Two dinosaurs are pitted against each other to decide, once and for all, which one will be the last of their species left standing. Republicans have to choose between Donal J. Trump and Rafael E. Cruz as the last standard bearer of a party that cannot exist in its current form after this election cycle. This is it for Republicanism as we have known it. No more Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt or Dwight Eisenhower for sure. There might still be some Nixonesque figures left by next year, but a lot of present-day Republicans will be calling themselves something else soon. It might be “Conservative” sooner than you think. The effort has long been afoot to elevate that generic term to the status of a formal political party name.
There is going to be a big realignment in American politics. Even if the formal names “Republican Party” and “Democratic Party” remain, what those labels stand for, and who will align themselves with them, is not entirely known right now. The fate of the Democratic Party hinges on whether we retain or lose the presidency, but more importantly, whether or not we succeed in regaining control of Congress and re-balancing the Supreme Court to be in favor of the general welfare as opposed to what it does now, protecting the interests of the oligarchs and abrogating the people’s basic rights. (The right to vote, marry, not be shot, or control one’s own body and what you put into it, anyone?) Let’s focus on the Republicans for now, and what they’re fighting about to define “the heart and soul of Republicanism”.The big issue, and the crux of contention in the finale match-up for the Republican nomination appears to be, “Who is the most conservative?” This ephemeral issue takes precedence over anything substantive, like the economy, jobs, health care, education, the environment or even war and peace. There have been differences between Republican candidates this year, but their answers to questions about those differences all hinge on convincing their glassy-eyed, drooling legions of slope-browed, reactionary dupes that each of them “is the most conservative”. Have you noticed that? They never talk about anything real, or present any facts, they just say that they are “more conservative” than someone else, as if such purported “conservatism” had any bearing on the objective reality. Assess the accuracy of this idea every time you listen to any Republican flapping their lips. You know it’s true.
Conservative:What does this conservatism thing even mean? The policies and mind set associated these days with the label "conservative" are antithetical to any historical notion of that term. The term is now an oxymoron. American "conservatives" are nothing more than cheerleaders for judicial activists (like the late Justice Scalia) who promote every misbegotten, wrong-headed idea supported by the corporate elite class of oligarchs, the top 0.01% of the wealthy. The idea of being "more conservative" is tantamount to asking, "Who is more of a heartless, malevolent sociopath?" So-called "conservative" values and policies don't conserve anything, like the land, the people's well-being, national security or any sense of human decency. Instead, they run around touting Draconian laws that produce poverty, misery, sickness and ruined lives, such as making criminals out of cannabis users and providers. Name one good thing that any Republican, let alone a self-styled conservative Republican, has done to make this nation a better place since Eisenhower’s day? You can't, can you? I can hear all the zombie teabaggers chanting, "U.S.A.! Freedom! No taxes!" But, what Republican policy furthered any of those things?
The issue: The question at hand for Republicans has become, “Who is more conservative? Trump or Cruz?” They ask this because being “more conservative” is somehow a better discriminator for them than anything else about a candidate’s track record or intended policies. In the eye of the true believer, “conservative” is a synonym for “good”, so the more conservative, the better. It’s stunning how narrow and and intentionally ignorant this mind set is, but it’s more the rule than the exception for Republicans. They just don’t want to know about anything else. In weighing the relative merits of candidates, pointless questions like this arise. “Is Cruz little more than a more conservative version of Trump?” Today, I answered this question on one of those “non-partisan” forums that seems to have been posed by someone completely oblivious to the irrelevance of this question. Having nearly equal disdain for both Republicans, I asked, rhetorically, “Who cares?” The reason I don’t care is that I, unlike Republicans, don’t think that one’s conservatism, whatever that means, has any bearing on what someone might do as president. It was incumbent upon me to school these cretins about reality and what really matters. I doubt if very many Republicans received any benefit from it, but I’m relaying most of my answer there to DailyKos readers to set your mind at ease about which Republican will be the sacrificial lamb on the funeral bier of the Republican Party, may it rot in Hell.