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As Donald Trump continues his restructuring and redesigning of the Republican Party, GOP exiles impatiently plot and prepare for the day of their return. They bedeck the screens at MSNOW and numerous podcasts, but lack the influence they would prefer over Democrats. They stress constitutional issues and bewail Trump's outrages on immigration, but still hold conservative opinions on the budget and foreign policy, which are out of step with most Democratic constituencies. They long for a return of "Compassionate Conservatism," the George W. Bush style, with its edgy, aggressive foreign policy and vague domestic agenda.
There are some famous heavy-weights in this group. Nicolle Wallace, a prominent figure on George W.'s staff; former Jeb Bush's campaign manager Tim Miller; Rick Wilson, a prominent GOP media consultant; and, of course, Michael Steele, former Republican Party Chairman. The Bulwark and The Lincoln Project represent their resistance to Trumpism. But they were surprised how Republicans, after Trump's defeat in 2020, gradually made their peace with the ex-President. Certainly they were shocked by his renomination and victory in 2024.
They bring to mind the short story A Man without a Country by Edward Everett Hale, which follows the fateful career of a fictional character, Army Lieutenant Philip Nolan, who became disillusioned with the Republic in 1806-07. So disillusioned, he blurted out at his court-martial, "Damn the United States! I wish I may never see the United States again." The judge was stunned but obligingly granted young Nolan's request by consigning him to a US Naval vessel for the balance of his life. Not only did he prohibit him from ever returning to his country or learning anything about events in his homeland, but he died a frustrated old man.
These anti-Trump Republicans do not face a tragedy. Still, they find themselves politically in a similar position as Nolan in that they must gaze at their former party from a Democratic ship. Like Jacob Marley's ghost in A Christmas Carol, they cannot intervene for good. They are left with scorn for Trump and the GOP. Moreover, they realize that they helped construct this situation through their tactics honed in the Bush years. They put in motion the tactics that demonized Democrats, never figuring on the rise of Trump. Now they wonder if they will ever control a party which they regard with a mixture of longing and contempt.
Perhaps they may have been happy in the Joe Biden administration. After all, in the 1980s Biden vowed he would never accept Jesse Jackson as a running mate, and he got along swimmingly with the remnant of Southern Conservatism in the US Senate. But as Vice President Biden adopted more liberal stances, and by the time he won in 2020 he had become a big government liberal, admittedly of the old stripe. Alas, he had aged and proved weak. The Republican exiles who had hoped for a Republican rebranding in 2024 were dismayed.
Yet they seemed stunned when their old party proved less than anti-Trump. They folded on Todd Blanche. Even those GOPers who either questioned or voted against Blanche were passive in the end. Thom Tillis, John Cornyn, and Bill Cassidy pathetically surrendered to Trump even though two had voted for his impeachment. The Grand Old Party was so worm-eaten they could only harass Trump. Once again the President's instincts about his opponents turned out to be true. Indeed, the voters of Louisiana, Texas, and North Carolina seemed to read their characters very well. The exiles are swimming forever in a Democratic sea with less relevancy than ever.