drives the right, looping in everyone from Republicans to Libertarians and everyone in between to vote for a single candidate.
This miracle isn’t easily come by, however. A lot of metaphorical bloodshed happens before a consensus is reached. Oftentimes, the infighting becomes so bad that by the time the dust settles, the disagreements about who is and isn’t the best person for the job cost Republicans elections, and Democrats walk away with victories.
In fact, more often than not, Democrats aren’t elected because they convinced a majority to vote for them, but because the right fails to unite on one person. If they did 100% of the time then Democrats would be a party that rarely wins anything, except in specific areas. Alas, individualists aren’t like collectivists.
With 2022 somewhat in the rearview, more and more eyes are quickly turning to 2024. The general election is going to be one of the most contentious in history. Many Republicans are holding a grudge against Democrats for one reason or another. Some because they can’t help but think Democrats stole the 2020 election from Trump, and others because they blame Democrats for stealing everything else from their lives.
But with a sea of individualists lining up to fight, this will only make the primary that much more intense for Republicans. There was never a chance that it would be happy-go-lucky and that right-leaning people would join hands and sing kumbaya. This was always going to be a blood bath.
Donald Trump was always going to be Donald Trump, and he was always going to viciously tear down anyone that might remotely threaten his rise to the White House. Friend or foe, Trump treats every obstacle the same. This is a double-edged sword, though. Raheem Kassam made a very good point in that Trump’s nature while infuriating and insulting, is the same nature we appreciated about him when he got into office.
This doesn’t make his attacks against other Republicans right. DeSantis has done nothing but earn the respect of the people and be, arguably, one of the best governors the United States of America has ever seen in its history.
It’s likely that DeSantis is going to run in 2024 and when he does, he’s likely going to come back at Trump. From what we’ve seen of DeSantis, it’s likely he’s going to go on the offense and the fight between the two is going to get nasty.
Moreover, the fight between their supporters is going to get nasty. The very people who would rather lose limbs than see Trump in office again will do whatever they can to support DeSantis in the primary. This will include a myriad of establishment types, some moderate leftists, and possibly anti-Trump groups such as “The Lincoln Project.” Trump will have equally voracious support if he manages to make his points against his opponents well enough and not look like a man blindly flailing against the opposition.
Money will be sent, insults will be traded, campaigns will be launched, and backs will be stabbed. This isn’t going to be pretty and it’s definitely not going to be nice.
The question becomes whether or not we’ll be able to cut through the nonsense that outside forces try to wrap us up in. The Democrats would love nothing better than a full-on Republican civil war with hurt feelings and unrepentant hatred all around. The media is going to do its absolute best to capitalize on the fight between Trump and DeSantis, and fuel fires that won’t go out years after the battle is over.
Individualists are going to war with each other over ideas, and that’s not going to change. In fact, it shouldn’t. Just don’t let the people who want to see this nation handed to those who care only about power take advantage of your passion.
Fight, but fight well, and fight intelligently.
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