Cultural, not Policy, Reasons for Opposing Trumpism

In today's New York Times conservative columnist Bret Stephens explains Why I’m Still a NeverTrumper. Highlights:

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And want to preserve your own republican institutions? Then pay attention to the character of your leaders, the culture of governance and the political health of the public. It matters a lot more than lowering the top marginal income tax rate by a couple of percentage points.

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This is the fatal mistake of conservatives who’ve decided the best way to deal with Trump’s personality the lying, narcissism, bullying, bigotry, crassness, name calling, ignorance, paranoia, incompetence and pettiness is to pretend it doesn’t matter. Character Doesn’t Count has become a de facto G.O.P. motto. Virtue Doesn’t Matter might be another.

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But character does count, and virtue does matter, and Trump’s shortcomings prove it daily.
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Responsibility invariably lies with the president’s intemperance and dishonesty.
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Now look at the culture of governance. Trump demands testimonials from his cabinet, servility from Republican politicians and worship from conservative media. To serve in this White House isn’t to be elevated to public service. It’s to be debased into toadyism, which probably explains the record-setting staff turnover of 34 percent, according to an analysis from the Brookings Institution.
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Trump is empowering a conservative political culture that celebrates everything that patriotic Americans should fear: the cult of strength, open disdain for truthfulness, violent contempt for the Fourth Estate, hostility toward high culture and other types of elitism, a penchant for conspiracy theories and, most dangerously, white-identity politics.

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--Percy

My main disagreement, is that it puts too much blame on Trump.The Republican party had already taken a turn toward evil, long before Trump got into politics. I've been seeing the Republicans as "unfit to govern" for around 30 years. But, arguably, it started before then, when they went with "the Southern Strategy" to use racism as a core, albeit unstated, principle.The Republican Party went for a Faustian bargain. And that, in turn, allowed the party to be co-opted by Trump.

Apologies, I never intended to post this to a new thread. I intended to post it to the The Trump Presidency thread, which I've done, see Message 1604. I'll post a copy of your response over there. Closing this thread down.--Percy