Does the Trump administration represent an ideological departure from the Republican party?

Which Republican party?

Republicans in 2017 are far different from pre-Tea Party republicans (say, around 2009).

And 2009 Republicans were similar to, but not the same as Reagan Republicans in the late 1980s.

And Republicans in the 1850s were a lot like democrats today.

The Republican party has evolved over the years, and continues to, today. Trump is not a Reagan Republican, that’s for sure.

@thisismyusername – the question you really should be asking: Is Trump creating a new Republican party? Is the old Republican ethos dead?

I suppose what I’m really asking is why people are still so obsessed with Trump while he has stacked his administration with people who vow to do exactly what the Republicans have wanted to do for years.

If Trump is going to help the Republican majority to enact all kinds of harmful acts on the country, is Trump the ideological anomaly that people like to imagine?

I think the break between Trump and the Republican party is that the Republican party is in politics for themselves, just like the Dems. They talk a good story but in the end do nothing. I have to say that on that end, the Dems are more honest. They at least try to push through what they want. But they are all corrupt. Trump, while I’m not saying he isn’t corrupt or that he isn’t in it for himself, is at least trying to do what he has said he wants to do. And that happens to be what the Republican party has stated they want to do…what they have campaigned on. And it is what a large percentage of the population wants to be done. Not a large percentage of the population on this site maybe….

Holy crap. I almost agree with @seawulf575 – that’s OK, it’ll pass.

My cynical view is that during the Obama years (and possibly back through the Bush II years, because Democrats controlled Congress), the republicans developed these off the wall policies and legislative goals, knowing that there was next to no chance that they would ever have a chance to pass them.

So they could come up with things like the Grover Norquist Tax Pledge (what ever happened to him, anyway?) because it was good for TV and there was no downside to saying these utterly impossible things. (this is where I agree wi8th @seawulf575 – most of the republican policy talk was lies)

Now the republicans have been elected (note: I am not saying ‘in power’) and they are squeezed between their (fake) promises and their constituents. And they want to be reelected again and again..

So what do they do?

Right now Trump is a convenient scapegoat. Republicans can say “He isn’t one of ours!” which they think relieves them of the responsibility of supporting the policies that then were in favor of ten years ago. It’s sort of a clever scam..

The great departure with Trump is the extraordinary extent to which he and key members of his government do not understand the workings of the government they head. While it is easy to envision the possible catastrophes awaiting this situation, we should keep in mind thst the fact that they don’t have a clue has saved us from disasters possible from more competent evil doers. Again and again we have been rescued from asinine disastrous Trumpisms simply because the clowns behind them knew not how to bring them about; but even the most vacuous heads guiding evil fingers learn from the repeated burning of said digits, and even idiots can grow more efficient at being idiotic.

The only ideological separation that I can appreciate, is Trump’s campaign promise of term limits. (Which I haven’t heard a peep about since his election.)

They are separate on how they wish the public views them, but aren’t going in different directions. The tax bill was a huge common goal for the GOP. It was probably the most important/profitable(for the elite) thing they could have accomplished. And congress was willing to remove as much transparency, and shove it through as fast, as possible. They lowered themselves to Trump’s level.

If McCain hadn’t gotten brain cancer, I doubt there would have been a single powerful republican opposing the abolition of the ACA…

Ideologically. On the big things, the GOP is parallel to Trump.

Yes. As mentioned above, the GOP will throw Trump under the bus when the time comes, and publicly distance themselves from him. But the truth is, they are just as reprehensible. If there are any Republicans, who care about this country, they have sold their souls to help Don help their campaign funders/the wealthy elite.

If there was a question about there being an ideological difference before the tax bill, it should be clarified now…

If the current administration has an ideology it is that America exists for the people of America and the people exist to serve big corporations. It isn’t too far from what I understand is the Republican viewpoint but many republicans at least have a rudimentary notion of civic values. The Trump administration has no concept of what it means to govern a country or of conducting international relations. It has no concept of responsibility for the people it exists to serve. None.

In the bible belt, yes. His crass approach & tweets have lost some support, while his outspokenness & ballsy moves (like with Kim) are keeping faith alive. As far as the religious Reps, they still are supporting him, too.

@KNOWITALL I am not intending this as a snarky question but in your opinion, what do Bible belt Republicans see as the outcome of Trump’s “ballsy” approach to North Korea? Would Conservative Christians be in favor of a nuclear war, if that is the result?

Not a departure but a solidification. From going where they were as standard conservatives to ultra religious conservatives. A shift WAY farther right.

Trump cast himself as a populist, out to help the little guy. It was all a charade. Like other Republicans he is out to help the wealthy. Those coal jobs are not coming back. Declaring that opioids are an epidemic does nothing to solve the problem. How long will it take before Trump’s base of blue collar rural non-college educated whites figure out that they have been hoodwinked?

@janbb I can’t speak for everyone, and of course I’m more of an Independent than anything, BUT the Christian approach would be that Trump and America would save the poor wretches from cannibalism and starvation, and other depravities they are experiencing. You have to remember, Christians grow up learning about Armageddon and the persecution of Christians and we’ve seen the murder of Otto Warmbier for various crimes, notably leaving a bible at a bar. For 16 years NK has been labeled the most anti-Christian country in the world, persecuting Christians via torture and death. In my opinion, people in the bible belt, if they lean right, will have no problems supporting war with NK.

@KNOWITALL Thanks for answering.

That’s an interesting point @KNOWITALL…