There is no Trumpism, there is only Republicans.

Handsome Joe has framed his candidacy as a run against Trumpism, with an inherent promise of a return to a bipartisan normal. It’s a premise built upon nostalgia for a time long past, and not entirely dissimilar to Comrade Trump’s own campaign slogan of making America great again. It will be interesting to see how two campaigns built on different visions of nostalgia work against each other.

But here’s the thing. Biden’s message doesn’t take into account that our problem is the Republicans; Trump (while a singular vile and corrupt individual) is the product of the Republican factory, which made the rise of American Nazis not just possible but inevitable. Trump’s racism and authoritarianism are the outcome of the Republicans morphing into a party of old, white, straight male, intolerant Xristians. The fascist Republican party will be around after Comrade Trump is long gone.

This Goat Rodeo cannot just be about personalities, it must be about fixing what is wrong, and while Trump himself might be the posterboy for everything wrong, America will not return to normal with his removal. The Republicans will not be bipartisan when the smoke clears. Amply be-chinned Mitch McConnell is already proclaiming that he will block every measure, Garland-style, if the Dems win.

Sadly, we are in an us v. them fight.

Comrade Trump did NOT change the Republican party, he IS the Republican party.

Crossposted from Mock Paper Scissors